Western Springs Music Club Celebrates its Young Instrumentalists!

The Western Springs Music Club held its first Instrumental Scholarship Program for young, local students of classical instruments, other than the piano, on Saturday, April 22nd at Unitarian Church of Hinsdale. The brainchild of WSMC member, Steven Sigurdson, a Juilliard-trained cellist and native of Western Springs, the ISP program enabled students of private instructors belonging to the Western Springs Music Club to audition in front of two professional judges in order to demonstrate their technical proficiency and musicality as well as to compete for scholarship funds to be used towards educational pursuits in music. It is hoped that some of these students will attend summer music camp programs that will provide life-changing experiences.

The following day, several of these talented students delighted their families and friends with an enjoyable Winners Recital, also held at UCH. This year, the ISP’s Winds Division offered three prizes, and the ISP’s Strings Division offered a prize for each of its three age levels. In the Winds Division, flutist Shannen McGinn of LaGrange Park was the 1st Place recipient, flutist Brian Kardas of LaGrange Park won 2nd Place, and flutist Sofia Arcos of North Riverside won 3rd Place. In the Strings Division, harpist Kaitlyn Yi of Orland Park was the Division I winner, violinist Johanna Johnsen of Elmhurst was the Division II winner, and guitarist Peri Deroche of LaGrange won Division III.

The President of WSMC, Sophia Foley, commended the students for their hard work and awarded certificates of achievement to several other ISP contestants: violinists Emily Dolan of Tinley Park, Mira Moore of Brookfield, and Elizabeth Yu of Elmhurst; violist Elise Moore of Brookfield, cellist Elliot Moore of Brookfield, and harpist Ashleigh Szydlowski of Downers Grove. The audience was graced with fine performances by each of these young participants as well.

It is the hope of Western Springs Music Club that the public will fully embrace the new Instrumental Scholarship Program through generous financial support as well as assistance in spreading the word of its successful first year. Plans are already being made to expand the ISP to include as many local music students as possible. In addition, the Western Springs Music Club is proud of the continued accolades it receives for supporting young local pianists through its annual Piano Festival. It is crucial for young music students to find opportunities to experience the emotional and technical challenges of performing within a competitive environment, and WSMC is pleased to help provide this through both its Instrumental Scholarship Program and Piano Festival while also maintaining a welcoming and nurturing environment. Everyone who participates is certainly a winner!

Music instructors in the DuPage and Cook County areas are welcomed to join the Western Springs Music Club so that they may enroll their students in the 2nd Annual ISP auditions in 2018. For more information, please visit www.wsmusicclub.com.