Diana
Foster
Submitted:
April 7, 2015
Awarded
: $
400
Contact Information:
Diana
Foster
10950 Old Sound Ave.
Mattituck
New York
11952
USA
516-524-2202
Reference 1:
Lawrence Lipnik
Reference 2:
Rachel Begley
Summary of Submitted Materials:
1) Page from the Amherst workshop brochure stating tuition and rooming costs.
2) I do not have a recording of my solo playing (nor would I trust myself to make one) - I only play in consort settings. If this is a deal breaker, please let me know.
Submitted Documents:
Submitted Recordings:
Committee Notes:
Diana applied for a similar grant in April of 2014. We didn't fund her then because we had so many applications, many of them stronger than hers. However, now with our new cache of money, we might be able to consider her. That being said, April 15 is still a week away.
Lucy
Project Description:
I want very much to attend the Amherst Early Music Summer Workshop for a week in July. Tuition and rooming costs total $755.00 (documentation uploaded with this application). The challenge for me is that the fees are beyond my means. I'm on Social Security and that, plus what I earn from my part-time job, just barely covers necessities. I will do what I can to reduce the workshop costs by rooming in the budget dorm, cooking my own meals and enrolling for work/study credits. A scholarship award from the VdGSA would make this musically-enriching week possible for me. I sincerely hope that you will consider my application.
Request Amount:
$
400
Total Project Cost:
$
Budget and Additional Funding:
Qualifications:
I am a member of the VdGSA. I have played viol for 18 years and recorder for over 30 years, and studied with some wonderful teachers and coaches, including: Larry Lipnik and Rachel Begley. I attended Conclave in 1999 and 2012 and the Amherst Early Music Summer Festival Workshops in 1997, 2013 & 2014, as well as numerous smaller workshops over the years, on both viol and recorder. It is important to me to continue growing as a player. I would appreciate the opportunity to attend the Amherst Early Music Summer 2015 Workshop, to concentrate on music-making for an entire week, under the direction of some of the best teachers in the world. It’s the perfect recipe to raise the level of my playing. The advances I make at AEM will trickle down to the two regularly performing groups in which I play bass viol and recorders: Ardea (quartet), and The Recorder Orchestra of New York. These groups are great ambassadors for early music, and I hope to continue with them as a valuable member for years to come.
Letter of Reference 1:
Reference from: LARRY LIPNIK
4/8/15
Dear Ms. Szuts,
I am writing to recommend Diana Foster for a scholarship to attend Amherst Early Music Festival, July 5-12, 2015. Ms. Foster has been viol student of mine for over ten years and has shown consistent motivation as well as significant progress with her playing. In addition to her private study, she is a member of a mixed early music ensemble Ardea, which I coach, focusing on renaissance and baroque repertoire and performance. She shows great commitment to the early music community both through performance and educational outreach, and has contributed to the VdGSA newsletter.
Ms Foster has limited discretionary funds and any and all help you would be able to give to her would be gratefully appreciated and put to good use.
Thank you for your consideration and please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Lipnik
Letter of Reference 2:
Reference from: RACHEL BEGLEY
As Music Director of the Recorder Society of Long Island (RSLI), faculty at the now-defunct Long Island Recorder Festival (LIRF), baroque ensemble coach for the Community Chamber Music program at SUNY Stony Brook, and as a private teacher, I have known Diana Foster for more than two decades, initially as a recorder player and later as a burgeoning viola da gamba player. She is serious and highly musical, always seeking to improve her technical and ensemble skills, and as a recorder player is one of the most talented amateurs I have had the pleasure to work with. As a gamba player, she is developing into a fine continuo player, in addition to playing with viol consorts.
She currently plays in both a baroque ensemble (in which she plays viola da gamba, accompanying a recorder trio) and a recorder consort (playing on renaissance instruments by Thomas Prescott), and has grown immensely as a player during the time I have coached her in these groups. She has also been a prominent member of the Recorder Orchestra of New York (RONY) since its inception 20 years ago, and is one of the strongest players at the playing meetings of the Recorder Society of Long Island (RSLI), frequently serving as a mentor to weaker players.
In addition to her playing, Diana contributes in other ways to music-making in our community, editing the RSLI newsletter, serving on the RSLI and RONY boards, and donating the proceeds from the sale of her hand-made jewelry at meetings. I am all the more grateful for Diana’s infectious enthusiasm, especially in light of the significant sacrifices she makes in order to make music with others.
Based on past experience, Diana will take full advantage of the workshop offerings at the Amherst Early Music Festival, and will return as a more knowledgeable and experienced player, with improved technical understanding and renewed inspiration, eager to share this enrichment and love of music with her fellow players. It would be hard for me to think of a more deserving player of financial support, and you can be assured that any funding will be multiplied many times over within our musical community. She receives my highest recommendation.
--Rachel Begley
Rachel Begley
23 Continental Drive
Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776-4211