The Oneida Area Civic Chorale has awarded its 2016 Senior Scholarships to Ashley Donaldson of Kenwood and Htee Mu of Utica.
Donaldson, a senior student at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School, and Mu, a Thomas R. Proctor High School senior, will each receive $500 toward their future study of music.
The Chorale offers the scholarships to area high school seniors who have displayed musical talent in school and community performances and plan to engage in musical study beyond high school either as music majors or in extracurricular areas.
Donaldson, of Kenwood Avenue, Oneida, plans to major in music in college and spend her life sharing her love of music with others. She is a pianist, having studied with Heather Drumm from age 9, plays the French horn and ukulele and also is a vocalist, studying with Jan Moore since the age of 14.
In addition, Donaldson has a passion for music composition and has been composing and arranging since the eighth grade. Throughout her high school years, she has taken advantage of many musical opportunities, including chorus and select choir as vocalist and accompanist, band, pep band and trash can band. She has been an auditioned member of All-County Chorus and Band, as well as Area All-State Chorus, and has participated in NYSSMA Solo Festivals throughout high school. She has composed and arranged musical numbers, which have been performed by the VVS Music Department, and has been involved in the high school musicals each year.
Outside high school, Donaldson has been a member of the Junior B Sharp Musical Club for two years and has performed in several area churches, at the Hazel Carpenter Home, and at Munson Williams Proctor Institute. Donaldson plans to continue her study of music at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, where she will major in Music Business and concentrate in Voice; eventually, she plans to earn a graduate degree in composition.
Htee Mu, of Elizabeth Street, Utica, is committed to her love of music and the hard work and dedication required in order to excel in her chosen field of music ministry. According to her piano instructor of three years, Colleen Pellman, Mu is both musical and a very hard worker. At Proctor, Mu has been a member of the senior choir and has accompanied that group and NYSSMA ensembles.
Outside the school setting, she has played at weekly church services and served as accompanist for Pathfinder Club activities. She has been a member of the Junior B Sharp Club for the past year and participated in the club competitions. Last year she earned second place in the piano competition, and this year took first place in that competition. She has also earned Curran Music Scholarships in 2014 and 2015. Mu will attend Andrews University in Michigan in the fall.
Donaldson and Mu received their scholaships and performed for the chorale at a group rehearsal in May.