Delaware Valley Music Club
Celebrating music since 1920
2022 Bart Pitman Scholarship Announcement
Alexander DeStefano is a senior at Holy Spirit High School where he leads the concert and jazz bands, along with serving as the Student Musical Director and Conductor of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. He plans to attend Rowan University as a Music Education, Instrumental (Piano) major, where he will be a member of the Honors College and the College of Performing Arts. He hopes to inspire the next generation of musicians while refining his musicality and composition skills. Alexander is the winner of the 2021 Young Musicians Competition, NJMTA, Collegiate Division (Piano) and the Grand Prize Winner of the 2021-2022 New Jersey Young Composer's Competition for his piece, "No Longer, Not Yet." He was also the winner of the 2021 Ocean City Pops Esther Weil Student Music Competition for piano. Alexander has also been a winner of the New Jersey and Atlantic County Teen Arts Festivals and was named an Algonquin Rising Star. Alexander is credited with String and Piano Arrangement, Additional Music Production, Engineering & Support for OK Go Sandbox's production of "Art Together Now," a global effort that brought together musicians and artists during the pandemic. He currently studies piano with Amy Yang.
2021 Bart Pitman Scholarship Announcement
First Prize Winner
Jasmine Meyer of Chester, New Jersey, has found a lifelong companion in piano, which she has been playing since age 5. Under the tutelage of Dr. Julia Lam, Jasmine was the Eastern Division Winner and State Winner in the Music Teachers' National Association Piano Competition in 2019 and 2020. Her accomplishments in classical piano performance included First-Place finishes in piano competitions organized by New Jersey Music Teachers Association, Music Educators Association. She was named twice as Student of the Month by Mayo Performing Art Center, New Jersey. She also enjoys singing, accompanying a multitude of school ensembles, and is the First Flutist in the school wind ensemble. Jasmine plans to combine her interests in technology and music by studying towards a dual degree in Computer Science and Piano Performance at Northwestern University in Fall 2021.
Second Prize Winner
Berithen (Beri) Chung, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was a former student of Mrs. Lena Solaiman since age 6 for 7 years. Since 2019, he has been studying piano under Dr. Dolly Krasnopolsky at Settlement Music School. He is a 2020-2021 Settlement Music School Scholarship recipient. He has participated in the Dorothy Sutton Music Festival in 2014 as well as numerous performances and recitals at Settlement Music school. He has received the “Superior” rating in 2019 at the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) Fine Arts Festival. Beri is an active member of the school concert band, jazz ensemble, choir, as well as a piano trio. His passion for classical music has grown during his high school years. After graduating from Phil-Mont Christian Academy this year, he will attend the Eastman School of Music, where he will pursue a degree in Music Education this fall. Beri likes to explore various instruments and enjoys music composition. His hobbies include chess, Rubik's Cube, fine arts, and playing with his pet rabbit Cinnamon.
2020 Bart Pitman Scholarship Announcement
Henry Banta, from Somerset, New Jersey, studied under Elissa Miller-Kay, Emily Lau, and Marvin Blickenstaff at the New School for Music Study in Kingston, New Jersey. He graduated from Franklin High School in 2020 after having been active in the piano program there for all four years of high school. In 2016, Henry performed in the Royal Conservatory of Music's Tri-State Certificate of Excellence Recital at Carnegie Hall. He has played in the New Jersey Music Teachers' Association Spring Festival for 7 years and performed in their Honors and High Honors Recitals as well. Among his hobbies are playing the drum set, exploring music production, bike-riding, and reading. Henry is attending Stetson University pursuing a degree in Piano Performance.
2019 Bart Pitman Scholarship Announcement
The winner of the 2019 Bart Pitman Memorial Music Scholarship was Ellie Taylor. Auditions were held at the Thompson Memorial Church in New Hope on May 11, 2019.
Ellie is a pianist from Hatboro PA. She performed works by J.S. Bach, Franz Liszt, and Prokofiev. She is a student of Sandra Carlock who was a featured performer for the Music Club in the past. Ellie is a graduate of the Academy of the New Church and is now a student at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She will perform for the Music Club at the next Young Performers Concert.
