Scholarship Recipient John Teague
LASO News:
LASO Scholarships are awarded to one or more high school seniors who have demonstrated exceptional talent and interest in music.
The student must attend Los Alamos High School or live in Los Alamos County. The scholarship is intended to encourage the recipients to continue their musical activities, regardless of what they pursue as a career in the future.
2022 Scholarship Recipients
Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra (LASO) usually has one or more seniors play with them to have the experience of playing with a large orchestra. The years 2021 and 2022 were a different type of experience for everyone including the Symphony.
The symphony has not played since late 2019 but the need to find recipients for the annual scholarships was still there. The scholarships went to four very talented musicians who played in their high school’s bands and orchestras as well as other community orchestras.
Elizabeth Frost was awarded the $500 Jane Gerheart Scholarship. Frost played with the Santa Fe Youth Symphony’s Jazz Program since it started in 2022, and she also played with its predecessor, Los Alamos Jazz Project, since the 8th grade. She played in both small combos and larger big bands, in addition to the school jazz big band. She has played the electric bass since 8th grade but started music in preschool on the violin.
This fall, she will be taking a gap year to study abroad in Germany through the State Department’s Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Program. Afterwards, she will attend Columbia University to pursue a degree in foreign affairs.
Frost said that playing the bass in both the high school jazz band and the Los Alamos Jazz Project has been one of the highlights of her high school career. She has made lifelong friends with people and is forever grateful for all the opportunities and friendships, as well as the mentorship of High School director, Ryan Finn. She believes his mentorship, playing in his jazz ensembles, helped shape the person she is as well as her future beyond Los Alamos.
LASO Scholarships are awarded to one or more high school seniors who have demonstrated exceptional talent and interest in music. The student must attend Los Alamos High School or live in Los Alamos County. The scholarship is intended to encourage the recipients to continue their musical activities, regardless of what they pursue as a career in the future.
Marek Jablonski, was awarded $500, from the Rosemary O’Connor Scholarship. Jablonski played in New Mexico honor and all-state orchestras, musical groups at multiple summer camps, and various less organized groups such as chamber orchestras. He believes that music has been fundamental to his development as a person due to the necessity of learning to work with various people from all backgrounds and skill levels. He intends to continue to pursue music in a more direct way while in college by joining school symphonic or chamber orchestras where he can. He believes that musical groups will help him find a community with other like-minded students who are passionate about music. He said, “Music has been and shall continue to be a central part of how I experience and find joy in life.”
Andrei Maiorov, was awarded a $250 Scholarship from LASO. He began early by playing Piano and trumpet and played trumpet in the Barranca school band in fifth grade. At Mr. Finn’s suggestion, he switched to the French horn. He played the French horn in several ensembles; the LAMS bands, jazz band, Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association Brass Choir, LAHS bands, Los Alamos Jazz project, New Mexico Honor band, and New Mexico All-State. He was section leader for the Mellophones/French horns the last two years. He was also a part of the Santa Fe Youth Philharmonic Orchestra from 8th to 10th grade. As a Junior he played with the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Orchestra and intends to keep music in his life by going to a college with a band/orchestra program. He bypassed the colleges where he found he would not be able to continue playing and auditioned for the different ensembles at the college of his choice so he could continue to play while there. He will keep music in his life while at college and hopefully throughout his life.
John Teague was awarded a $250 Scholarship. He started playing Baritone in the 5th grade and switched to French horn in the 6th grade. He played the French Horn with the Santa Fe Youth Symphony for six years. He said, “While I have always enjoyed playing in the band, there is nothing like the symphony experience. I love the sounds of the symphony and the music we were able to play.” He recommends anyone considering playing with a symphony to do so because it opens-up a broader musical experience. He plans on studying Natural Resource Management with a major in Wildlife Biology at Texas Tech University. While at Tech, he plans on being a part of the Goin’ Band, the Texas Tech Marching Band and hopes to have another opportunity to play in a symphony again.
In addition to the music scholarships, LASO gave three $50 awards to Los Alamos County District Science Fair winners, Matthea Fung, Oliver Mosby and Niamh Colgan.
Members of the public interested in helping fund the LASO Scholarships may send a check, made out to LASO, to PO Box 613, Los Alamos, NM 87544.
