Handel And Haydn Society Announces 2024 Youth Choruses Scholarship Award Recipients

Recognizing a high degree of achievement in and a commitment to vocal arts, the Handel and Haydn Society announced the recipients of the 2024 Youth Choruses Scholarship Awards. Presented annually by the H+H Education Committee, six musicians who are members or alumni of the Youth Choruses are awarded scholarships between $1,000 and $3,000.

This year, the H+H Education Committee has named Lydia Rommel the recipient of the Barbara E. Maze Award for Musical Excellence. Rommel is currently a student at Oberlin College and Conservatory pursuing a dual degree in voice performance and studio art. The Barbara E. Maze Award for Musical Excellence provides 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 H+H 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 2024 recipient of the Candace Macmillen Achtmeyer Award is Lazuli Clark, a senior at KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate who studies with Corey Gaudreau in the High School Soloists Program. Clark will continue her vocal studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music this fall. 

Named in memory of an H+H 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 singer between the ages of 16 and 24 who is passionately connecting with the community through music. The 2024 recipient of the Evangelyna Etienne Award is Masha Schmitt. She is a vocal performance major at The Hartt School at the University of Hartford studying with Dr. Michelle Fiertek.

Recent HHYC graduates Anna Adams, Tony Santos, and Sofia Zay also received Achievement Awards. Adams is about to graduate from Framingham High School and will attend UMass Amherst. Santos went to Sandwich High School and will attend St. Olaf. Zay attended Natick High School and will study music at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford. 

This year's honorees will receive their awards during the High School Soloists Recital on Wednesday, June 5 at 7:30 PM at Williams Hall at New England Conservatory.

About the Handel and Haydn Society

Boston's Grammy-winning 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 209 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. H+H has released 16 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.