Rockport Music awards a record $7,500 in scholarships to local students

ROCKPORT—Rockport Music celebrated the passion of three local students last night with their largest scholarship awards to-date, building on a 12-year tradition of supporting music's next generation.

Three $2,500 college scholarships were awarded to graduating high school seniors Mari Penaloza (Rockport High School), Xander Tomaiolo (Manchester-Essex Regional High School) and Mia Broglino (Ipswich High School) at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival's Humor & Harmony concert at the Shalin Liu Performance Center on Saturday evening. This amount is a $1,000-per-award increase from previous years, in which students were awarded $1,500.

Winners were selected from a competitive applicants, reviewed by the Rockport Music Scholarship Review Committee. All awardees qualified either by participating in a high school performing arts program in one of the districts that Rockport Music serves or by participating in one of Rockport Music's youth instructional programs (the Cape Ann Jazz Workshop or Cape Ann Youth Chorus).

“This year, the three outstanding recipients have all been described as leaders who think outside the box, inspire their peers, and have found their voice through music,” said Elizabeth Stefan, Director of Education and Partnerships at Rockport Music.

The application process involved submitting a 500-word essay where applicants were asked to describe their passion for music and how it has shaped their life, either through a moment of growth or overcoming a challenge. Essay requirements also prompted applicants to share how they envision music to be part of their future, and how music connects them to others. In addition to this essay, applicants were asked to submit a letter of recommendation.

The Rockport Music Scholarship fund was founded in 2014 by the Board of Trustees in honor of Susan Gray, Phil Cutter, Alec Dingee, and Eve Cutter. The program has awarded 19 scholarships over eight years to students from the North Shore and Greater Boston area. For more information regarding the Rockport Music Scholarship, contact Elizabeth Stefan at estefan@rockportmusic.org.


Rockport Music presented three students with the annual Rockport Music Scholarship during the intermission of the Rockport Chamber Music Festival "Humor and Harmony" concert on Saturday, June 20 at the Shalin Liu Performance Center. From left to right: Greg Jukes (Education Coordinator), Xander Tomaiolo, Mari Penaloza, Mia Broglino, Elizabeth Stefan (Director of Education & Partnerships), Barry Shiffman (Artistic Director)