Rick McVey serves as the Master of Ceremonies at the scholarship benefit.
The Bristol Music Club’s Scholarship Benefit Nov. 5 is “A Musical Feast” at 10 a.m., featuring special performances, a silent auction and refreshments. It is held at Central Presbyterian Church, Bristol, Virginia.
This year’s special guest Rick McVey is Master of Ceremonies. He is now retired as a member of the Resident Acting Company at Barter Theatre and has long been involved in various film projects, as actor, writer and director. McVey’s early career included work in radio and television, as well as Theatre Bristol. He is a graduate of East Tennessee State University, where he has received awards for his theater work. Earlier in 2022, the Arts Alliance Mountain Empire awarded the Arts Achievement Award to McVey.
Former scholarship winners provide the program, along with pianist Katherine Benson and mezzo soprano Rachel Milligan Helton.
Benson has performed across the United States and abroad and has won more than a dozen national and international competitions and prizes. One of her first prizes was in the Bristol Music Club’s Scholarship Auditions. Originally from Jonesborough, Tennessee, she is known for her solo and chamber music artistry as well as for her arts leadership. Benson is the Artistic Director and pianist of The Paramount Chamber Players. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University and is a DMA Candidate at the University of Michigan. She now serves on the faculty of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Helton is a native of Canton, Ohio, residing in Abingdon, Virginia. She is the owner and founder of Bristol Academy of Music, which enrolls more than 100 students. Helton has performed in many operas, including “Carmen,” “Hänsel and Gretel,” “Albert Herring” and others. She has performed with Asheville Lyric Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Central City Opera, Indianapolis Opera and Undercroft Opera. Concert credits include Verdi’s “Requiem,” Mozart’s “Requiem,” “Messiah,” “A Child of Our Time,” “Vivaldi’s Gloria” and Duruflé’s “Requiem.” Helton holds degrees from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.
In May 2022, The Bristol Music Club awarded more than $4,000 to nine audition winners. The Scholarship Benefit helps to raise funds for the May 2023 awards and honors 2022 winners by inviting them to perform.
Alex Acosta, the 2022 Division One scholarship winner, performs. He attends ETSU and studies clarinet with Dr. Lisa Perry. At Elizabethton High School he participated in marching and concert bands. He also attended the 2021 Governor’s School for the Arts.
Other performers are Allen Feng, Jessie Gu, Shanna Jung, Caroline Ning, Esme Lin and Emmy Nannenga on piano, as well as Eliana Kovacova on violin.
Tickets for the Scholarship Benefit are $25 and are available at the door or from any member of The Bristol Music Club. For more information, call 423-335-8349.
