Dear Students, Families, Faculty, and Friends,
Welcome to the Thirty-Eighth Annual Preparatory Awards!
These Awards recognize the achievements of Preparatory students who, through their hard work and talent, have been exceptional representatives of the Peabody Institute during the past year.  Â
The Achievement Awards are the most personal of the awards we present. Each year we ask faculty members to select students from their ensembles and studios whose work consistently and significantly stood out as exceptional. While the list may seem long, it represents fewer than ten percent of our student body. Congratulations to all students named below, and thank you for your dedication to your studies.Â
Seniors are marked with an asterisk (*).
Max Abelson, Children’s Chorus
Naira Abraham, Children’s Chorus
Mitra Aminian, Children’s Chorus
Teagan Andary, Children’s Chorus
Iris Anderson, Children’s Chorus
Sofia Artazova, Children’s Chorus
Nicole Barth, Piano
Tara Bass, Flute
Vivienne Beauchamp, Piano
Tommy Berlack, Children’s Chorus
Sullivan Blatti, Piano
Gabrielle Boardley, Violin
Joshua Bowden, Voice
Margaret Brantley, Violin
Kylie Carter, Voice*
Claire Case, Children’s Chorus
Emily Cassidy, Children’s Chorus
Nia Cavell-Allette, Violin
Chloe Chang, Piano
Kristina Chao, Flute
Audrey Chen, Piano
Nina Chen, Voice
Chelsea Cheng, Piano
Easton Chiu, Viola
Romy Clark, Children’s Chorus
Eve Coleman, Children’s Chorus
Isabella Cuffari, Harp
Claire Cui, Flute
Lucy Dalton, Children’s Chorus
Mirabelle Dang, Children’s Chorus
Sarah Dansie, Children’s Chorus
Priya Datta, Children’s Chorus
Emily DeSena, Children’s Chorus
Madeline Diel, Children’s Chorus
Hanako Dillion, Cello
Jack Dorsey, Violin
Sadie Dorsey, Children’s Chorus
Naomi Elkins, Children’s Chorus
Patrick Eyink, Piano
Jing Fan, Violin
Alison Ferraro, Children’s Chorus
Erin Finnigan, Voice
Erin Finnigan, Children’s Chorus
Amelia Fleming, Children’s Chorus
Diya Gandhi, Harp
Isabelle George, Children’s Chorus
Mana Gitiforooz, Violin
Jacob Goldman, Piano
Jack Gonzalez, Piano
Lara Grantz, Children’s Chorus
Ishaan Gernapudi, Violin
Vishvak Gernapudi, Viola
Windsor Gwo, Violin
Sunyou Han, Violin
Ella Hans-Ottens, Violin
Dalia Hassanein, Voice*
Clara Havrilla, Children’s Chorus
Clara Henry, Children’s Chorus
Bryce Heo, Cello
Riley Herritt, Harp
Eric Huang, Cello
Jacob Huang, Violin
Siyu Huang, Piano
Yehji Hwang, Cello
Ian Jackson, Violin
Kevin Ji, Piano
Maria John, Children’s Chorus
Anousha Joseph, Piano
Liana Kai, Cello
Annalisa Koren, Flute
Andrew Krasulski, Piano
Jonathan Ku, Voice
Matthew Kuczjada, Guitar*
Philemon Kuo, Viola
SaiGayathri Kurup, Children’s Chorus
Jesse Lang, Children’s Chorus
Alana Leak, Children’s Chorus
Xavier Lee-Llacer, Viola
Alexandra Lee-Llacer, Viola
Mallory Lerch, Cello
Samantha Lewis, Voice, soprano
Sally Lewis, Children’s Chorus
Alice Li, Harp
Sophia Li, Flute
Erica Li, Children’s Chorus
Jeff Li, Children’s Chorus
Zoe Lilly, Cello
Vivienne Longway, Violin
Agnes Loper, Violin
Tracy Ly, Violin
Julia Mammen, Dance*
Amelie Marasigan, Violin*
Allayna Martone, Viola
Nina Mathioudakis, Violin
Daphne Mathioudakis, Violin
Lucy Mauldin, Children’s Chorus
Aria McCloskey, Cello
Laura Menezes, Cello
Thomas Menezes, Cello
Thomas Menezes, Children’s Chorus
Kei Leigh Mese-Jones, Cello
Miya Mese-Jones, Violin
Lillian Mihok, Children’s Chorus
Seneca Mikesell, Cello
Lana Milman, Piano*
Joseph Mostwin, Cello*
Anna Mostwin, Violin
Mischa Mukherjee, Children’s Chorus
Naren Nair, Violin
Mahim Naseem, Children’s Chorus
Victoria Otazo, Children’s Chorus
Samantha Otazo, Children’s Chorus
Tajo Overduin, Piano
Ari Paley, Voice*
Karun Pandian, Violin
Austin Park, Piano
Jennifer Park, Cello*
Laura Petty, Children’s Chorus
Andy Pu, Violin*
Pablo Quintero, Clarinet & Saxophone
Theodore Raabe, Violin
Tanmayi Ramagiri, Children’s Chorus
Ananya Ramagiri, Children’s Chorus
Sahana Rathod, Children’s Chorus
Tristan Reddy, Violin
Krishna Reddy, Violin
Athena Ren, Piano
Emma Rifat, Dance*
Anika Sankineni, Violin
Gitika Saravanan, Children’s Chorus
Swahashree Sarkar, Children’s Chorus
Miranda Self, Children’s Chorus
Matthew Seliger, Violin*
Micah Seliger, Children’s Chorus
Aadarsh Shah, Violin
Renxian Shere-Wolfe, Flute
Helen Shi, Violin
Victor Shi, Piano
Claire Shi, Flute
Rachel Shiao, Children’s Chorus
Sonia Shih, Violin
Laasya Sidhaye, Voice
Juliana Slonevski, Children’s Chorus
Maya Smalkin, Children’s Chorus
Jaylin Smith, Voice*
Elyse Sohn, Cello
Lucas Sohn, Cello
Madison Strempek, Viola
Corina Tarhon, Children’s Chorus
Victoria Rose Toberry, Harp
Finn Tondro, Violin
Hannah Turner, Violin
Faustina Vaitekunas, Piano
Rishi Vanka, Piano
Annika Vanlandingham, Children’s Chorus
Julia Vesotsky, Violin*
Autumn Wall, Children’s Chorus
Tess Walsh, Children’s Chorus
Tessa Walters, Children’s Chorus
David Wang, Violin
Kisiah Waters, Piano*
Daphne Wen, Violin
Maria Simone Williams, Flute*
John Paul Wnek, Piano
Elizabeth Wnek, Violin
Selina Wong, Children’s Chorus
Alexander Woolf, Piano
Helia Wu, Cello
Hannah Wu, Piano
Angela Wu, Children’s Chorus
Kevin Xu, Violin
Sophie Xu, Piano
Katherine Yang, Violin
Jamie Ye, Cello
Julia Ye, Cello*
Hannah You, Violin
Amber Zhang, Piano
Sophia Zhang, Piano
Ryan Zhao, Cello
Hans Zook, Piano
The Adult Achievement Award recognizes similar accomplishments as the Achievement Award but with an understanding that Adult students warrant recognition separate from our school-aged musicians. In addition to their musical endeavors, adult students must also manage their careers and families. Despite these extra challenges, they find the time to diligently practice and excel at their craft. It is because of this that we honor the continuing learners who work hard to pursuit their musical growth.
Katharine Ahrens, Piano
Jung Woo Bae, Composition
Ezra Broach, Voice
Robin Carlson, Harp
Ziqi Chen, Composition
Sara Earnest, Violin
Ben Feldman, Piano
Ruth Hartke, Violin
Yi Hong, Harp
Susan Johnson, Piano
Susan Lehmann, Composition
Edwin Lyman, Composition
Nicholas Roberts, Viola
Jiseong Son, Piano
Helen-Jean Talbott, Composition
It is a pleasure to recognize students who are graduating from high school. These students persevered through countless obstacles and have excelled using incredible ingenuity and imagination. They students represent every facet of study at the Preparatory â from dance, chorus and orchestra to instrumental or vocal study, and everything in between. Many have been with the Preparatory since they were young children starting in our early childhood program, creative dance classes or training choir, while others have joined more recently. Their futures show a similar breadth of interests and talents with plans that include studying locally at the Peabody Conservatory and Johns Hopkins University, Towson University, and the University of Maryland to institutes throughout the country like Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California (Berkeley), and University of Chicago, to name a few.
Watch our Facebook page over the summer for highlights of our seniors and their future plans.
Seniors – Whatever level of involvement you have had at the Preparatory, know that you have made important contributions to our school. We hope that you will carry your experiences at Peabody with you the rest of your lives, whether you pursue music or dance in college or choose another career path. As you enter the next phase of your lives, we at Peabody encourage you to pursue your passions with the creativity and artistry that you developed within our walls.
Wherever life takes you, please stay in touch with Peabody and keep us informed of future endeavors. Congratulations again and we wish you the very best!
The Performance Awards are earned by students who have excelled on stage (or virtually) within the past school year. This award is unique, since a student must have had a notable performance in order to qualify. Each musician honored has invested the many hours of practice that go into creating an outstanding performance. We congratulate them for their accomplishments.
Seniors are marked with an asterisk (*).
Maylea Al-Hajj, Violin
Amelia Baisden, Cello
Joshua Bowden, Voice
Lauren Edwards, Violin
Jing Fan, Violin
Dalia Hassanein, Voice*
Adelyn Ho, Voice
Liana Kai, Cello
Matthew Kuczjada, Guitar*
Chloe Lee, Violin
Vivienne Longway, Violin
Agnes Loper, Violin
Amelie Marasigan, Violin*
Isabel Marcus, Voice
Thomas Menezes, Cello
Faith Park, Flute
Rory Powell, Harp*
Maya Sauder, Cello
Yuchan David Seol, Flute
Jaylin Smith, Voice*
Elisabeth Stevens, Voice
Genevieve Sudbrink, Voice
Rishi Vanka, Piano
David Wang, Violin
Andy Yoon, Piano
This award is given to the winners of the Young Artists Orchestra, Wind Orchestra, and Youth Orchestra Concerto Competitions in recognition of these studentsâ outstanding performances in these virtual competitions.
Chloe Lee, violin, was the winner of the 2021 Young Artists Orchestra Concerto Competition. A student of Rebecca Henry, her performance Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, "L'inverno was part of the Concerto Competition Day in November, and performed as a part of the Concerto Extravaganza in February.
Yiyun Li, clarinet, was the winner of the 2021 Wind Orchestra Concerto Competition. A student of Edna Huang, her performance Louis Spohr's Clarinet Concerto No. 2, Op. 57's first movement, "Allegro" was part of the Concerto Competition Day in November. She performed with the Wind Orchestra as a part of the Concerto Extravaganza in February.
Elizabeth Boyson, violin, was the winner of the 2021 Peabody Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. A student of Herbert Greenberg, her performance Jean Sibelius's Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 was part of the Concerto Competition Day in November, and performed with the Peabody Youth Orchestra as a part of the Concerto Extravaganza in February.
The Preparatory has established several special prizes to recognize unique accomplishments within the classroom and on-stage. These awards include a monetary prize thanks to the generosity of several donors.
Additionally, each year we recognize members of the Preparatory community who voluntarily give their time and expertise in ways that improve the quality of education for all of our students. These individuals went above and beyond to make significant contributions to our school.
This prize recognizes the winner of the Peabody Youth Orchestra's Concerto Competition.
We are pleased to announce this yearâs recipient, PYO violinist Elizabeth Boyson.
This prize recognizes an outstanding student from the Peabody Youth Orchestra. Dr. Chaowen Ting, Director of the the Peabody Youth Orchestra, nominates a recipient based on their overarching excellency and engagement in all facets of orchestral studies while maintaining a positive and encouraging attitude.
We are pleased to announce this yearâs recipient, PYO member and clarinetist Peter Winstel.
Dr. Ting had these kind words to say:
"...He serves as a co-leader of the orchestra, he is always well-prepared, works well with his colleagues, and maintains a professional manner throughout the year."
This prize recognizes outstanding accomplishment in piano.
We are pleased to announce this yearâs recipient, pianist Kisiah Waters.
Her nominator, Chad Bowles, had this to say:
"Kisiah came to me three years ago....Iâm confident in saying that I have not heard more expressive playing from any pianist her age at Peabody in my 10 years here. She works incredibly hard and has tremendous support from her parents and family, and now plays advanced repertoire with polish and aplomb. She is a member of Piano Academy and has attended our summer piano festival, Peabody Piano Week. She will be [performed] her senior recital... and will be attending Peabody Conservatory in the fall for piano performance with Benjamin Pasternack."
This prize recognizes outstanding accomplishment in composition.
We are pleased to announce this yearâs recipient, composer Jaxyn Corcoran.
Her nominator, Judah Adashi, had this to say:
"Since June of 2020, Jaxyn Corcoran has written and recorded more than three dozen original songs. I have been teaching composition for 20 years, and I cannot think of another student who has produced such a substantial, varied, and outstanding body of work in such a relatively short period of time (and during a global pandemic, no less). She has excelled not just as a composer, but as a lyricist, performer, audio engineer, and producer."
Each semester, the Preparatory administers playing exams for students working towards earning a music certificate. Those students who choose to participate follow a rigorously designed curriculum of repertoire and practical theory classes. The certificate program has three levels â Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced â with the requirements at the Advanced level designed to prepare students for admission into conservatory music departments. On average, one hundred students take these exams each semester, however with current events, the obstacles of completing their exams and earning a certificate were even more challenging this year.
The students below are being recognized for completing one of the three major level exams. Additionally, students who earn an average of 94 or higher are awarded their certificate âwith distinctionâ for Elementary and Intermediate, and âwith honorsâ for Advanced.
Seniors are marked with an asterisk (*).
Samantha Biggs, Violin Â
Chelsea Cheng, Piano with distinction
Sage Hashimoto, Violin Â
Penelope Kim, Cello Â
Anna Mostwin, Violin Â
Helen Shi, Violin Â
Zahara Shuler, Cello
Sergei Skaria, Piano Â
Faustina Vaitekunas, Piano Â
Abram Vargas, Cello Â
Alexander Woolf, Piano Â
Rishi Vanka, Piano Â
The Excellence in Teaching Award was established to recognize the contributions of outstanding faculty. Every year, students, parents, faculty, staff, are invited to nominate an instructor that they feel has gone above and beyond. This year, we are proud to award Lisa Green-Cudek.
Below are just a few excerpts from the students, parents, and/or colleagues that nominated her:
"Lisa Cudek has been an extraordinary teacher to both my children. Her kindness and respect for children is authentic and warm, and her connection to each student allows them to learn and feel comfortable in class. I was especially impressed to see how she kept my sons engaged during the pandemic, and how they learn so much dancing in front of a screen. Her approach to the class is perfectly geared towards the students' age, teaching them artistry through various means. Lisa Green-Cudek is such a great inspiration for students and for myself, which is why I want to nominate her for well-deserved recognition."
"Mrs. Lisa is fantastic with the little children, teaching them how to move their bodies, honing their listening skills while also introducing basic ballet poses in ways that they will understand and find fascinating and interesting. She keeps their interest for the entire hour class and my daughter is always happy and tired after, while also feeling like she's getting the attention she craves in a group class."
We would like to thank a few people who have made the Preparatory great. This includes not only contributions made this year, but valuable service in the past, and the hard work that makes the Preparatory great for years to come.
A huge thank you to all Preparatory staff and administration that make the Preparatory run smoothly behind the scenes:
Sherry Berlow, Academic Services Specialist
Berni Carrieri, Towson Receptionist
Michelle Feracci, Senior Accountant
Carissa Fowlkes, Registration Systems Coordinator
Ed Hinke, Senior Manager, Business Services Operations
Amy Killian, Towson Campus Coordinator
Maria Mathieson, Preparatory Director
Charlene Morris, Towson Receptionist
Victoria Ritter, Education Manager
Julie Smith, Towson Receptionist
April Tune, Senior Administrative Coordinator