The Alden Awards 2023 Macdonald Scholarships
County of Fairfax, Virginia
The Robert Ames Alden Theatre
at the McLean Community Center
1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean, Va. 22101
www.aldentheatre.org
Media Contact: Sabrina Anwah
Director of Communications
703-790-0123/TTY: 711
sabrina.anwah@fairfaxcounty.gov
macdonald-2023-finalists-stage: Alden Theatre's Director of Youth Theatre Programs Danielle Van Hook and MCC Governing Board Chair Barbara Zamora-Appel onstage with the 2023 Macdonald Performing Arts Scholarship Competition finalists. Photo by Oxley Photography
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 25, 2023
023-034
The Alden awards 11 young performing artists 2023 Macdonald Scholarships
McLean, Va.—The Alden at the McLean Community Center (MCC) has awarded scholarships to 11 local high school students through the 2023 James C. Macdonald Performing Arts Scholarship Competition. The competition began with a preliminary audition in February and culminated with final competitions on stage at The Alden on Wednesday, April 19. A division of the McLean Community Center, The Alden Theatre is located at 1234 Ingleside Ave.
The James C. Macdonald Performing Arts Scholarship Competition encourages artistic achievement and promotes study in the arts by high school students who reside or attend school in the McLean district (Small Tax District 1A, Dranesville). Scholarship prizes of $1,200 are awarded to students placing first in each of four categories: Dance, Instrumental Music, Theatre and Vocal Music. Second-place winners are awarded $800 and third-place winners win $400. In 2020, the 1st place Instrumental Music Award was named in honor of Anita Lamkin, a longtime friend of young musicians and supporter of music performances in McLean.
This year’s winners are:
Dance
First Place: Melina Turnage, McLean High School
Second Place: Olivia Gilmore, Langley High School
Third Place: Sicilia Oliver, McLean High School
Instrumental Music
First Place: Goldie Woods, McLean High School
Second Place: Sophia Lin, Thomas Jefferson
Third Place: Kian Choi, McLean High School
Theater
First Place: Abby Joe, Langley High School
Second Place: Scarlett Spano, Langley High School
Third Place: Michaela Pearce, McLean High School
Vocal Music
First Place: Lily Chopus, Langley High School
Second Place: Aditya Gupta, Langley High School
Third Place: Michaela Pearce, McLean High School
The competition’s distinguished judges were:
Dance
May Kesler, dancer, choreographer, physical therapist and massage therapist and owner of Kesler Physical & Massage Therapy, LLC.
Anne Sidney, creative movement, ballet and modern dance techniques teacher and master teaching artist for the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts.
Terlene D. Terry-Todd, dancer, actor, choreographer and professional teaching artist, founding artistic director of the Reston Institute for the Arts and a Master Teaching Artist for Wolf Trap Education.
Instrumental Music
Sarah B. Markovits, performer, instructor and choral director of the Upper School and the Arts Department head at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.
Drew Owen, a freelance cellist, faculty member of the Washington Conservatory of Music and cello instructor at Howard University.
Ethan Watermeier, interdisciplinary teaching artist and musician-in-residence and coordinator of Vocal Studies at American University.
Theater
Meghan Pafumi, middle and high school theater teacher and production director for Fairfax County Public Schools since 1996.
Mark Rogers, Performing Arts Specialist for Loudoun County Public Schools.
Vocal Music
Jennifer Edelen, director of Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts.
Kelly Smith Jones, vocal coach and member of the Vocal Faculty at American University.
Ethan Watermeier, interdisciplinary teaching artist and musician-in-residence and coordinator of Vocal Studies at American University.
For more information on the Macdonald Performing Arts Scholarship Competition, call The Alden at 703-790-0123/TTY: 711.
About The Alden
Built in 1975, the 383-seat Robert Ames Alden Theatre, “The Alden,” is a cultural resource for the citizens of McLean and the Washington Metropolitan area that presents a full professional season of interdisciplinary and high-quality performances, lectures and educational programs for audiences of all ages. The Alden is ADA-compliant and will make arrangements for accommodations. To request this information in an alternate format, call 703-790-0123, TTY: 711, or visit: www.aldentheatre.org.
# # #
The Robert Ames Alden Theatre is a cultural resource for the citizens of McLean that presents high-quality performances, lectures and educational programs for audiences of all ages. The Alden Theatre is ADA-compliant and will make arrangements for accommodations. To request this information in an alternate format, call 711.
