50 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Courtesy of Long Island Music Hall of Fame
Bayside student wins 2020 Long
Island Music Hall of Fame scholarship
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Allison Brook of Bayside loves singing
and was extremely surprised and grateful
when she was selected among fi ve 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 Suff olk counties are eligible to apply
for the scholarships. Th e 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.
An outdoor reception was 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. “Th ere were many amazing
candidates and our committee was
honored to be able to recognize some additional
students. Th e 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 defi nitely in the genes; it’s
defi nitely 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
performing and taking singing seriously.
Her voice was lower than those of some
of her friends, and, having competed at
competitions, Brook realized that the
judges loved a more “pretty elegant nature
of female voices.” Th at was something she
couldn’t identify with, she said.
However, Brook’s voice teacher, Jennifer
Grimaldi, instilled confi dence 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 diff erent 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 nonprofi t organization helping
other people pursuing opera or music
in general.
Her advice to others who are passionate
about music: Never give up.
“Th ere are so many times I felt emotionally,
physically and mentally defeated,
and the right way to approach this fi eld
is to be positive and to have a strong will
and heart,” Brook said. “Even if you love
music, you must have confi dence in yourself
to pursue your dreams.”
Allison Brook, 17, of Bayside, is pursuing a dual degree in vocal performance and economics at Northwestern University in the fall.
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