For Immediate Release:
May 5, 2008
Media contact: Rachel Epley, 312.427.6267, Ext. 110
Sherwood Conservatory of Music of Columbia College Chicago will present its Ninth Annual Scholarship Competition and Gala on Friday, May 9, 2008. Nina Owen and Nancy Shields are co-chairs for the event, which features the final round of the school’s annual musical scholarship competition at The Arts Club of Chicago. Sherwood Executive Director Kathleen Butera explains that the two-fold purpose of the gala is to raise tuition funds and to recognize high achievement in the arts.
Sherwood’s Ninth Annual Scholarship Competition and Gala begins at 5:30 p.m. with a silent auction and open bar/hors d’oeuvres reception. The competition concert takes place at 6:45 followed by presentation of the William Hall Sherwood Award to Mr. Ponce. The event will be held at The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 East Ontario Street. Valet parking is available for $12 at The Arts Club. Individual gala tickets are $100 for adults and $20 for children under the age of 18.
Special honored guest, Phil Ponce, host of WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight,” will receive the 2008 William Hall Sherwood Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts. In addition to his television work, Ponce is a professor at Loyola University Chicago and is the university’s Distinguished Journalist in Residence. His awards include “Illinois Journalist of the Year,” the Studs Terkel Award for Journalism, and the City Club of Chicago’s Award for Excellence in Journalism.
In addition to presenting sponsor Jenner & Block, the Scholarship Competition and Gala has received major funding support from Kirkland & Ellis, Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC, and Marquette Bank. Additional support has been provided by Underwriting Sponsors Stratford and Nancy Shields.
At the event, four qualifying advanced-level students who received the highest scores during preliminary auditions, which were held on March 28 through April 17, will vie for the full-tuition William Hall Sherwood Scholarship. Second and third place winners will receive the Arthur Wildman Memorial Scholarship and the Walter and Marian Erley Memorial Scholarship, which offer partial tuition payment.
The panel of judges for the event includes Elizabeth Buccheri, assistant conductor at Lyric Opera of Chicago and senior lecturer in piano at Northwestern University, Josephine Lee, artistic director of the Chicago Children’s Choir, and Robert Katkov-Trevino, artistic director of the Millennium Chamber Players and assistant conductor of the Ohio Light Opera.
The judges will determine the top winners in the advanced-level category of the annual competition. Beginner and intermediate level students, who received top scores in the preliminary competitions for their categories, will perform in Sherwood’s Honors Recital on June 7, 2008. Advanced-level students will join them for this performance, which takes place in Sherwood’s Recital Hall, 1312 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago.
Each year approximately 25 scholarships are awarded to Sherwood students. Through Sherwood’s Tuition Support Program, no student at the school pays the full cost of tuition. Some receive additional support through Sherwood’s program of need-based financial aid.