Congratulations to Madison Emehel! This orchestra student at Charlotte's Northwest School of the Arts started violin in the 6th grade, has played in CMS's Honors Orchestra, and is a member of the Charlotte Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. Madison wrote in her application, "For years I’ve always wanted an electric violin, so I have been saving my money. With an electric violin, I could step up my music game by having something that produces a different sound than my acoustic violin. I will also be able to perform in larger spaces due to the sound that an electric violin can produce." We were pleased to help her speed that goal along with funds from the Jacob Titus Youth Music Scholarship! She purchased her electric violin from our community partners at The Violin Shoppe and has since been able to perform in larger spaces, pictured here entertaining residents at Cadence Assisted Living in Huntersville.

Congratulations to Hailey Brown! Hailey has been playing violin for six years, since she was eleven years old. As her instructor Anna Boyle describes, "From the first lessons that I taught her, Hailey was a cheerful and willing learner. I’ve seen her love for music as well as her skill and talent grow and blossom. Three years ago, Hailey auditioned and was accepted into the Youth Orchestras of Charlotte’s Preparatory Orchestra, one of the top competitive youth symphonies in the area. She raised her own tuition money ($600 per year) and commuted over an hour each week to rehearsals. This past year, Hailey was accepted into the most advanced orchestra in the Youth Orchestras of Charlotte program. The week after her first rehearsal, Hailey sent me an excited text telling me about the music she would be playing." Hailey's performing had long surpassed the quality of her student violin and it was past time to upgrade. Anna described, "Her current violin has served her well, but a nicer violin would meet a need in Hailey’s continued musical education."

Congratulations to Austin Green! Austin is a junior at Providence High School who first took piano lessons in elementary school. He shared in his application that he hadn't played for many years until the pandemic when he revisited his interest in playing piano and started practicing again on his own. He became immersed in practicing and learning about pianists of many genres. “Since last year I have been practicing piano for 3-4 hours a day and have been committed to learning all I can about music”.

With his scholarship, Austin will have piano lessons with Brian Childers who shared how impressed he was with Austin's natural talent.

Thank you to Tamara Titus & Lane Jacobs for launching this youth music scholarship opportunity with Tosco Music in 2019, and to everyone who has added their own contributions to this special scholarship fund to honor the memory of Jacob Titus. Learn more about donating to, or applying for, the Jacob Titus Youth Music Scholarship here.

Tosco Music is a volunteer-powered nonprofit organization that has been building community through music in Charlotte for more than 30 years through Tosco Music Parties and music outreach throughout Charlotte. Since 2010, Tosco Music has provided dozens of scholarships for youth and adults to summer music camps through Arts+ (formerly Community School of the Arts) and The Swannanoa Gathering.