Third Street Music School Settlement Awards the New York Community Trust Harris Scholarship

Third Street Music School Settlement will be presenting three students graduating this June as recipients of the New York Community Trust Harris Scholarship. This year's scholars, Emma Peleg, 17, Hale Sheffield, 17, and Jennifer Loo, 17, will each receive $25,000 over four years towards their college expenses. Entering college in fall 2017, the scholars have been accepted to schools such as Yale University, Princeton University, Duke University, SUNY Stony Brook, Binghamton University, The New School, New York University, CUNY Hunter, CUNY Baruch, Oberlin College, and Northeastern University.

The scholarships are made possible by Charlotte Daniels Harris, a Queens kindergarten teacher who wanted her life savings to make a difference in kids' lives. Before her death, she started a fund in the New York Community Trust to help city students who show promise in their studies, demonstrate financial need, have good character, and study music. The Trust awarded a grant of $171,000 to Third Street to provide students with four-year college scholarships from 2016 to 2020.

"The New York Community Trust is proud to work with Third Street Music School on the Harris Scholarship," said Kerry McCarthy, Program Officer at The Trust. "The scholarships recognize musical achievement, academic performance and community engagement, which are so vital to New York."

"At Third Street, we guide our students through their musical journey that begins in early childhood, continues through their tweens and teens, and carries on into adulthood," said Valerie G. Lewis, the Anna-Maria Kellen Executive Director of Third Street Music School. "We are deeply grateful to the New York Community Trust and the Charlotte Daniels Harris Memorial Fund for the opportunity to support our students' transition from high school to college. We are so pleased that this partnership also supports our students' continued music studies as they pursue a higher education."

ABOUT THE HARRIS SCHOLARS

Emma will graduate from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and the Performing Arts. She has studied music at Third Street since childhood; her favorite genre is jazz music and her instrument of choice is the saxophone. Emma has a natural curiosity that drives her to participate in many extracurricular activities both at Third Street and at her high school. At Third Street, she's a member of a student-directed jazz ensemble, rock band, and the Interschool Symphonic Orchestra. At LaGuardia, Emma is part of Senior Jazz, Senior Band, Senior Orchestra and the Opera Club. While she does not plan to pursue music professionally, she is interested in exploring its connection with other fields. She plans to study neuroscience and engineering.

Hale will graduate from NYC iSchool. She has been participating in Third Street's music and dance classes since 2006 through a partnership program with her school (Partners@3rd), that enabled her to enroll for free/low-cost arts instruction. Hale is an integral part of the Third Street family, engaging in many activities such as guitar lessons, guitar ensemble, rock band and ballet. In 2016, Hale was also the student representative and speaker at Third Street's annual spring gala where she inspired many with her poise and talent. She plans to major in Gender Studies.

Jennifer will graduate from Hunter College High School. She has studied at Third Street for more than seven years, taking multiple classes including piano, voice, music theory, and sound recording, one of the School's newest courses. Jennifer also enjoys performing at Third Street's music hours and recitals as well as through the Chamber Choir at her high school. She plans on studying public policy.

"Being 17 is the start of a lot of changes in my life, it is a 'new beginning' but I feel confident in knowing that not only does Third Street have my back but my music does as well," said Hale Sheffield. "There are not enough words to express my gratitude, except to say thank you to the New York Community Trust Harris Scholarship for this gift."

ABOUT THE NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST

Since 1924, The New York Community Trust has been the home of charitable New Yorkers who share a passion for the City and its suburbs-and who are committed to improving them. The Trust supports an array of effective nonprofits that help make the City a vital and secure place to live, learn, work, and play, while building permanent resources for the future. The New York Community Trust ended 2013 with assets of $2.4 billion in more than 2,000 charitable funds, and made grants totaling $141 million. Read more about The New York Community Trust here: www.nycommunitytrust.org/.

ABOUT THIRD STREET MUSIC SCHOOL SETTLEMENT

Founded in 1894, Third Street Music School Settlement is the nation's longest running community music school, with roots in the late-19th-century settlement house movement. Instrumental in establishing community arts education in the United States, Third Street has been changing lives and its community for over a century by providing access to high-quality music and arts instruction to students of all ages and backgrounds, regardless of artistic experience or economic circumstance. Today, Third Street serves over 5,000 students annually, helping them thrive in school and in life by promoting healthy personal and academic development, opening avenues to further study, sparking professional careers in the arts and instilling a lifelong love of learning.

Located on East 11th Street in the heart of the East Village, Third Street offers early childhood classes, a unique music-centered preschool, after-school and Saturday programs for children and teens, as well as daytime and evening programs for adults. It also provides in-school arts education through 30 school and community partnerships across the city, as well as a year-round schedule of more than 250 public performances. Third Street alumni--many who are professional artists--include violist Masumi Per Rostad of the acclaimed Pacifica String Quartet; Ray Chew, musician and music director of Dancing with the Stars and American Idol; Irving Caesar, composer of the 1920's hit "Tea for Two;" Bobby Lopez, co-creator of the hit Broadway musical Avenue Q and Academy Award-winning writer of "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen; Ingrid Michaelson, pop singer/songwriter with hits on the Top 40 charts; and Jessie Montgomery, recipient of the Sphinx Award.

For more information, please visit the School's website, www.thirdstreetmusicschool.org.