The O’Donnell Foundation is pleased to sponsor an annual AP Arts and Music Theory Award Scholarship Program to recognize four outstanding high school seniors who have participated or are currently participating in the Dallas area AP Arts and Music Theory Incentive Program. Each scholarship, in the amount of $20,000, will be paid in four annual $5,000 increments subject to the fulfillment of the renewal criteria.
The purpose of the scholarship is to provide financial assistance to exemplary AP Studio Art, Art History, and Music Theory students, so they can attend and graduate from the colleges of their choice in four years. It is hoped that the scholarship will also serve to encourage other promising AP arts and music theory students to pursue excellence academically, personally, and professionally.
Eligibility:
• The applicant must be a Texas resident and a U.S. citizen.
• The applicant must be enrolled full time as a high school senior
• The applicant must be enrolled in or have received credit for an AP Arts and/or Music Theory course in the O’Donnell Foundation Dallas Area AP Arts and Music Theory Incentive Program. These courses may include one or more of the following: AP Drawing Portfolio, AP 2D Design Portfolio, AP 3D Design Portfolio, AP Art History, or AP Music Theory
• The applicant must have or have had a 90 or higher average in an AP Arts and or Music Theory course.
Consideration given to each applicant's:
• knowledge and application of student’s chosen discipline
• academic performance
• demonstration of strong leadership ability in high school and the community
• commitment to earn a college or university degree in four years with a 3.0 GPA
• leadership potential in student's chosen field of study and possible profession
Click here to view the Awards Ceremony
2009 Scholarship Recipients
Alice Armstrong
Booker T. Washington High School of Performing and Visual Arts
Nominating AP Art History and 2D Design Teacher: Charlotte Chambliss
Future Plans: University of Texas at Austin
With a strong focus on both artistic and academic pursuits, Alice Armstrong has built an impressive high school resume that includes graduating 3rd in her class at the Booker T. Washington High School of Performing and Visual Arts, serving as her school’s Co-President of National Art Honor Society, and graduating as a National Merit Competition Semi-Finalist and an AP Scholar with Honors. Charlotte Chambliss, Alice’s AP Studio Art and Art History teacher wrote, “Alice has always been one of our top students in the visual arts. She has mastery of technical, conceptual, and perceptual skills. She has a very sophisticated sense of design and produced outstanding work in the AP 2-D Design class last year.””
In her scholarship application, Alice wrote, “My past four years at Booker T. Washington has proven to me that an education in art does not only supplement an academic education, but completes it. I’ve been trained to think like a designer, a sculptor, a printmaker-but in reality, the only thing I’ve been trained to be is a problem solver. This is the sensibility that I will take with me to college, that every problem can be solved the same way every composition can be solved-through knowledge of basic principles, thorough and thoughtful analysis, and a willingness to change – be it preconceptions or color schemes.” See Alice’s artwork here
Helen Gutowski
Booker T. Washington High School of Performing and Visual Arts
Nominating AP Art History Teacher: Charlotte Chambliss
Future Plans: New York University
While at Booker T. Washington, Helen Gutowski has excelled as a gifted thespian, National Merit Commended Scholar, and Founder and President of her school’s Book Club. As a theatre student, Helen has performed extensively at BTW; last summer she attended classes at the Experimental Theatre Wing Summer Program at New York University. Her AP Art History teacher, Charlotte Chambliss wrote, “Helen is an upstanding member of this school community. She is well-regarded by both the faculty and her peers. She has an infectiously charismatic personality that I find to be positive and up-lifting. Most definitely Helen possesses the qualities necessary to both academic and artistic success.”
When discussing her future plans, Helen wrote on her application, “Whatever art I end up pursuing, whatever career that I settle on, wherever I go, I know that my life has been indelibly touched by art, and by the world in which we live, and by those who surround me. I am a lover of words, and a lover of beauty, and a lover of people. When I graduate college and ‘go out into the real world’, I know I will be successful, because I have my brain to ground me and my art to guide me.”
View a sample of Helen's performance here
Gary Lee
Plano Senior High School
Nominating AP Music Theory Teacher: Dr. Terry Eder
Future Plans: Stanford University
Plano Senior High School student Gary Lee has achieved an impressive scholastic and artistic record including a 4.44 grade point average, being named a National Merit Semi-Finalist, becoming an Eagle Scout, and serving as the Co-principal cellist of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Philharmonic. His AP Music Theory teacher, Dr. Terry Eder wrote, “Gary is obviously determined and motivated to be the best at whatever he chooses to do. I am certain that he will be entirely successful in any field of study that he might decide to pursue, but his talent in music rises to the top. He is an outstanding student who will make a difference with his life.”
In his application essay, Gary wrote, “Together, my background in instrumental performance and my newly acquired knowledge of music theory have facilitated my success in musical composition. My experience in part-writing and melodic harmonization has helped me realize my love for the ensemble in my own composition. By giving structure to the process of composition, AP Music Theory has been an indispensable tool in my pursuit of excellence in the arts.”Listen to a sample of Gary’s music here
Luke Marantz
Booker T. Washington High School of Performing and Visual Arts
Nominating AP Music Theory Teacher: Kent Ellingson
Future Plans: New England Conservatory of Music
At the Booker T. Washington High School of Performing and Visual Arts student Luke Marantz has excelled in his jazz studies. He has been presented with many prestigious awards including 10 DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards, two years as a Brubeck Fellow at the Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony, and student pianist for the Thelonious Monk National All-Star Performing High School Jazz Sextet in 2008. Kent Ellingson, his AP Music Theory teacher wrote, “Luke is a very gifted musician, with experience in saxophone, jazz vocals, and jazz piano. He was a student of mine both in first year accelerated Music Theory and Advanced Placement Music Theory. He performed extremely well in both classes and received a ‘5’ score on the standardized AP Music Theory exam, which he took in only his sophomore year.”
In Luke’s application essay, he wrote, “When I was six years old, I heard my first Oscar Peterson recording; “The Oscar Peterson Trio Plays Count Basie”. I was in awe of this record. Although I didn’t understand it at the time, the incredibly hard-swinging of Count Basie’s compositions mixed with the in-human virtuosity of Oscar Peterson’s improvisations spoke to me on such a deep level, that I took the recording out of my mother’s car and it never came back. I listened to it day in and day out until I had memorized every solo on the recording. This was when I knew that I wanted to be a jazz musician for the rest of my life.”
Listen to a sample of Luke’s music here
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