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• LITTLE NECK LEDGER
• WHITESTONE TIMES
Sept. 11-Sept. 17, 2020
Bayside student earns prestigious scholarship
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Allison Brook of Bayside
loves singing and was extremely
surprised and grateful when
she was selected among five students
to receive the Distinction
in Music Award Scholarship
from the Long Island Music Hall
of Fame (LIMHOF).
Brook, 17, recently graduated
from Brooklyn Technical High
School and will attend Northwestern
University in the fall
to pursue a dual degree in vocal
performance and economics.
“It was an interesting grueling
and lengthy process writing
essays and pushing forward,”
Brook said. “Getting the grant
money is amazing, and my
passion for music will hopefully
prevail and will amount to
something in life.”
Students in Brooklyn, Nassau,
Queens and Suffolk counties
are eligible to apply for the
scholarships. The program is
in addition to other education
acknowledgements that LIMHOF
sponsors, including the
Music Educator of Note and
the High School Recognition
Awards.
LIMHOF is able to provide
these scholarships thanks to
support received from the Long
Island music community and
from Jill’s Dreams, a foundation
established in the name of, and
in memory of former LIMHOF
Board member Jill Nees-Russell
.A
n outdoor reception was
Allison Brook, 17, of Bayside, is pursuing a dual degree in vocal performance and economics at
Northwestern University in the fall. Courtesy of Long Island Music Hall of Fame
held this month where students
were able to receive
their awards, visit the Mobile
Museum and celebrate their
achievements.
“Long Island Music Hall of
Fame is honored to have the
opportunity to support and acknowledge
accomplished high
school seniors who are pursuing
a future in music, said Tom
Needham, LIMHOF education
chairman. There were many
amazing candidates and our
committee was honored to be
able to recognize some additional
students. The talent that
exists on Long Island is something
we at LIMHOF want to celebrate.
In addition to following
their own dreams, we believe
these students will encourage
and inspire others.”
For Brook, music breathes
life into her. She comes from a
family of musicians and began
classical singing at the age of 6,
she said.
“Music is definitely in the
genes, it’s definitely not just me,”
Brook said. “My mother used to
sing to me at night, and I started
singing opera at the age of 14.”
Brook was inspired by her
older sister, who is also an opera
singer, to continue taking singing
seriously and performing.
While her voice was typically
lower than some of her
friends and having competed at
competitions, Brooke realized
that the judges loved a more
“pretty elegant nature of female
voices” and that was something
she couldn’t identify with, she
said.
However, Brook’s voice
teacher, Jennifer Grimaldi, instilled
confidence in the young
singer to be proud of her voice
and happy while performing in
front of an audience.
“I owe her a lot for all of the
work she put into me,” Brook
said. “She is an amazing teacher,
motherly, kind hearted, and
great at developing one core
voice and sound — not only
teaching how to project our
voice but adding richness and
color to it.”
Grimaldi believes Brook to
be a “superb and unique talent.”
“She has a full bodied rich
and beautiful sound. For a
younger singer she is intensely
committed, intelligent, artistically
responsible singer, with
a kindness, integrity and humility
that are noteworthy,”
Grimaldi said.
While a student at Brooklyn
Technical High School, Brook
was focused on her academic
studies, enjoying subjects
such as math and science. At
the time, she wasn’t ready to
commit to music, but while researching
colleges, she decided
to choose Northwestern University
to study both music and
economics.
“I was passionate about academia
and although I worked
different jobs and internships,
the one thing I came back to is
singing opera and I realized I
wanted to have it in some type
of form for the rest of my life,”
Brook said.
Looking forward, Brook’s
goal is to establish a nonprofit
organization helping other people
pursuing opera or music in
general.
Vol. 86 No. 37 36 total pages
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