{"id":142576,"date":"2025-05-15T23:21:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T03:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142576"},"modified":"2025-05-15T23:22:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T03:22:34","slug":"community-music-school-announces-2025-gala-scholarship-recipients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142576","title":{"rendered":"Community Music School Announces 2025 Gala Scholarship Recipients"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_142577\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-142577\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-05-10-Gala-Recital-1383-ScholarshipAwards-GroupPosing-withSeniors-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-142577\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-05-10-Gala-Recital-1383-ScholarshipAwards-GroupPosing-withSeniors-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"839\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-05-10-Gala-Recital-1383-ScholarshipAwards-GroupPosing-withSeniors-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-05-10-Gala-Recital-1383-ScholarshipAwards-GroupPosing-withSeniors-300x98.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-05-10-Gala-Recital-1383-ScholarshipAwards-GroupPosing-withSeniors-1024x336.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-05-10-Gala-Recital-1383-ScholarshipAwards-GroupPosing-withSeniors-768x252.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-05-10-Gala-Recital-1383-ScholarshipAwards-GroupPosing-withSeniors-1536x504.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-05-10-Gala-Recital-1383-ScholarshipAwards-GroupPosing-withSeniors-2048x671.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-142577\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Caption: On Saturday, May 10, 2025, Community Music School (CMS) held the annual Gala Recital &amp; Scholarship Awards in the Dorothy H. Baker Recital Hall at CMS. Pictured are (l-r) Siddharth Chitta, violin; Annette Kim, violin; Kayla Huynh, violin; Naomi Herrera, voice; Rene Kim, violin; Charles Bond, violin; Beckham Anderson, piano; Samuel Truong, piano; Liam Pammer, piano; Paul Mansour, piano; Maanya Gope, voice; Elsia Schmitt, piano; Shriya Chitta, violin; and Felicity Lui, flute.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Community Music School Announces 2025 Gala Scholarship Recipients<\/p>\n<p>Allentown, PA (May 14, 2025) \u2013\u00a0Each spring, CMS faculty recommend their highest performing students at all levels for an audition before an independent panel of judges. The three judges evaluate each student\u2019s musical performance and determine a total audition score based on tone, technique, accuracy, interpretation, and musical effect. This year\u2019s judges were\u00a0<strong>Patrice Kidd<\/strong>, retired Director of Music, Moravian Academy Middle School;\u00a0<strong>Melissa Salvadeo<\/strong>, Orchestra and General Music teacher at East Stroudsburg Middle School; and\u00a0<strong>Jennie Flicker<\/strong>, private piano teacher and former high school chorus director &amp; music teacher.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hDlZL85eAP4?si=CYLh6EWmg_0JNq7C\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Students with the highest scores in the auditions performed during the Gala Recital in the school\u2019s Dorothy H. Baker Recital Hall on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 1544 Hamilton Street in Allentown.\u00a0 The program included a variety of classical and contemporary works by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmoninoff, Chopin and others, performed on piano, violin, flute, and voice. The students who were invited to perform were: Beckham Anderson, piano; Shira Bach, piano; Alexander Bernini, piano; Elena Bernini, piano; Jacob Bernini, piano; Charles Bond, violin; Drew Bui, piano; K&#8217;ara Caraballo, piano; Shriya Chitta, violin; Siddharth Chitta, violin; Abigail Dodd, violin; Maanya Gope, voice; Nora Heckman, piano; Naomi Herrera, voice; Kayla Huynh, violin; Harmony John, piano; Annabelle Keller, piano; Scarlett Keller, piano; Rene Kim, violin; Annette Kim, violin; Phelps Lozana, piano; Felicity Lui, flute; Paul Mansour, piano; Liam Pammer, piano; Johanna Park, flute; Sebastian Santiago, piano; Elsia Schmitt, piano; Isaac Sharma, flute; Diya Soman, piano; and Samuel Truong, piano.\u00a0 Among these outstanding students, several exceptional students also received merit-based scholarships for CMS lessons in 2025-2026:<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>Muriel I. Frank Scholarship<\/em>\u00a0was awarded to\u00a0<strong>Elsia Schmitt\u00a0<\/strong>of Easton, piano student of Evan Nelson.\u00a0 The\u00a0<em>Muriel I. Frank Scholarship<\/em><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>is named in honor of one of the founding members of CMS who served on the Board of Directors for many years.\u00a0 The scholarship was established upon Muriel\u2019s 80th birthday in 1997.\u00a0\u00a0 Music and education were the mainstream of her life.\u00a0 A 1933 graduate of Allentown High School, Muriel received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the University of Pennsylvania in 1937.\u00a0 She was an accomplished pianist and accompanist for the University of Pennsylvania Choral Society and the Philadelphia Orchestra.\u00a0 She went on to open her own piano studio and continued to perform publicly throughout her life.\u00a0 She served on the board of Allentown Community Concerts, Community Music School, and Temple Beth El.\u00a0 She passed away in 2009.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>Jerome &amp; Martha Markowitz Scholarship<\/em>\u00a0was awarded to\u00a0<strong>Shira Bach\u00a0<\/strong>of Allentown, piano student of Kelly Hooper.\u00a0 The<em>\u00a0Jerome &amp; Martha Markowitz Scholarship<\/em>\u00a0is named in memory of Jerome Markowitz, the founder of Allen Organ Company, and his wife, Martha.\u00a0 Martha was a great friend of CMS and was one of the founding board members of CMS in 1981.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>Joseph Maletz Scholarship<\/em>\u00a0was awarded to\u00a0<strong>Alexander Bernini<\/strong>\u00a0of Catasauqua, piano student of Dr. David Saturen.\u00a0 The\u00a0<em>Joseph Maletz Scholarship<\/em>\u00a0is awarded in memory of Joseph Maletz, violinist and husband of CMS founding director, Martha Maletz.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>Joseph P. Schermerhorn Scholarship<\/em>\u00a0was awarded to\u00a0<strong>Maanya Gope<\/strong>\u00a0of Allentown, voice student of Julia Walsh.\u00a0 The\u00a0<em>Joseph P. Schermerhorn Scholarship<\/em>\u00a0is awarded in memory of Joseph Schermerhorn, son of longtime CMS Executive Director George Schermerhorn and his wife Eunice.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>Martin Spiro Scholarship<\/em>\u00a0was awarded to\u00a0<strong>Liam Pammer<\/strong>\u00a0of Laurys Station, piano student of Kelly Hooper.\u00a0 The\u00a0<em>Martin Spiro Scholarship<\/em>\u00a0is awarded in memory of Martin Spiro, a prosperous Allentown businessman and philanthropist, and his wife Elsie.<\/p>\n<p>The<em>\u00a0Great Expectations Scholarships\u00a0<\/em>were awarded to\u00a0<strong>Harmony John<\/strong>\u00a0of Allentown, piano student of Kelly Hooper; and\u00a0<strong>Paul Mansour<\/strong>\u00a0of Allentown, piano student of Evan Nelson.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>Rising Star Scholarships<\/em>\u00a0were awarded to\u00a0<strong>Jacob Bernini<\/strong>\u00a0of Catasauqua, piano student of Dr. David Saturen; and\u00a0<strong>Beckham Anderson<\/strong>\u00a0of Allentown, piano student of Kelly Hooper.<\/p>\n<p>This year,\u00a0<em>Schadt String Scholarships<\/em>\u00a0were awarded to four deserving students:\u00a0<strong>Rene Kim\u00a0<\/strong>of Allentown, violin student of Carolyn Gaul;\u00a0<strong>Siddharth Chitta<\/strong>\u00a0of Center Valley, violin student of Linda Kistler;\u00a0<strong>Annette Kim\u00a0<\/strong>of Allentown, violin student of Carolyn Gaul; and\u00a0<strong>Kayla Huynh\u00a0<\/strong>of Allentown, violin student of Sunny Murthy.\u00a0 CMS, in partnership with the Allentown Symphony Association awards this scholarship in memory of the Schadt brothers, Leigh and Edwin, who, early in their life, enjoyed playing the violin introduced to them by their father.\u00a0 Henry Schadt was a self-taught violinist and wanted his sons to learn to play the instrument that he loved. He commissioned a local craftsman and musician, John Johnson, to make a violin for each of the boys and give them violin lessons. The Schadt brothers both graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business in the 1920s, became successful Allentown businessmen, and established Towne Auto Company on Linden Street.\u00a0 The custom-made violins still exist and are being used today by young violinists from the Lehigh Valley.\u00a0 Although Leigh and Edwin did not become violinists themselves, they kept their father&#8217;s interest alive by establishing a trust to provide financial aid to promising young violin students.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Naomi Herrera<\/strong>, voice, and<strong>\u00a0Charles Bond<\/strong>, violin, both of Allentown, were recognized as the 2025-2026\u00a0<em>Amaranth Scholars<\/em>.\u00a0 This is Naomi\u2019s third year as an Amaranth Scholar.\u00a0 The\u00a0<em>Amaranth Foundation Scholarship<\/em>\u00a0is awarded to a CMS student who demonstrates a high potential for achieving excellence in music education and who is a member of a CMS family with documented financial need.\u00a0 The Amaranth Foundation was founded by Joan Miller Moran and supports arts-related programming and organizations, including Community Music School.\u00a0 Naomi is a voice student of Julia Walsh.\u00a0 She also studies piano with Kathy Anthony and violin with Carolyn Gaul.\u00a0 Charles studies violin with Carolyn Gaul.\u00a0 He also studies bass, clarinet, and piano.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Samuel Truong<\/strong>\u00a0of Allentown was recognized as the\u00a0<em>2025-2026 Martha Maletz Scholar<\/em>\u00a0for the third year in a row<em>.<\/em>\u00a0 This scholarship honors CMS founder, Martha Maletz, who provided for a scholarship in her will. Martha passed away in 2019 at age 96, and her adult children donated funds to support an annual scholarship in her name. The Martha Maletz Scholarship honors a CMS student of impressive merit and extraordinary potential whose family also has financial need. This full scholarship covers the cost of private piano lessons at CMS during the 2024-25 school year.\u00a0 Samuel is 13 years old and in the 8th grade at Bethlehem Christian School.\u00a0 He has been playing the piano for nine years and studies with Kelly Hooper. He is most proud of the improvement he has made on the piano this year.\u00a0 Samuel hopes to one day attend The Juilliard School.<\/p>\n<p>Our graduating high school seniors who auditioned for and performed in the Gala Recital this year were\u00a0<strong>Felicity Lui<\/strong>, flute and\u00a0<strong>Shriya Chitta<\/strong>, violin.\u00a0 Felicity has been playing the flute for seven years and studies with Elaine Martin.\u00a0 After graduating from Parkland High School this spring, she plans to attend college and pursue a career in medicine.\u00a0 Shriya has been playing the violin for 11 years and studies with Linda Kistler.\u00a0 After graduating from Southern Lehigh High School this spring, Shriya plans to attend college and pursue a career in biochemistry.\u00a0 We wish our high school graduates success and happiness as they head off to college and future careers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn more about the Gala Auditions &amp; Recital at\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cmslv.org\/resources\/student-resources\/gala-auditions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/cmslv.org\/resources\/student-resources\/gala-auditions\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn more about the 2025 Gala Recital at\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cmslv.org\/gala-recital-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/cmslv.org\/gala-recital-2025\/<\/a><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch the 2025 Gala Recital on the CMS YouTube Channel at\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/hDlZL85eAP4\" data-rel=\"lightbox-video-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>https:\/\/youtu.be\/hDlZL85eAP4<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>About CMS:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><em>Community Music School (CMS) \u2013 Lehigh Valley &amp; Berks is a nonprofit charitable organization that provides the inspiration and opportunity for anyone in our diverse community to achieve excellence in music education and appreciate the transformative power of music.\u00a0 Our professional teachers provide private lessons, group classes, and summer camps to students of all ages, from toddlers to seniors, in piano, strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, voice, and recording technology; both in-person and online. Thanks to support from our philanthropic community for over 42 years, CMS has provided students in the Lehigh Valley with the life-long benefits of a quality music education and free performance opportunities.\u00a0 Our main office and studios are located in the former Lehigh Valley Social Club at historic 1544 Hamilton Street in Allentown, PA where we offer 14 lesson rooms of varying sizes, a unique parent lounge, early childhood room, music library, administrative offices, state-of-the-art recording studio, and a 150-seat recital hall.\u00a0 Our CMS Berks satellite studio is located in Reading, PA at GoggleWorks Center for the Arts.\u00a0<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Learn more at\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/cmslv.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>http:\/\/cmslv.org\/<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Make a donation at\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/communitymusicschool-bloom.kindful.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>https:\/\/communitymusicschool-bloom.kindful.com\/<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Information provided to TVL by:<br \/>\nLisa Hopstock Kulp<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Community Music School Announces 2025 Gala Scholarship Recipients Allentown, PA (May 14, 2025) \u2013\u00a0Each spring, CMS faculty recommend their highest performing students at all levels for an audition &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142576\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Community Music School Announces 2025 Gala Scholarship Recipients<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/25-cms.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142576"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=142576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/142580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=142576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=142576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=142576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}