The Bruce Montgomery Foundation’s sixth annual Winners Showcase took place at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia on Friday, November 1, 2019 and what a magical celebration it was!
Four remarkably talented winners were honored with $2500 Springboard Grants to fund special projects or urgent needs that go beyond the protocols of traditional scholarships. Last year’s winners demonstrated with words and performances (two live and two by video) how they benefited from their Springboard Grants.
An open bar was enjoyed by all, with delicious hors d’oeuvres and a sumptuous dinner served by 12th Street Catering. A wine pull, an elegant Silent Auction, and a surprise “Fuel the Fund” event by auctioneer Harris Gubin (who raised $10,000 for BMFA’s grants program in ten minutes) topped off an evening celebrating extraordinary talent and camaraderie!
Congratulations to our 2019 Springboard Grant recipients for their talent, their passion, and their artistic excellence. Our grant process is competitive, and every application was given careful consideration. Eight finalists were invited for personal interviews with our Grants Committee prior to the selection of this year’s winners. We are proud to introduce you to them now:
Juliana Castillo, (Wilmington, DE), Violist
A sixteen-year-old home-schooled violist from Wilmington, Delaware. Juliana began as a violinist, and has only been playing the viola for two years. As a violist she is a member of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, a Music School of Delaware merit scholar, and violist in the Gail W. Snitzer String Quartet (part of the Settlement School of Music’s Advanced Study Program). She has recently been accepted into The Juilliard School Pre-College Division. Her grant will help to pay for individual lessons with a professor, instruction in music theory and ear training, as well as participation in a string quartet and the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony.
Owen Graham, (Hopewell, NJ), Cellist
This talented eighteen-year-old cellist from Hopewell, New Jersey is a Junior at the Solebury School in New Hope, PA. He is working hard to practice the audition repertoire for his upcoming conservatory auditions, while also working 10-20 hours a week as a barista to help pay for his music lessons. Owen plays a high-quality cello for the high school level, but he has been advised that his instrument needs work to bring it up to conservatory level. The master Luthier who made his cello has offered to work with Owen as a senior year project to make some important upgrades to his cello. He will use his Springboard Grant to accomplish this work, to purchase a finer bow, and to purchase a sturdy, lightweight case for his cello.
Yende Mangum, (Philadelphia, PA), Composer; Classical & Jazz Pianist
A senior at the Julia R. Masterman School in Philadelphia, Yende has been composing music since he was a small child, but he has developed a serious passion for this process over the past four years. He has written scores to perform himself and with other musicians locally, and some of his work has been performed in concert by professional musicians. He is part of the Kimmel Center’s jazz program. Yende is currently auditioning at colleges to continue studying music, scheduling as many paid “gigs” as he can to manage the high costs associated with the application process. Yende’s current outdated keyboard and basic, free MuseScore notation software program have made advancing as a composer difficult at best. He will use his Springboard Grant to purchase two important tools for achieving his artistic dreams: a quality, 88-key electronic piano/MIDI/controller, and Sibelius Ultimate notation software. With these new tools, he feels he can finally achieve his dream of composing a cross-genre musical suite of pieces, which he intends to complete by September 2020.
Friends of G. W. Carver High School of Engineering & Science (HSES), (Philadelphia, PA), Drumline: Ted Domers, Principal
This 501 (c) (3) organization was initiated in 2014 by a diverse group of stakeholders to unify support for this nationally recognized “Blue Ribbon” school in North Philadelphia. The organization creates opportunities for college and career readiness for students that are underrepresented in engineering and medical fields. The total minority enrollment is 95%, and 100% of students are economically disadvantaged. In recognition of the importance of the arts in a well-rounded education, Friends of G.W. Carver has helped the school to inaugurate a dance group and a choir, among many other projects. The school’s 2019 Springboard Grant enables them to purchase drums for a newly established 20-member Drumline.
The icing on the cake of this wonderful evening was exciting performances for our attendees by last year’s winners. You can read more about them here.
Samuel Nebyu, (Philadelphia, PA), Violinist:
Currently, Samuel is pursuing his Doctor of Music & Arts degree at Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University. He submitted two videos to be screened on November 1st, one talking about his grant, and the other his solo performance this Fall with the Kazakh National University Orchestra: “Rondo Capriccioso” by Camille Saint-Saens, conducted by Eduard Schmieder. Samuel was unable to participate live at BMFA’s event because he was on tour with Anne-Sophie Mutter’s Virtuosi with the exclusive soloist ensemble of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation, performing throughout South America.
Alyssa Garcia, (Norristown, PA), Composer, Singer:
Alyssa is now a sophomore at Drexel University majoring in Music and the Recording Arts. She continues her work as a prolific composer. Her newest song, “Sincerely Me,” also featured on her new album, won the 2018 “93.7GM Hometown Heroes: Homey Award” for best Pop song. Garcia continues to perform at various venues and has opened for several notable artists. On November 1st she performed “I Think It’s Time for Goodbyes: a song from her new album, Year One. In her speech she expressed gratitude for her Springboard Grant, which enabled her to purchase a new Mac computer and additional recording equipment that enabled her to convert her dorm room into her own “in-house” recording studio.
Eva Rae Martinez, (Doylestown, PA), Soprano:
Eva, a classical soprano from Central Bucks High School West, is now in her freshman year at the Manhattan School of Music, where she majors in opera vocal performance and is one of a select few to sing in the school’s Chamber Choir. She has also participated in numerous PMEA festivals for both voice and flute. Eva used her Springboard Grant to allay expenses associated with the very costly, but required, college music application process. On November 1st she was performing in a required college Chamber Choir concert in New York, making it impossible to join us in person. Enjoy videos of her intro speech and her performance of “Will There Really Be a Morning?” by Ricky Ian Gordon, with accompanist Jeremy Reger.
The Ellis Brothers, (Broomall, PA), are both three-time winners of the Marian Anderson Grant Award. This year Braden and Peirce are members of the Juilliard Pre-College Program, Braden in the Orchestra, and Peirce in the Symphony.
Braden Ellis, (Broomall, PA), Double & Electric Bassist:
Braden is a 17-year-old double bassist and member of the Youth Chamber Orchestra at Temple University’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians and principal bassist in the University of Pennsylvania’s Symphony Orchestra. He also plays upright and electric bass in the Kimmel Center’s Creative Music Program for Jazz. He is a two-time attendee of Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra-2 (NYO2) program, and has attended summer programs at Interlochen, BUTI, Brevard, Luzerne Music Center, and Curtis Summerfest. He performed with his quintet and with the house band at the Marian Anderson gala honoring Dionne Warwick. He is a 12th-grade homeschooled student dually enrolled at Drexel University and his local community college. He is a proud PMAY member and Primavera Foundation Artist.
Peirce Ellis, (Broomall, PA), Violist:
This 16-year-old home-schooled violist has performed at the White House, in Chicago, New York, and California. Peirce has played the Youth Chamber Orchestra in Temple University’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians and performs nationally with the Perfect Fourth Quartet through the Sphinx Organization. He has attended summer programs at NYO2 (where he performed at Carnegie Hall), Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI), Luzerne Music Center, the Sphinx Performance Academy, and Meadowmount. An eleventh-grade student, Peirce is dually enrolled in courses at Drexel University and his local community college.
BMFA WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR THE GENEROSITY OUR SPONSORS, WHOSE SUPPORT MADE THIS FABULOUS EVENING POSSIBLE.
Bruce Montgomer Foundation’s Board of Directors
