ASHTABULA – A Jefferson Area High School Choir performer was awarded the inaugural Kathleen Riley Milford Scholarship from the Ashtabula County Choral Music Society during a dinner and awards ceremony held Saturday evening, April 25, at Norman-D Banquet Center.
Lila Powell, of the Jefferson Area High School Choir, was the honoree of the evening.
The Ashtabula County Choral Music Society (ACCMS) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1989.
It is dedicated to performing significant choral works and providing educational experiences for singers in Ashtabula County
The Kathleen Riley Milford Scholarship is up to $1,000 for Ashtabula County students aged 13 and older pursuing vocal or choral music.
It is named after retired vocal/choral music teacher for Ashtabula Area City Schools Kathleen Riley Milford, who is the founder of ACCMS.
She established the organization in 1989 after recognizing that the county’s loosely organized Messiah Chorus could achieve more by performing together multiple times a year.
Riley Milford said the event is a special time, the result of the establishment of an endowment fund, which was set up when Nancy Germaine, the late wife of the Rev. John Germaine, now pastor at Cherry Valley UMC, came into an inheritance after the death of her uncle.
The Rev. Germaine suggested the creation of an endowment fund for the organization, which is a volunteer nonprofit that does not charge dues or admission to its performers and, therefore, has very limited funds.
“I had many, many times when there was a student I wanted to help, and we were scraping the bottom of the barrel every single year to do that ‘vision thing’ that I was planning. It was always expensive – I know that,” Riley Milford said.
ACCMS’ performances during the year make a difference for the public, according to Riley Milford.
“It’s absolutely remarkable,” she said. “It’s an experience in community. It’s an experience in music.”
Riley Milford praised Natalie Meloro, Jefferson Area High School choral music instructor, for her work in creating skilled performers and her contribution to Powell’s growth as a musician.
“This young lady has a wonderful teacher,” Riley Milford said, adding that all the scholarship applications this year showed amazing enthusiasm and illuminated the quality of music teaching in the county.
In reviewing this year’s scholarship applications, the review committee was struck by the goals, ambitions, experiences and remarkable talent of the applicants, according to Riley Milford, who said the choice would have been easier if the committee could award more than one scholarship.
“(Powell) is a remarkable young lady,” she said. “When we read the applications, their names were redacted and some information was redacted if it would give them identity. Lila, you have done well in your work with Jefferson High School.”
Powell said the scholarship was an honor she’d worked a long time to earn.
“I just want to give me thank-yous to Mrs. Meloro and my parents for supporting me and teaching me,” she said. “I’ve sang in choir…my whole life, basically, but I feel like I’ve grown especially with you two. It’s really sentimental for me.”
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