Nineteen students studying in the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts have been awarded scholarships from the Valerie Canady Charitable Trust Foundation. The Canady Scholarships are among the most prestigious awards given in the college.
The scholarships are named for Valerie Canady, a Morgantown native and WVU summa cum laude graduate, who was among the 270 people who died in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in Dec. 1988. Canady, who worked for H.J. Heinz Co. in their London office, was an accomplished linguist and artist in different media of expression, especially in piano.
Loulie and William Canady, Valerie’s parents, and long-time residents of the Morgantown community, present the awards annually in December. Loulie Canady is a long-time supporter of the WVU School of Music and Dr. William Canady is professor emeritus of the Department of Biochemistry in the WVU School of Medicine. The Canadys are also the major patrons of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performances at WVU—a series that is named in memory of Valerie.
This year’s Canady scholars include:
Daniela Londono-Bernal, of Medellin, Colombia, is currently a senior in the intermedia and photography program. She is bilingual in Spanish and English and has studied French as well. She is an outstanding artist and has shown her work in New York City and in Chicago. In 2012 she won the Director’s Choice Award in the first Student Juried Exhibition in the WVU School of Art & Design.
Szilvia Kadas, of Budapest, Hungary, is studying for a master’s degree in art history. She speaks three languages fluently—Hebrew, Hungarian and English—and is currently studying German. She also has a Master of Fine Arts in studio art and graphic design from the University of Arkansas and a bachelor’s degree in design and visual communication from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem.
Sora Lee, of Korea, is studying for a doctorate in collaborative piano as the first student to enter this new program. She is fluent in Korean and English and works with wind, string, voice and other piano students in the School of Music, as well as the choir and other ensembles. Lee also studies the organ and serves as organist at First Baptist Church, Waynesburg, Pa.
Joyce Chiao Su Wang is a doctoral piano performance major from Hattieville, Belize, who was born in Taiwan. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from WVUin 2008 and graduated in December 2010 with a master’s degree in piano pedagogy. She is also a cellist and teaches private lessons for students of piano and cello, as well as performing in the WVU Symphony Orchestra.
Lucia Zung de Andrade, of Brazil, is an undergraduate student in bassoon performance. She had nearly completed a piano degree in Brazil when an injury to her wrist forced her to switch to the bassoon three years ago. She speaks Portuguese, Spanish and also taught herself English and previously studied at the Universidade Tecnologica Federal do Parana in Brazil.
Dipendra Sunam, of Nepal, is a doctoral student in piano who completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance at Berea College and Northern Arizona University. In addition to his native language, he speaks English and German. He has studied with music professionals from around the world, and was keyboardist with a Nepali pop band named Nepathya, which released several professional recordings.
Achareeya Fukiat, of Thailand, is a doctoral student in piano who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from Mahidol University in Bangkok. She speaks Thai and English. Due to her exceptional talent and great dedication, she earned the prestigious Yamaha music school scholarship in Thailand and graduated from Mahidol University with first class honors for her master’s degree in music education.
Juliana Yap, of Thailand, is completing her doctorate in piano performance and also in collaborative piano this year. She formerly studied at Sedaya College in Bangkok, Thailand, and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from WVU in 2004 and 2006, respectively. She speaks English, Malay languages (Indonesian and Malaysian) and Chinese languages (Mandarin and Hokkien).
Angel Lin, of Taiwan, is a doctoral student in piano who received her master’s degree from the University of Kansas. She also plays the flute and has been an active recitalist in Taiwan, China, Germany, Canada and the United States and has received numerous awards and scholarships. She has performed for some of the world’s most prominent performers and teachers in master classes in both this country and abroad.
Mirim Lee, of Korea, is studying for a master’s degree in flute performance and is fluent in three languages—English, Korean and Bulgarian. She was a winner of last year’s Young Artist Concerto Competition at WVU and plays principal flute in both the WVU Symphony Orchestra and the WVU Chamber Winds. She previously earned a bachelor’s degree in music at one of the top conservatories in Bulgaria.
Sornsuang Tangsinmonkong, of Thailand, is a doctoral student in piano performance who won honors in several piano competitions in Bangkok where she is also a faculty member (currently on leave) at Mahidol University, the largest school of music in Thailand. She has a bachelor’s degree in statistics from Chulalongkorn University, also in Bangkok, and a master’s degree in music performance from Mahidol University.
Kyung Soo Hwang, of Korea, is studying for a master’s degree in jazz pedagogy. He is fluent in Korean and English and, has sung professionally in German, Italian and French. He is primarily a bassist, but also plays the saxophone and traditional Korean percussion. Before coming to WVU he was an award-winning teacher at a Community Korean Language School and also earned a degree at the Berklee College of Music.
Diego Gabete-Rodriguez, of Spain, is a doctoral student in violin performance and serves as concertmaster for the WVU Symphony Orchestra. He holds degrees from Musikene-Centro Superior de Musica del Pais Vasco, Spain, and from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and Columbus State University in Georgia. This December he will return to Spain to perform a recital for the Argentinian consulate.
Kirill Tyulkov, of Russia, is studying for a master’s degree in music education. He is fluent in Russian, English and French. He has a master’s degree in French from Nizhny Novgorod Linguistics University in Russia and also received a degree in music technology from California University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he also holds a law degree. He is studying both classical and jazz piano in the studio of James Miltenberger.
Nicoletta Ciampa, of Monroeville, Pa., is studying for a bachelor’s degree in music education and voice. She spent a semester in Brazil as part of the Music Alive! exchange program. While there she became fluent in Portuguese. She also spent four weeks in Ghana, West Africa, on a WVU summer study abroad course. She is member of the Gamelan, African Music and Dance, and Brazilian ensembles at WVU.
Arthur de Amorim, of Brazil, is studying for a bachelor’s in piano and also studies organ. After coming to WVU as part of the Music Alive! program, he was awarded a Fine Arts Scholarship. He is fluent in English and studies Russian. He received first prize in the 2012 WVMTA Mountain State Competition and was selected for WVU’s Jazz & Classical Music Festival competition, as well as a prestigious festival in Prague.
Hyejeong Seong, of Korea, is a doctoral student in piano. Prior to coming to WVU she earned her master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music and held a graduate assistantship in accompanying at the University of Iowa. Her solo playing approaches the level expected from international concert artists. She will join WVU violin professor Mikylah Myers McTeer for a performance in Korea in May 2013.
Xia Yi Zhang, of Columbia, Md., is studying for an Master of Fine Arts in ceramics. She was born in China, but moved to the United States at age 6, and grew up in a dual language and an extremely dual cultured environment. She speaks fluent Cantonese. She participated in the WVU study abroad program in Chinese ceramics in the fall of 2012 and had the chance to visit her ancestral home in Guangdong Province.
Kelsey Morgan Hotaling, of Charles Town, W.Va., is studying for a bachelor’s degree in art history, with minors in Italian studies and ceramics. Her second language is Italian. She is currently studying abroad in Italy at the Lorenzo de Medici International Institute in Florence, where she is taking advanced Italian, courses that range from the Renaissance to contemporary Italian art, and an internship in a Florentine museum.
