Students from all over the globe have been enjoying the beautiful weather here in Muncie for the 2017 Music for All Summer Symposium. All of our students are enjoying their week, meeting other young musicians and learning more each day. To make this experience accessible to more students, Music for All offers scholarships to help young musicians reach for their dreams and ambitions.
This week we had the pleasure of meeting Diego Soriano, a Tang Family scholarship recipient. Diego plays trumpet in the Marching Band Division. This past year, Diego approached his band director wondering what he could do to further his music education during the summer. His band director replied that the best summer program would be the Music for All Summer Symposium. Without the scholarship Diego received, he would have stayed home this summer instead of working towards his dream of one day joining a drum corps.
While going through the application process, Diego was able to choose which division he was going to participate in. This was one of the easiest decisions for Diego to make since he has developed a passion for marching band because it combines the importance of musicality with outdoor, physical activity. Diego was also excited to come to camp for marching band because he was able to meet some of his all time favorite musicians, Richard Saucedo and Chad Brinkman. Both are engaged in drum corps and Brinkman has become a sort of idol to Diego as he continues to excel with his trumpet playing.
The Summer Symposium has not only created an environment where Diego can meet some of the biggest names in music education but also some of the greatest drum corps like his favorites, Carolina Crown and the Bluecoats. After meeting all of these inspiring people, Diego says he learned the most from a session he attended with Frank Troyka during the leadership weekend. His notebook is full of new tips and tricks to take back to his fellow classmates with lessons to help him (and his friends back home) succeed.
Diego said that the one thing he will always remember is the first time he heard the full band play together and hear that everyone was in tune. The people sitting around him would push him throughout the week to be a better musician and marcher just as he would for them.
Diego expressed with enthusiasm how thankful he is that the Tang Family funded a scholarship that allowed him to attend the Music for All Summer Symposium. We hope that if you are able, you will consider supporting, even more students, just like Diego, to have life-changing experiences. You can help send students to the 2018 Music for All Summer Symposium by donating to the L.J. Hancock Summer Symposium Scholarship Fund or the Indianapolis Public Schools Summer Symposium Scholarship Fund. You can donate online or call the Music for All Advancement Department at 800-848-2263 for more information.
