[Boston, MA – May 28, 2020] Recognizing a high degree of achievement in and a commitment to vocal arts, the Handel and Haydn Society announced the recipients of the 2020 Youth Choruses Scholarship Awards. Presented annually by the H+H Education Committee, four musicians who are members or alumni of the Youth Choruses were awarded scholarships between $1,000 and $3,000.
This year there are two recipients of the Barbara E. Maze Award for Musical Excellence. Kerrigan Bigelow is currently studying voice at The Juilliard School and Seyquan Mack is studying voice at Oberlin Conservatory. Bigelow graduated from the Handel and Haydn Youth Choruses program in 2019, while Mack graduated in 2016. The award honors the legacy of Handel and Haydn Society Governor Barbara E. Maze, who was instrumental in creating the Youth Choruses program. The Barbara E. Maze Award for Musical Excellence extends the Handel and Haydn Society’s support with a $3,000 scholarship to an outstanding Youth Choruses alumnus who intends to continue professional vocal instruction.
The Candace MacMillen Achtmeyer Award honors the memory of a member of the Handel and Haydn Society Board who voiced passionate opinions about H+H’s responsibility to the community and children. The scholarship goes to an outstanding high school senior who will continue their vocal music studies and has participated in the Youth Choruses program for at least two years. It includes a $2,000 cash award. The 2020 recipient of the Candace MacMillen Achtmeyer Award is Helen Peppler, a senior at Hamilton Wenham High School. Peppler will attend the Carnegie Mellon School of Music beginning this fall.
Named in memory of a Handel and Haydn Society Youth Choruses alumna who passed away in 2011 after battling a terminal illness, the Evangelyna Etienne Scholarship Award extends a $1,000 scholarship to a current or former Youth Choruses program student between the ages of 16 and 24 who is passionately connecting with the community through music. The 2020 recipient of the Evangelyna Etienne Award is Rebecca Pringle, a senior at Westborough High School. Pringle conducts The Highlander Tops, a choral ensemble for residents of The Highlands senior apartments in Westborough, MA. She will attend Gordon College beginning this fall.
“These are all immensely talented students and it has been a pleasure to see them grow and develop in their musical education through our youth choruses,” said David Snead, President and CEO of Handel and Haydn Society. “We are happy to see these students using the skills they learned with H+H as they work toward a career in the performing arts. The H+H Education Committee has done an incredible job selecting these very deserving honorees.”
Due to the COVID-19 crisis the Handel and Haydn Society High School Soloists Recital in June, in which the students would normally be honored, has been canceled.
About the Handel and Haydn Society
Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society is dedicated to performing Baroque and Classical music with a freshness, a vitality, and a creativity that inspires all ages. H+H has been captivating audiences for 205 consecutive seasons (the most of any performing arts organization in the United States). Today, H+H’s Orchestra and Chorus delight more than 50,000 listeners annually with a nine-week subscription series at Boston Symphony Hall and other leading venues. Through the Karen S. and George D. Levy Education Program, H+H supports seven youth choirs of singers in grades 2-12 and provides thousands of complimentary tickets to students and communities throughout Boston, ensuring the joy of music is accessible to all. H+H’s numerous free community concerts include an annual commemoration of the original 1863 Emancipation Proclamation concert on December 31. The artistic director of the Handel and Haydn Society is Harry Christophers. Under Christophers’s leadership, H+H has released 12 CDs on the Coro label and has toured nationally and internationally. In all these ways, H+H fulfills its mission to inspire the intellect, touch the heart, elevate the soul, and connect us with our shared humanity through transformative experiences with Baroque and Classical music.