Grant Jackson has portrayed a host of characters in his stage time through the years as a singer and ballet dancer.
He has portrayed everyone from straight-shooting Johnny Cash to the heroic Nutcracker in varied shows and concerts. On Saturday, he took on the role of something of a gold-lusting pirate — and brought home the bounty of a $3,500 college scholarship and first place in the Anna Newell Brown Awards for Vocal Excellence of the 35th Annual Brown Music Competition in Columbus.
That was part of his presentation of R. Ritchie Robertson’s “The Jolly Roger” tune at First Christian Church.
“I even got one or two people to laugh,” said Jackson, a Columbus North High School senior under the instruction of local vocal teacher Jenny Heichelbech. “All three of the judges said on their comment sheets that they liked the way that I involved the audience.”
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Jackson is considering attending Indiana University, the University of Indianapolis or DePauw University in the fall.
In the Betty F. Brown Awards for Instrumental Excellence, multi-talented pianist Erica Song’s interpretation of Frédéric Chopin’s “Impromptu, Op. 51, No. 3” earned first place and a $3,500 college scholarship. Song was among rare students competing in both instrumental and vocal categories. Judges were impressed with her musical expression.
“One of the things I really strive for is to convey a lot of emotion through music,” said Song, a North senior.
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music instructor Irina Ter-Grigoryan has been Song’s teacher. Song is considering attending IU in the fall.
Her musical creativity is such that, for her senior project, she recently composed a Chinese folk song for the Columbus Indiana Children’s Choir, of which she has been a part.
The Heritage Fund — the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County coordinates the event, seen by several veteran professional singers-turned-instructors as among of the best high school music competitions in the nation. A total of 37 high school students competed for $20,000 in scholarships, according to organizers.
Also in the senior instrumental competition, Grace Wang received a second-place award of $2,000. Wang performed “Impromptu, No. 2 in E-Flat Major” by Schubert on piano. Third-place honors of $1,500 went to Gabrielle Lifferth, performing “Sonata, Op. 79” by Beethoven on piano.
In the senior vocal competition, tenor Joshua DeGroot received the second-place award of $1,500, performing “Si, tra I ceppi” by Handel and “Orpheus with his Lute” by Schumann. Lily Voelz, mezzo, received a $1,000 award for her third-place performance of “O del mio dolce ardor” by von Gluck and “The Buckle” by Bliss. Mezzo Molly Nelson received a $500 fourth-place award for “He Shall Feed His Flock” by Handel and “Voi Che Sapete” by Mozart. Sopranos Claire Alderfer (“Per la gloria d’adorarvi,” Bononcini; “Into the Night,” Edwards) and Joelle Schaibley (“My Johann,” Grieg; “Nuit d’étoiles,” Debussy”) each received fifth-place awards of $250.
Five seniors competed in the instrumental competition, and 14 seniors participated in the vocal competition.
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.
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In the sophomore and junior competitions, 10 instrumentalists and seven vocalists competed for scholarships for music lessons or music camps.
Underclassmen winners were: Instrumentalists: Matthew Liu and Saylor Lancaster, receiving $1,100 awards; and Minjung Kim receiving an $800 award. Vocalists: Lillie Tickel, receiving a $1,000 award; Olivia Gray and Sofia Martinez, receiving $750; and Reagan Lykins, receiving a $500 award.
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