HHS and HFA present Leadership in the Arts scholarships to two students

Today the directing team of the Huntsville High School (HHS) musicals and representatives from the Huntsville Festival of the Arts (HFA) awarded the HHS Leadership in the Arts scholarship to two students.

Paige Meunier and Chris Pearse are this year’s recipients and will each receive $500 and a commemorative plaque.

The scholarship funds come from ticket sales to the school’s annual musical productions. “When we started doing musicals 10 years ago, we decided we would use the money left after our costs to reinvest in students,” said HHS teacher and musical director Ian McTavish.

“We set the criteria as leadership in the arts. What we found with our productions is that students who were not only talented but took on leadership roles made such a huge difference for the cast. We wanted to recognize and honour that.”

The recipient(s) are selected by the school’s directing team. “This year we are thrilled because the Festival of the Arts contributed so we were able to recognize two students which we are not always able to do,” said McTavish.

“We wanted to promote theatre in the school,” said Carol Gibson from Huntsville Festival of the Arts, of the decision to support the scholarship.

“The recipients are well-deserving,” added Karen Cassian, the Festival’s president. “We’d like to continue to help any way we can.”

Meunier will be applying the scholarship toward a degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston where she will study voice, but will also have the opportunity to study musical theatre thanks to a recent merger of the school with the Boston Conservatory.

“It means a lot because it was chosen by the people I was so close with on the directing team,” said Meunier. “They were a big influence to me and I was grateful that they gave me the part in the first place.”

Pearse was not present at the award ceremony.

“Former students that have won the scholarship now work at the Algonquin Theatre, in television and in stage productions,” said McTavish. “We are thrilled with the achievements of the students who have won it.”

Past recipients are:
Katherine Minnis (2007-2008)
Tyler Ayles (2008-2009)
Ryan Burda (2009-2010)
Leah Amosow (2010-2011)
Kathryn Redwood (2011-2012)
Andrew Cameron-Sylester (2012-2103)
Elizabeth Robinson (2013-2014)
Emily Hill (2014-2015)
Phoebe Roy (2014-2015)

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