2024 Musician of the Year Award
Angela Terrell has lived in Gainesville, Florida, all of her life. As a child she loved singing in the choir at Johnson Chapel Baptist Church and she has been the minister of music for forty-eight years at that same church. Upon graduating from Hampton University, she taught music for thirty-seven years. Twenty-seven of those years were spent at Littlewood Elementary in Gainesville. Angela continued to make her mark in the School Board of Alachua County by being named Alachua County Teacher of the Year in 1994.
In 2002 she became the Fine Arts Facilitator at Duval Elementary School and was instrumental in transforming the school to create Duval Fine Arts Academy. Presently, Angela serves as the Fine Arts Director at Caring and Sharing Learning School. In addition, she has volunteered at the Pace Center for Girls, the National Achievers Honor Society, the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre, and the Star Center Children’s Theatre. In 2017 she received the Lennie Kesl Life Time Arts Award from the City of Gainesville Cultural Arts Board.
2024 Sarah Baird Fouse Woodwind Award Winners
1st Place: TESSA BECKER
Tessa is currently a senior in the Cambridge Program at Gainesville High School where she plays flute and piccolo in the symphonic band. She has been playing the flute for eight years under Sophia Wasserman. She has been a member of the Alachua County Youth Orchestra the past 2 years and All County band the past 3 years. After high school she plans to attend the University of South Florida where she will major in Music Studies and Pre-Professional Sciences.
2nd Place: ALICIA PARFAIT
A passionate musician, Alicia Parfait is known for her precise intonation and musicality. She has been playing clarinet for nearly five years and has studied privately over the past four years with multiple teachers including Gaby Tordi, Anne Glerum, and her current teacher Dale Fedele. For the past three years, she has been a member of the F.W. Buchholz High School Wind Symphony and Golden Regiment Marching Band. As a junior, she occupies the role of principal clarinet player in the Wind Symphony and clarinet captain in the marching band. Hoping to be accepted this upcoming fall for a fifth and final year, Alicia has been selected for the Florida All-State bands four times consecutively and Alachua County Honor Band five times. She has received countless FBA Solo and Ensemble awards at the district and state level. Her goal is to pursue a degree in music performance after high school.
2024 Dorothy Reaves String Award Winners
1st Place: SASHA RICHESON
Sasha Richeson,16, began playing the violin at age 2. She studied violin under Sonnhild Kitts, Stephanie Richeson, Stewart Kitts, and currently studies with Dr. Janna Lower. For the last 14 years, Sasha has been actively playing in the community with organizations such as Celebration Suzuki Strings, Alachua County Youth Orchestra, assisted living residences, and recitals. She debuted as a soloist with The Gainesville Orchestra at age 12 and has since soloed with other orchestras in Florida, performing full concertos. In 2023, she played 1st violin in a professional production of The Marriage of Figaro in Tampa. Sasha is a Junior at Buchholz High School and when she is not practicing violin, she can be seen in her ballet shoes, reading, or hanging out with her friends. Sasha is looking forward to attending The Philadelphia Music Festival this summer.
2nd Place: PRANAY GADIKOTA
Pranay Gadikota, a sophomore at Buchholz High School, has been playing the violin since the age of 6 and is currently with Jueun Kim Warf. He has taken part in local and regional competitions, recently receiving recognition at the OPUS Music Competition. Pranay is also a pianist and has competed in various competitions. In addition, Pranay has been accepted into the All-State Orchestra and earned a performance opportunity at Carnegie Hall this year. He received multiple awards at the FFMC Music Convention and was selected to perform at the FSMTNA State Concerto Competition last year. In his free time he enjoys playing basketball and listening to music.
2024 William Dishman Award Winners
1st Place: AKSHAY PATEL
Akshay is a senior and currently attends Buchholz High School. He serves as the principal Tuba/Euphonium and as the brass colonel for marching season. Also, he has been in the All-County Band every year since 7th grade, having been named principal tuba 3 of those years. He was also selected as the principal tuba of the All-State Honor Band in 2020, and principal tuba of the 2023 USF Festival of Winds. Outside of band, he is a member of the Buchholz Math Team which has won 15 of the last 16 national championships. After high school, he will attend the University of Florida and study aerospace engineering in addition to tuba performance.
2nd Place: HARRISON ZUNKEL
Harrison Zunkel is an 11th grader at FW Buchholz and has been a member of the Wind Symphony since 9th grade. He began playing the French Horn in 6th grade. He was a member of the Alachua All County Band 7th-11th grade and All State Band 8th, 10th and 11th grade.
2024 Betsy Schnell Piano Award Winners
MIDDLE SCHOOL AWARD: ADRIEL TAN
Adriel Tan is an eighth grader at Howard Bishop Middle School. He started piano when he was 4 and is currently studying with Wanda Louie. Adriel has received many honors for piano at the state and local levels. He received Honorable Mentions at FFMC State Junior Convention in 2021 to 2023. He was awarded First Place at the recent FPM Sonata/Sonatina Festival. From 2019 to 2024, Adriel received Honors in Student Day and was selected to perform on the FSMTA Student Day Honors Recitals. Adriel also plays clarinet in his school band. He was selected for All County Honor Band in 2023 and 2024 and FMEA All State Middle School Band in 2024.
HIGH SCHOOL AWARD: BRYAN ZHENG
Bryan Zheng is a 10th grade student at F.W. Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Florida. He started learning the piano at age 5 and currently studies with Professor Evan Mitchell of the University of Florida. He enjoys expressing his artist self through the delicate sounds of the piano. His favorite composers include Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin. In his spare time, he enjoys swimming and baking, and is an avid reader.
Winners of the 2023 FPM Sonata/Sonatina Festival
Division I Winner: Nicanor Perez-Bruzzone, student of Natsuko Ejiri
Division II Winner: Crystal Kwon, student of Jueun Kim Warf
Division III Winner: Lucas Chen, student of Juan Chen
Division IV Winner: Henry Efron, student of Anastasiya Naplekova
Division V Winner: Lucas Hamilton, student of Catherine Martin
Division VI Winner: Ky Ngo, student of Hee Jung Kang
Division VII Winner: Claudia Thomas, student of Mika Fujita
Division VIII Winner: Chad Tan, student of Wanda Louie
Division IX Winner: Mark Shiau, student of Wanda Louie
Division X Winner: Xiaolei Huang, student of Nadia Mezey