A total of 23 scholarships were awarded to young musicians from seventeen different states around the country to attend the Pinetop Perkins Foundation’s Fifth Annual Master Class Workshops this year in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The awards include two youth who were given the Ann Rabson Memorial Scholarship: Logan Layman from Williamsburg, Virginia was given the piano award, while the guitar award went to Mike Butler from Union Beach, New Jersey. The Foundation awarded an additional twenty one scholarships to young musicians attending piano, harmonica and guitar workshops.
The Pinetop Perkins Foundation is a tax exempt non-profit organization. It’s mission is to provide encouragement and support for youth and young people at the beginning of their musical career, and help provide care and safety for elderly musicians at the twilight of their career.
Bob Margolin, Austin Young and intern Christone Kingfish Ingram cover the guitar workshop. The harmonica workshop is led by Gary Allegretto with David Berntson assisting, and Daryl Davis and Clay Swafford lead the piano workshop. They will be joined by a number of adult workshop participants for the three-day event.
The workshops begin on June 17 with a meet-and-greet dinner at Hopson Commissary. It includes a reception Thursday evening at the Delta Blues Museum and concludes with a gala performance at Ground Zero on Friday evening, June 20. Although the scholarships are closed, a limited number of slots are still available in the harmonica and piano workshops.
Pinetop Perkins Foundation 2014 Scholarship Winners
Adam Land, Piano, Fremont, Indiana
Sophie Bernheisel, Piano, Greenbelt, Maryland
Andrew Sullivan, Guitar, Vancleave, Mississippi
Cole Layman, Guitar, Williamsburg, Virginia
Jesse Black, Guitar, Jasper, Tennessee
Garrett Parker, Guitar, Rockwall, Texas
Joe Tellmann, Guitar, Franklin, Ohio
Alissa Grattuso-Chesis, Guitar, Denver, Colorado
Adam Miller, Guitar, Novato, California
Jake Kulak, Guitar, Glastonbury, Conneticut
Kelsey Carlisle, Guitar, Mt. Airy, North Carolina
Connor Stith, Guitar, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Derex Williams, Guitar, Helena, Arkansas
Ian Glass, Guitar, Indianapolis, Indiana
Nic Clark, Harmonica, Arvada, Colorado
Evan Hawk, Harmonica, Franklin, Indiana
Carson Diersing, Harmonica, New Palistine, Indiana
Justin Gates, Harmonica, Rockford, Illinois
Nigel Schonfeld, Harmonica, Shelbyville, Indiana
Marcus Cartwright, Harmonica, Holly Grove, Mississippi
Aidan Thomas Hornaday, Harmonica, Atlanta, Georgia
Further information and a complete schedule of events are available on the Pinetop Perkins Foundation website.
