Category: Award

Presidential Scholar

Congratulations to Devon for being nominated as a candidate for the 2024 Presidential Scholar. This program is by invite only and is extended to those with exceptional ACT and SAT scores.

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OPUS 2023 Music Competition

Congratulations to Devon for receiving 2nd prize in the Piano Category V in Iowa of the OPUS 2023 Music Competition. This is Devon’s 2nd year participating in the OPUS Music Competition.

Des Moines Youth Symphony Concerto Competition

Devon had been preparing for the Des Moines Youth Symphony Concerto Competition for months. Through the process, he had learned to collaborate with a piano accompanist, detailing what he wanted in the music. Both Devon and our accompanist, Joyce Moeckly, expressed their excitement after the audition. We then received news that Devon had won the Concerto competition the next day. He will be performing four shows with the Des Moines Symphony at their family concerts on March 5 and 6.  Congratulations to Devon for this extraordinary and honorable opportunity!

2024 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Congratulations to Devon for being one of the 2024 National Merit Scholarship semifinalist! High school juniors entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The 16,000 Semifinalists are the highest-scoring entrants in each state and represent less than 1 percent of each state’s high school seniors. They are the only participants who qualify to continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships to be awarded in the spring of 2024. 

About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2024 will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July.

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IMTA Ames Honors Recital 2023

Winners and alternates of the IMTA (Iowa Music Teacher Association) Ames district piano audition have the opportunity to showcase one piece at the Honors Recital. Devon was the winner for the F Level competition this year and he will be moving on competing at the State Level on March 11, 2023. At the Honors Recital, Devon performed Chopin’s Etude in E minor Op.25 No.5.

OPUS 2022 Music Competition

Congratulations to Devon for receiving 3rd prize in the Piano Category IV in Iowa of the OPUS 2022 Music Competition. The OPUS Music Competition is an online competition open to school-aged children at State and National Levels for Piano and Strings. Students have to submit 1 to 3 compositions performed within a time limit of the categories.

2022 All State Music Festival

This is Devon’s third year participating in the All State Music Festival. He made 10th chair in the cello section of the orchestra this year. There was no chamber orchestra last year due to social distancing precautions, hence this is the first year he gets to be part of it. The top 10 musicians in the orchestra of each section get to participate in the chamber orchestra, performing with the choir.