John Jay seniors awarded music scholarships by Justin Veatch Fund

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - Madison Varriale and Will Harris were recently awarded music scholarships from The Justin Veatch Fund, with the John Jay High School seniors being chosen from a highly competitive group of applicants. 

Harris plans to attend Dartmouth College in the fall. An avid piano player since he began taking lessons at age four, he says he would not be himself without music which includes an interest in music production and recording. Harris says music is a good complement to his interest in neuroscience which will be his college major—taking a break to work on a new song or playing for friends and family brings good balance to his life. His piano teacher for the past ten years says Harris enjoys being pushed to expand his musical abilities, has good sight reading skills, and an ear for complex harmonies as well as being open to new genres.

Varriale is studying classical voice and will be attending The Julliard School in August. She says at an early age she discovered singing brought her joy and helped her to communicate better with others. Varriale aspires to become a professional classical opera soprano. Singing opera, she says, is more than having great pitch, but also a talent for researching and depicting the context of each musical piece. One of her teachers says Varriale’s warm-toned, lyrical voice is mature beyond her years both musically and technically. She was one of twenty students globally who took part last summer in the inaugural Julliard Summer Voice Program.

Each year, The Justin Veatch Fund awards music scholarships to graduating high school students who live within a 40-mile radius of Yorktown Heights. The scholarships honor the legacy of Justin Veatch, a Yorktown High School senior who died from an accidental drug overdose in 2008. 

“It’s hard to believe we’ve been awarding these scholarships for 17 years,” says Elena Veatch, Justin’s sister and JVF board member. “It’s been immensely healing to see something so positive for our community come out of our family’s tragedy.”

Article courtesy of The Justin Veatch Fund.