Tampa, Fla. (April 15, 2016) – Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts (TBBCA) announces $15,000 in awards to six Tampa Bay area high school students to receive The Charlie Hounchell Art Stars fine and performing arts scholarships. Each scholarship winner will be awarded $2,500, one in each of six fine and performing arts categories: theatre, literary arts, dance, instrumental music, vocal music and visual arts.
Since 2007, TBBCA has awarded financial assistance for higher education in the arts to more than 50 Tampa Bay area students, some of the most promising and talented young artists and performers in the nation. This TBBCA program is named in honor of TBBCA Past President, the late Charlie Hounchell, who was the program’s founder and champion.
The 2016 winners of The Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarships are:
• Theatre – Courteney McClutchy, 12th grade, East Lake High School
• Literary Arts – Lyrik Courtney, 11th grade, Howard W. Blake High School
• Dance – Sabrina Downing, 12th grade, Howard W. Blake High School
• Instrumental Music – Jason Charos, 11th grade, Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
• Vocal Music – Lillian Kraack, 12th grade, Newsome High School
• Visual Arts – Aidan Schaffert, 11th grade, Gibbs High School
This year, a deep talent pool of more than 100 students from Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco Counties submitted scholarship applications, judged on the basis of talent and merit by a distinguished panel of experts in their field.
The 2016 panel of judges are:
• Theatre – Eugenie Bondurant, singer, television and film actor, with featured role as Tigris in the “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2”
• Literary Arts – Lisa Unger, award-winning New York Times and internationally best-selling author
• Dance – Helen Hansen French, Juilliard graduate, a member of Karen Reedy Dance, Buglisi Dance Theatre, and St. Pete Dance Alliance, and on faculty at John Hopkins Middle School and St. Petersburg College
• Instrumental Music – Paul Wilborn, pianist, musician and bandleader, and executive director of The Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College
• Vocal Music – Dawne Eubanks, classical soloist and voice instructor at Eckerd College and Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School
• Visual Arts – Michael Murphy, gallery owner of Michael Murphy Gallery M.
Scholarship recipients will showcase their talent at The Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarships Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 11 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at TBBCA pARTner The Museum of Fine Arts, located at 255 Beach Drive NE in St. Petersburg. The event is open to the public but advance registration is required, as space is limited. To register, please contact susanaweymouth@tbbca.org.
TBBCA is a 501 (c) (3). To donate online to The Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarships go to www.tbbca.org. Individual scholarship naming rights and sponsorships are available. Contact TBBCA at (813) 221-2787.
About TBBCA
Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts is a nonprofit organization serving Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco Counties with the mission to unite Tampa Bay area businesses to champion arts education, arts and culture for a prosperous community. One of 11 national Business Committees for the Arts of the private sector network of Americans for the Arts, TBBCA provides connections, advocacy, funding and support for artists, arts education, and arts and cultural organizations. TBBCA programs are made possible through the generosity of TBBCA pARTners, including Chair’s Circle: Premier Eye Care; Stephen Gay/Gay & Associates Realtors; Linda and Michael Connelly; The Beaux Arts Group; MedHOK; Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick; Tampa Bay Magazine; Tampa Bay Times/*tbt; Cox Media Group, The Wilson Company, Chappell Roberts, and Alex McKnight Archival Images.