Photo Caption: On Saturday, May 10, 2025, Community Music School (CMS) held the annual Gala Recital & Scholarship Awards in the Dorothy H. Baker Recital Hall at CMS. Pictured are (l-r) Siddharth Chitta, violin; Annette Kim, violin; Kayla Huynh, violin; Naomi Herrera, voice; Rene Kim, violin; Charles Bond, violin; Beckham Anderson, piano; Samuel Truong, piano; Liam Pammer, piano; Paul Mansour, piano; Maanya Gope, voice; Elsia Schmitt, piano; Shriya Chitta, violin; and Felicity Lui, flute.
Allentown, PA (May 14, 2025) – Each spring, CMS faculty recommend their highest performing students at all levels for an audition before an independent panel of judges. The three judges evaluate each student’s musical performance and determine a total audition score based on tone, technique, accuracy, interpretation, and musical effect. This year’s judges were Patrice Kidd, retired Director of Music, Moravian Academy Middle School; Melissa Salvadeo, Orchestra and General Music teacher at East Stroudsburg Middle School; and Jennie Flicker, private piano teacher and former high school chorus director & music teacher.
Students with the highest scores in the auditions performed during the Gala Recital in the school’s Dorothy H. Baker Recital Hall on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 1544 Hamilton Street in Allentown. The program included a variety of classical and contemporary works by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmoninoff, Chopin and others, performed on piano, violin, flute, and voice. The students who were invited to perform were: Beckham Anderson, piano; Shira Bach, piano; Alexander Bernini, piano; Elena Bernini, piano; Jacob Bernini, piano; Charles Bond, violin; Drew Bui, piano; K’ara Caraballo, piano; Shriya Chitta, violin; Siddharth Chitta, violin; Abigail Dodd, violin; Maanya Gope, voice; Nora Heckman, piano; Naomi Herrera, voice; Kayla Huynh, violin; Harmony John, piano; Annabelle Keller, piano; Scarlett Keller, piano; Rene Kim, violin; Annette Kim, violin; Phelps Lozana, piano; Felicity Lui, flute; Paul Mansour, piano; Liam Pammer, piano; Johanna Park, flute; Sebastian Santiago, piano; Elsia Schmitt, piano; Isaac Sharma, flute; Diya Soman, piano; and Samuel Truong, piano. Among these outstanding students, several exceptional students also received merit-based scholarships for CMS lessons in 2025-2026:
The Muriel I. Frank Scholarship was awarded to Elsia Schmitt of Easton, piano student of Evan Nelson. The Muriel I. Frank Scholarship is named in honor of one of the founding members of CMS who served on the Board of Directors for many years. The scholarship was established upon Muriel’s 80th birthday in 1997. Music and education were the mainstream of her life. A 1933 graduate of Allentown High School, Muriel received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the University of Pennsylvania in 1937. She was an accomplished pianist and accompanist for the University of Pennsylvania Choral Society and the Philadelphia Orchestra. She went on to open her own piano studio and continued to perform publicly throughout her life. She served on the board of Allentown Community Concerts, Community Music School, and Temple Beth El. She passed away in 2009.
The Jerome & Martha Markowitz Scholarship was awarded to Shira Bach of Allentown, piano student of Kelly Hooper. The Jerome & Martha Markowitz Scholarship is named in memory of Jerome Markowitz, the founder of Allen Organ Company, and his wife, Martha. Martha was a great friend of CMS and was one of the founding board members of CMS in 1981.
The Joseph Maletz Scholarship was awarded to Alexander Bernini of Catasauqua, piano student of Dr. David Saturen. The Joseph Maletz Scholarship is awarded in memory of Joseph Maletz, violinist and husband of CMS founding director, Martha Maletz.
The Joseph P. Schermerhorn Scholarship was awarded to Maanya Gope of Allentown, voice student of Julia Walsh. The Joseph P. Schermerhorn Scholarship is awarded in memory of Joseph Schermerhorn, son of longtime CMS Executive Director George Schermerhorn and his wife Eunice.
The Martin Spiro Scholarship was awarded to Liam Pammer of Laurys Station, piano student of Kelly Hooper. The Martin Spiro Scholarship is awarded in memory of Martin Spiro, a prosperous Allentown businessman and philanthropist, and his wife Elsie.
The Great Expectations Scholarships were awarded to Harmony John of Allentown, piano student of Kelly Hooper; and Paul Mansour of Allentown, piano student of Evan Nelson.
The Rising Star Scholarships were awarded to Jacob Bernini of Catasauqua, piano student of Dr. David Saturen; and Beckham Anderson of Allentown, piano student of Kelly Hooper.
This year, Schadt String Scholarships were awarded to four deserving students: Rene Kim of Allentown, violin student of Carolyn Gaul; Siddharth Chitta of Center Valley, violin student of Linda Kistler; Annette Kim of Allentown, violin student of Carolyn Gaul; and Kayla Huynh of Allentown, violin student of Sunny Murthy. CMS, in partnership with the Allentown Symphony Association awards this scholarship in memory of the Schadt brothers, Leigh and Edwin, who, early in their life, enjoyed playing the violin introduced to them by their father. Henry Schadt was a self-taught violinist and wanted his sons to learn to play the instrument that he loved. He commissioned a local craftsman and musician, John Johnson, to make a violin for each of the boys and give them violin lessons. The Schadt brothers both graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business in the 1920s, became successful Allentown businessmen, and established Towne Auto Company on Linden Street. The custom-made violins still exist and are being used today by young violinists from the Lehigh Valley. Although Leigh and Edwin did not become violinists themselves, they kept their father’s interest alive by establishing a trust to provide financial aid to promising young violin students.
Naomi Herrera, voice, and Charles Bond, violin, both of Allentown, were recognized as the 2025-2026 Amaranth Scholars. This is Naomi’s third year as an Amaranth Scholar. The Amaranth Foundation Scholarship is awarded to a CMS student who demonstrates a high potential for achieving excellence in music education and who is a member of a CMS family with documented financial need. The Amaranth Foundation was founded by Joan Miller Moran and supports arts-related programming and organizations, including Community Music School. Naomi is a voice student of Julia Walsh. She also studies piano with Kathy Anthony and violin with Carolyn Gaul. Charles studies violin with Carolyn Gaul. He also studies bass, clarinet, and piano.
Samuel Truong of Allentown was recognized as the 2025-2026 Martha Maletz Scholar for the third year in a row. This scholarship honors CMS founder, Martha Maletz, who provided for a scholarship in her will. Martha passed away in 2019 at age 96, and her adult children donated funds to support an annual scholarship in her name. The Martha Maletz Scholarship honors a CMS student of impressive merit and extraordinary potential whose family also has financial need. This full scholarship covers the cost of private piano lessons at CMS during the 2024-25 school year. Samuel is 13 years old and in the 8th grade at Bethlehem Christian School. He has been playing the piano for nine years and studies with Kelly Hooper. He is most proud of the improvement he has made on the piano this year. Samuel hopes to one day attend The Juilliard School.
Our graduating high school seniors who auditioned for and performed in the Gala Recital this year were Felicity Lui, flute and Shriya Chitta, violin. Felicity has been playing the flute for seven years and studies with Elaine Martin. After graduating from Parkland High School this spring, she plans to attend college and pursue a career in medicine. Shriya has been playing the violin for 11 years and studies with Linda Kistler. After graduating from Southern Lehigh High School this spring, Shriya plans to attend college and pursue a career in biochemistry. We wish our high school graduates success and happiness as they head off to college and future careers.
Learn more about the Gala Auditions & Recital at https://cmslv.org/resources/student-resources/gala-auditions/
Learn more about the 2025 Gala Recital at https://cmslv.org/gala-recital-2025/
Watch the 2025 Gala Recital on the CMS YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/hDlZL85eAP4
###
About CMS: Community Music School (CMS) – Lehigh Valley & Berks is a nonprofit charitable organization that provides the inspiration and opportunity for anyone in our diverse community to achieve excellence in music education and appreciate the transformative power of music. Our professional teachers provide private lessons, group classes, and summer camps to students of all ages, from toddlers to seniors, in piano, strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, voice, and recording technology; both in-person and online. Thanks to support from our philanthropic community for over 42 years, CMS has provided students in the Lehigh Valley with the life-long benefits of a quality music education and free performance opportunities. Our main office and studios are located in the former Lehigh Valley Social Club at historic 1544 Hamilton Street in Allentown, PA where we offer 14 lesson rooms of varying sizes, a unique parent lounge, early childhood room, music library, administrative offices, state-of-the-art recording studio, and a 150-seat recital hall. Our CMS Berks satellite studio is located in Reading, PA at GoggleWorks Center for the Arts.
Learn more at http://cmslv.org/.
Make a donation at https://communitymusicschool-bloom.kindful.com/