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CMS Announces Greenleaf Music Award Winners

The selection committee for the Carolyn R. Greenleaf Memorial Fund of Community Music School has chosen guitarist Joel Quan and Silvia Gopalakrishnan as the recipients of the Spring 2018 Carolyn R. Greenleaf Music Award. This award is given each semester to two high school students who have demonstrated exceptional musical ability and motivation, and awards 50 percent of tuition for a semester of private lessons at Community Music School in Centerbrook. Quan has chosen to study guitar with CMS guitar instructor John Birt and Gopalakrishnan has chosen to study flute with CMS flute instructor Cheryl Six.

Quan is an honor sophomore of Xavier High School. His musical career first started when he studied piano when he was in 1st grade. However, after playing piano for five years, he decided to switch to playing the guitar. With the guidance of CMS’s guitar instructor Birt, he got in touch with many different guitar styles such as classical guitar and modern fingerstyle guitar. He likes to play music from different countries all around the world. He thinks playing the guitar is a very good way to relieve stress from schoolwork. Aside from music, Quan also enjoys computer programming and engineering. During summer 2017, he studied C++ programming at MIT and received a certificate from the CEU organization.

Gopalakrishnan has always had music as a main factor and passion in her life. She has taken part in fife and drum as well as chorus from a young age. For voice, she has participated in many music festivals including Connecticut All State and the New England Music Festival. More recently, she joined the band and jazz band playing the flute and trombone. One of her favorite pastimes is composing, primarily for flute and fife.

The Carolyn R. Greenleaf Memorial Fund was established at the Community Foundation of Middlesex County in 2008 by her friends to honor Greenleaf’s dedication to music and education. The Carolyn Greenleaf Memorial Music Award is open to students of Middlesex County and the Lymes and is awarded twice a year, based entirely on merit.

Community Music School is an independent, nonprofit school that provides instruction and musical opportunities to persons of all ages and abilities.

Community Foundation of Middlesex County is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in Middlesex County. Working with charitably-minded individuals and organizations to build permanent endowments since 1997, the Community Foundation has provided 850 grants totaling more than $2.5 million to organizations for the arts, cultural and heritage programs, educational activities, environmental improvements, and for health and human services.