The Sedalia Symphony Orchestra scholarship fund, named to honor Harold J. Johnston, our symphony conductor for over thirty years, is a testament to our commitment to nurturing young talent. Your contributions to this fund help support annual scholarships for deserving graduating seniors in Sedalia and surrounding areas. Your donations help keep the live music playing!
Jenny Chang is a violinist from Taiwan who has been playing since the age of seven. With the support of her parents, Eddy Chang and Ally Hsieh, she has earned top prizes in the International Asian Music Competition and Taiwan Music Competition throughout. During her time at Saint Paul Lutheran High School, she received Gold and Silver Medals at the MSHSAA State Music Festival. Jenny has also been a member of the Sedalia Symphony Orchestra for three years. She plans to attend the University of Washington and continue playing in her college orchestra. I'll be auditioning for the University of Washington Symphony Orchestra in September, and I plan to study medicine for the future.
Holden has been an active member of the instrumental music program at Smith-Cotton, taking part in concert band, marching band, jazz band, and recently orchestra. Starting with clarinet in fifth grade, he later transitioned to saxophone in seventh grade, making it his main instrument going forward. During high school, he learned instruments other than his primary, such as trombone, cello, various percussion, and the more obscure contra-alto clarinet. Holden has placed numerous times in the West Central All-District concert and jazz bands with contra clarinet and saxophone, respectively, as well as in the Missouri All-State Band with contra clarinet for his latter three years of high school. Additionally, Holden has participated in the MSHSAA solo and small ensemble music festival for four years, performing both solos and in small ensembles with saxophone and contra clarinet. In the summers of 2023 and 2024, Holden was accepted into the Missouri Summer Composition Institute at Mizzou, where he was able to connect with other high school composers, learn about various music subjects via workshops, and watch his own compositions be performed by professional musicians. Furthermore, in his junior and senior years of high school, he joined the State Fair Community College concert and jazz bands through dual-credit programs. Holden currently plans to attend college at Mizzou, where he will major in either instrumental performance or music composition.
