A total of 37 high school students will compete for $20,000 in scholarships at the 35th Annual Brown Music Competition Saturday at First Christian Church in downtown Columbus.
The competition begins at 8 a.m.
It is free and open to the public and attracts about 200 audience members each year.
The senior instrumental and senior vocal winner each are awarded a $3,500 college scholarship.
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The event was the brainchild of the late Robert N. and the late Betty F. Brown, in honor of Robert’s mother, Anna Newell Brown, a talented vocalist. The Anna Newell Brown vocal awards began in 1985. Betty F. Brown was a talented player of piano, organ and recorder, and the instrumental awards, named in her honor, began in 1992.
Robert N. Brown was the longtime chairman of Home News Enterprises, former parent company of The Republic newspaper.
The Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County administers the program, considered among the best in the country for its polish, amount of scholarship money and accomplished judges, including those from Indiana University’s top-ranked Jacobs School of Music.
It also is heralded for the preparation and exposure given young students who later go on to professional music careers. That includes those who’ve performed on Broadway or in entertainment segments including opera, military bands, cruise ships, and television.
Local music and voice teachers say it is rare for high schoolers anywhere to have such arts opportunities in a smaller community.
Instrumental judges are: Dean Franke, violinist and retired assistant concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra; Ray Kilburn, associate professor of music, piano, Ball State University; Kathryn Lukas, professor of music, flute, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Vocal judges are Mary Ann Hart, professor of voice, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music; Kerry Jennings, voice area coordinator/director of opera, associate professor of voice, DePauw University; Thomas Studebaker, artist faculty, Roosevelt University in Chicago.
