Berkshire Music School Alumni Garner National Recognition
Madalyn and Cicely Parnas, alumni of the Berkshire Music School, have recently received significant recognition of their music talents. Cicely, cellist, age 18, was selected to be “Artist in Residence” on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today”, with daily performances and interviews with host Fred Child the week of December 5-9. Madalyn, violinist, age 20, has just won a Marshall Scholarship, which will pay all of her costs to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London next year while she completes her Masters degree in one year. Madalyn studied violin at the Berkshire Music School with Laura Donovan and Cicely studied cello with Erica Pickhardt. Both Madalyn and Cicely were the youngest top place winners of BMS’s Merit Scholarship competition at age 9, and remain the youngest winners.
Madalyn joins the elite group of American Marshall Scholars following her selection for this very competitive award. The Marshall Scholarship covers the cost of graduate study and living at a British university of the recipient’s choice. The Marshall Scholarships were established in 1953 as a British gesture to the US for the assistance received after WWII under the Marshall Plan. Financed by the British government, the prestigious scholarships are awarded to American students who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership potential. Up to 40 are selected each year. Madalyn will attend the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she will study with world renowned violinist and pedagogue György Pauk.
Cicely was invited to be an inaugural performer on a new Performance Today series called “Young Artists in Residence.” There were five radio segments broadcast daily beginning Monday, December 5th, and ended Friday, December 9th. Cicely was featured performing and interviewed by Fred Child each day.
Madalyn is presently completing an Artist Diploma with Jaime Laredo at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. A former student of James Buswell, Ms. Parnas graduated summa cum laude with concentrations in Music and French from The College of Saint Rose. Madalyn performs on a 1715 Alessandro Gagliano violin and is the granddaughter of legendary cellist Leslie Parnas.
Born in 1993, cellist Cicely Parnas is one of the finest young artists performing today. A unique presence on the concert stage, she is recognized for her highly individualized sound, exquisite tone, and spontaneous creativity fueled by an affable fearlessness. Cicely’s cello studies began at age four, and she made her orchestral debut at nine. Since then Cicely has performed over thirty times as guest soloist with orchestras, including the New York String Orchestra conducted by master musician and conductor, Jaime Laredo, and David Alan Miller’s Albany Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Parnas has claimed her seventh 1st prize in soloist competitions winning the 2011 Cello Concerto Competition at the Jacobs School of Music.
Cicely is a full-tuition scholarship recipient in the prestigious Artist Diploma Program at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music studying with cellist Sharon Robinson. She is the granddaughter of world-class cellist Leslie Parnas, and a former student of cellist Peter Wiley. Ms. Parnas performs on a 1712 Giovanni Grancino violoncello.
For more information about the Parnas sisters, visit their website at www.parnasmusic.com.