Front (l-r): Adelaide Landell, Bailey Henson, Alyssa Jewel, Emmy Nannenga, Grace Gonzales-Whiten, Jessie Gu, Yuyan Julia Hu, Caroline Ning, and William Tran. Back (l-r) Kelly Patrick, Madison Pottert
The Bristol Music Club held its 2023 Scholarship Auditions in May at First Presbyterian Church, Bristol, Tennessee. Judges were Dr. David Brickle, Dr. Marianna Brickle, Dr. Susan Nicholson and Dr. Hannah Ryan. They selected 13 students to be awarded scholarships totaling $7,150. Winners performed in a recital Sunday afternoon, May 7, at First Presbyterian Church.
Division I is the category for high school seniors who plan to major in music in college.
The first-place winner in Division I is Grace Gonzalez-Whitten, playing flute. Her teacher is Martha A. Egan. She plans to attend Middle Tennessee State University majoring in flute performance with a minor in Spanish. The daughter of Anne Whitten and Jose Gonzalez, She is a graduate of Elizabethton High School. Gonzalez-Whitten is a previous winner in 2021 and 2022, and she also received the Paramount Chamber Players Award in 2021. She has won a number of honors in Solo and Ensemble Master Class, Junior and Senior Clinic, All-East Senior Clinic Bands, and the Elizabethton High School Band. In addition, she has played in the Symphony of the Mountains Youth Orchestra and the Watauga Valley Fife & Drum Corps. She has twice been a Women’s Symphony Committee Scholarship Winner.
Michael (Mengdie) Hu is the second-place winner in Division I. He is a graduate of Science Hill High School. He is the son of Wei Hu and is the cello student of Sean Hawthorne. His previous honors include winning second place in Division II of the 2021 Bristol Music Club scholarship auditions and playing in the Tennessee All State Orchestra three times. He plans to attend the University of Tennessee Knoxville to study cello and supply chain management.
Jessie Gu tied for third place in Division I. Her piano teacher is Carol Stone. Gu’s parents are Haifeng Guo and Weimin Gu. She was a 2022 second place winner in Division II, and won second place prizes in the 2022 American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, as well as the 2021 Brooklyn Music Teachers Guild International Competition. She plans to attend the University of Maryland where she wishes to double-major in computer science and piano performance.
Kelly Patrick also tied for third place in Division I, as a soprano studying with Ivy Blair. She is a graduate of Science Hill High School and a recipient of the Jenrette scholarship at ETSU, where she will be a vocal performance major. Her parents are Tamara Westmoreland and Dru Patrick. She earned first place in the Lapella Vocal Competition in 2022 and 2023. She was a 2022-2023 division finalist in the Music Teachers National Association competition. She sang in the National Honors Choir in Vienna (2022) and will be singing in Australia in 2023.
Division II entrants are in grades ten through 12.
The first-place winner in this division is Joshua Ková?, age 16 and student of renowned cellist Professor Daniel Veis. His parents are Dr. Michaela Ková?ová and Dr. David Ková?. He is also the winner of the Bristol Music Club’s Paramount Chamber Players award and will be performing with that ensemble next season. He has won top prizes at national and international competitions, has appeared as a soloist with orchestras and has performed live on NPR’s radio show From The Top. Recently, he performed in prestigious masterclasses in Germany for Jerôme Pernoo, Professor of Paris Conservatoire. In the fall of 2022, he won the Elizabeth Harper Vaughn Concerto competition, which provides a cash prize as well as a performance with the Symphony of the Mountains. In May, he performed as a soloist with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.
Tied for second place in Division II is Bailey Henson on piano. Her teacher is Ivy Blair, and her parents are Bill and Jennifer Henson. Bailey has finished grade 10 at Science Hill High School. Henson has earned superior ratings in the RADDA international competition and the Music Teachers National Association studio festival. In 2022 and 2023 she played in the Royal Conservatory of Music auditions, earning Honors in 2022. This year she earned honorable mention in the Knoxville International Competition and superior rating in the auditions of the Appalachian Music Teachers Association.
Also tied for second place winner in Division II is Madison Potterton on cello. She has completed grade 12 as a homeschooler. She is the daughter of Matthew and Amy Potterton and studies cello with Sean Hawthorne. She attended the ETSU Chamber Music Festival in 2022 and will participate this summer. She has played in the ETSU Orchestra for three semesters and has been in Sinfonia for seven years.
Division III entrants are in grades seven through nine.
The first-place winner is Emmy Nannenga, a piano student of Carol Stone. Nannenga has completed ninth grade at Dobyns Bennett High School. Her parents are Drs. Michael and Stephanie Nannenga. She was a 2019 first-place winner in Division IV and 2022 third-place winner in Division III of the Bristol Music Club Scholarship Auditions. She has also won the Gold Cup award in the National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festival. For several years, she has earned Superior ratings in the auditions of the Appalachian Music Teachers Association.
Julia (Yuyan) Hu, the second-place winner in Division III, has completed seventh grade at Indian Trail Middle School. She is the daughter of Shuling Yang. Her piano teacher is Micaela Ková?ová. Hu is a 2021 winner of first place in Division IV. She has also achieved third place in both the Asheville Area Piano Forum 2022 and 2023 as well as the Tennessee Music Teachers Association Junior Pianists 2022 competition.
The third-place winner in Division III is Caroline Ning, the daughter of Ling Wang and Shunbin Ning. She studies piano with Jerilyn Paolini. She is a student at Liberty Bell Middle School and is a previous winner of the Bristol Music Club Scholarship Auditions, earning third place in Division IV in 2021 and first place in Division IV in 2022. Playing alto saxophone, Ning was a second-place winner of the youth division winds and brass. She was named second place winner in the 2022 semifinals of Music International Grand Prix.
Division IV is for students in grades four through six.
The first-place winner in this Division is William Tran, who attends Liberty Bell Middle School. The son of Martin Tran and Jill Bui, he studies piano with Dr. Benjamin Caton. In 2022 and 2023 he earned superior ratings in the National Federation of Music Clubs Festival and the Appalachian Music Teachers auditions. He won honorable mention in the Tennessee Music Teachers Association 2022 competition and second place in the Difficult Division of the 2023 Asheville Area Piano Forum competition.
The second-place winner is Adelaide Landell on piano. She is a student of Emily McCraw. The daughter of Jonathon and Whitney Landell, she is 12 years old. She plays violin and has participated in the ETSU Sinfonia pre-college program. Also, she has participated in the Barter Youth Academy.
Alyssa Jewell, soprano, is the third-place winner in Division IV. She is the daughter of Charles and Carol Jewell. She is in sixth grade in the Blair Academy. Her voice teacher is Mason Van Horn. For her vocal audition, she was accompanied by Cindy Josbena.
