Broadway stars celebrate BMFA’s 10th Anniversary!
As we move into summer, we are still basking in the glow of our spectacular 10th Anniversary Celebration. On April 9th, top stars from the Broadway stage joined BMFA at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena to honor and celebrate our 2022 Springboard Grant Winners. Each year BMFA awards $2,500 grants to talented young performing artists to help them realize their dreams.
Producer Stephen DeAngelis created a mesmerizing evening of entertainment featuring Broadway stars Kissy Simmons (Nala in The Lion King); Jelani Remy (Simba in The Lion King, and as Eddie Kendrick in Ain’t Too Proud: The Life & Times of The Temptations); and Sara Jean Ford (Christine in Phantom of the Opera). They were accompanied by Music Director, Asher Denburg.
As a special treat, the pros were joined by two members of BMFA’S Springboard Grant family: soprano/actress Amber Emerson (2014 grant winner), and mezzo-soprano/actress Aryssa Leigh Burrs (2017 grant winner), both of whom are well on their way to exciting professional careers. There was also a surprise performance of “I Want to Be a Star” from Nunsense by Gabrielle Greene, (one of this year’s Springboard Grant winners), who also starred on Broadway when she was thirteen, in School of Rock.
Kicking off the evening were live performances by our 2020 Springboard Grant winners: violinist Myles Bell; composer/singer-songwriter Avery Hirsh; classical composer/pianist J.P. Redmond; and saxophonist/founder of Key of She Jazz Olivia Hughart, each of whom was awarded their 2020 Springboard Grant “virtually” during the pandemic. After more than two years of Covid isolation, it was especially meaningful to be back together in person this year, sharing the gift of music with so many talented young musicians, their proud families and friends, and our ever-generous donors and supporters.
Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to make this year’s Winners Showcase a hybrid event, allowing guests to attend in person or enjoy the festivities via livestream. Regrettably, there were some issues on the night of the event for some of those who had elected to attend virtually. Rest assured, as soon as post-production of our video is complete, all who purchased livestream tickets will receive a special link to view the evening’s festivities. Before summer’s end, a video of the event will be available on our website for everyone’s viewing pleasure. Please stay tuned.
We also made an exception to our requirement that all grant winners be able to receive their awards in person. As it happened, our first winner was with a select group of musicians in Chicago the weekend of our Winners Showcase, with an unprecedented opportunity to learn and play under the baton of Riccardo Muti with the Chicago Symphony. Gabriela sent us a short speech via video, and her mother, MariaJosé, accepted her award onstage.
Please meet our 2022 Springboard Grant Winners
GABRIELA SALVADOR-RIERA: (violinist) Wilmington, DE
Gabriela is a 10th grader at Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington where she performs as a soprano in the vocal program, concertmaster of the select High School Chamber Orchestra, and a member of the Con Fuego steel drum ensemble. She began playing violin at age six in Valencia, Spain, and has been studying with Julianne Murphy Ruiz at the Music School of Delaware since 2015, where she plays in the Honors and Certificate Programs. Gabriela is an alumna of the Sphinx Performance Academy at the Curtis Institute, of the Cleveland Institute of Music, and of the Heifetz Program for the Exceptionally Gifted. In 2021, Gabriela was selected as one of ten participants of the inaugural national cohort of Fortissima, a virtual six-month artistic and leadership development program culminating at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. She was mentored by Karla Donehew-Perez of the Catalyst Quartet. Gabriela is a 1st violinist in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO) and a PMAY artist. Recently she won the NSO Betsy L. Kent Youth Concerto Competition, and the 2022 Delaware Concerto Competition for Young Musicians. She played as a soloist with both the Newark Symphony Orchestra and Wilmington Community Orchestra in May 2022. This coming summer, Gabriela will be attending the Heifetz Institute for a 6-week intensive, where she will study solo performance and chamber music with Desirée Ruhstrat and Francesca dePascuale. Gabriela volunteers with MELODY (Music Enriches Lives of Delaware Youth), an after-school music program for 5-7-year-old children from the city of Wilmington. She also enjoys reading and participating in musical theater productions. Accepting for Gabriella was her mother, MariaJosé. Gabriela’s grant will help to subsidize her Heifetz Institute intensive this summer.
KIMBERLY ALEXANDRA ADAM: (Soprano) Chesterbrook, PA
Kimmi is a 17-year-old soprano born in the Philippines. She attends Villa Maria Academy High School in Malvern, PA and is also a Voice student at The Juilliard School in their Precollege program, where she is being mentored by Ms. Lorraine Nubar. Kimmi has always dreamed of becoming an opera singer and an actress on Broadway. She has been training classically since she was twelve. She is the youngest member of OperaJuan and the Philippine Opera Company’s Young Artists Series. She won first place and Most Promising Sophomore in the 2022 Schmidt Vocal Competition held on March 12, 2022, at Temple University in Philadelphia. She was awarded the George London Foundation grant for Juilliard Precollege students in 2021 and 2019. She won first place in the Elite International Music Competition for voice last December 2021 with a rating of 30/30; she performed in the Winner’s recital concert to be held in Menkin Recital Hall at the Kauffman Center in New York in April 2022. She performed at Carnegie Hall on February 14, 2022, in the winner’s recital of the 2021 Crescendo International Music Competition, where she won first place. She was the first prize winner of the Warminster Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition, Youth Division, and performed with the Warminster Symphony Orchestra during their Holiday Traditions Concert. She won Grand Prix in the Music Fest Rising Talents Competition in 2021. She was also the winner of the 2021 Tri-County Youth Festival for Voice, Senior Division. She hopes to pursue further studies in Music either in New York or Philadelphia, hopefully fulfilling her aspirations of becoming a great opera singer. She would like to follow in the footsteps of her idols Maria Callas, Victoria de los Angeles, Montserrat Caballe, Anna Moffo, and others. She will use her Springboard Grant to produce a Professional Audition Video that can help her to reach the next step toward achieving her artistic goals.
ALONZO “LONNIE” DAVIS: (Composer/Instrumentalist) Narberth, PA
Lonnie is a composer and multi-instrumentalist originally from Narberth, PA. His primary focuus is percussion, which he studies at Temple University with Angela Zator Nelson (Associate Principal Percussion, Philadelphia Orchestra) and Rolando Morales-Matos (Percussionist and Assistant Conductor for The Lion King on Broadway). Beyond percussion, Lonnie plays piano, guitar, and bass, among others, all of which assist him in his composition work. His composition style spans from singer/songwriter acoustic to jazz fusion and contemporary classical.
At Temple University, Lonnie is the principal percussionist for the Temple University Wind Symphony, the top wind band at the university. He also frequently performs with the Temple University Percussion Ensemble and was featured on their last album “No Strings Attached.” This project is a collaboration with the Philadelphia Percussion + Piano Project and accomplished American composer Marc Mellits. The Temple University Percussion Ensemble has also performed Lonnie’s works for percussion.
Also notable is Lonnie’s work in media composition. He has composed music for several prominent YouTube Channels. Examples include Gatekeeper Media (102k subscribers), Simon Lizotte (150k subscribers), and the Disc Golf Pro Tour (102k subscribers). His work for the Disc Golf Pro Tour will also be featured on ESPN2 in summer 2022. Apart from media composition, Lonnie enjoys writing and producing pop, rock, jazz, and classical music. Lonnie’s new rock album “Making Rainbows” is now available for streaming and purchase. You can find his music on all streaming platforms under his name, Lonnie Davis.
GABRIELLE GREENE: (Actress/Singer/Poet) Oreland, PA
Gabrielle Greene is a Philadelphia Native and a junior at Springfield Township High School. At the age of seventeen, Gabrielle is a published poet, songstress, songwriter, and actress. Gabrielle has two poems published by The American Library of Poetry, entitled “Beautiful Browns” in the 2014 Book of Accolades and “Where I am From” in the 2016 Book of Accolades.
Nurturing and developing her passion for music, she began singing in her local church choir. At the age of 13, she auditioned for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway musical “School of Rock” where she played the roles of Shonelle and Tomika from 2017-2018. During this time, Gabrielle performed the National Anthem at Madison Square Garden twice, and participated in many Broadway advocacy events for those in need. Gabrielle then returned to her Philadelphia roots, performing the National Anthem at several Philadelphia 76ers games, and again at the New York Knicks Game at Madison Square Garden for the third time.
Aside from the arts, Gabrielle is incredibly active in politics and activism within her local community. She is a founding member of the local NAACP Youth Leadership Committee, through which she created a video on Racial Disparities with over 500 views played at multiple advocacy associations and local executive meetings. She currently strives to strengthen community-police relations and has been leading conversations with her local Chief of Police. Gabrielle is an honors student and hopes to continue her academic career in college, double majoring in Political Science/Government and Performing Arts. Gabrielle strives to use her voice for change and to help others.
Our 2022 Winners Showcase & 10th Anniversary Celebration concluded with the announcement of a generous matching gift challenge from the Lily Foundation in memory of our beloved Treasurer, Nicholas B. Thomas, who passed away in December 2021. Our heartfelt thanks go to the Lily Foundation and to our friends near and far who made gifts to BMFA in Nick’s honor. The challenge raised nearly $30,000 and we are so deeply grateful to everyone involved.
As soon as the video of this magnificent event is ready for viewing, we will let you know via Constant Contact, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. In the meantime, please take a moment to “like” the Bruce Montgomery Foundation for the Arts on social media and help us to spread the word about the work we do. Also, please mark your calendars for our next Springboard Grant Winners Showcase on April 1, 2023. We have already booked Stephen DeAngelis to present another troupe of Broadway stars at our annual event…and you won’t want to miss it!
Have a wonderful summer and stay tuned for information about our upcoming salons in the Greater Philadelphia area, showcasing the talents of some of our Springboard Grant winners. If you have an interest in attending any of these events, please notify us at (215) 646-5579. Most importantly, please stay healthy and safe.
THANK YOU for your support!
Liz Montgomery Thomas
Executive Director
Vicki Thomas Pohl
Chairman of the Board
