The Rosa Pryor Music Scholarship Fund held its Black and Gold Banquet on October 24, 2009. The evening’s event included Master and Mistress of ceremonies Arthur Hoffman and Eleanor Janey and was hosted by James Hamlin. The program’s message from CEO and founder Rosa Pryor stated, since its inception in October 1991, the mission of the Foundation has been to help as many “musically gifted” children as possible.
Pryor said the Scholarship Foundation has proven to be the perfect vehicle for providing financial assistance to children in Maryland between the ages of five and 17.
Unsettling was the report that confirmed fundraising efforts as challenging due to recent economic downturns. Pryor said the Foundation endures because of contributions, donations, ticket purchases and advertisements. To date they have presented 88 scholarship awards to three commendable young musicians. “Each year we send out information about the auditions to many organizations and churches around the State” affirmed Dr. Donna Hollie who is Executive Director of the Children’s Scholarship.
This year’s recipients were: Chelsea Greene—classically trained—will use her scholarship to further her musical studies at Peabody Institute, and Carver for the Arts and Technology. At 17 Chelsea is focused and plans to study abroad, following the paths laid by Leontyne Price, Denyce Graves and Audra McDonald.
Fourteen-year-old Kayla Dixon is consistently on the Honor Roll. Kayla declared, “Just a little bit,” when asked if she was nervous about performing. The bundle of talent is a student at Hyattsville Middle School. She is a singer, dancer and a writer of jazz songs. Kayla plans to attend Julliard and appear on Broadway. She too will use her scholarship on music lessons.
Twelve-year-old Christian Stewart, the only male of the contestants, bellowed out a heart-wrenching “What about the Children.” The song brought down the house with tears and cheers. Christian has performed throughout Maryland and The District of Columbia. He has also been the lead singer for Howard University’s Gospel Choir. Christian says he wants to become a professional gospel singer and will use his scholarship to fund music training.
The tribute was also paid to an extraordinary group of musicians: Benjie Porecki, organist; Earl Wilson, guitarist; Carl G. Grubbs, internationally renowned saxophonist and composer; John R. Lamkin, II, Ph.D. trumpeter and educator; Robert E. Shahid, percussionist; and Greg Hatza, organist.
Another year, another job well done by Mrs. Rosa Pryor, Mr. James O. Pope Sr. and the entire Scholarship committee for the first-class handling of our most beloved commodities – Our Children.
For tax deductible contributions, please visit www.rosapryormusic.com.
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