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Four Iowa Students Receive IAC Arts Scholarship
The Iowa Arts Council has selected four Iowa high school seniors to receive the Iowa Scholarship for the Arts.
The award is given to Iowa residents who will graduate from an Iowa high school during the 2005-2006 academic year and have proven artistic ability in dance, literature (creative writing), music, theater, traditional arts or visual arts. Each recipient will receive $1,000 toward his or her college tuition and related expenses as a full-time undergraduate at a fully-accredited Iowa college or university with a major in one or more of the disciplines considered for the award.
This year’s recipients are
Michael Conrad of Bettendorf, who plans to major in music
education with an emphasis in jazz at the University of Northern Iowa. Conrad
has been involved in nearly every aspect of the fine and performing arts at Bettendorf
High School. He is a section leader in the marching band’s trombone section
and sits first chair in the school’s wind ensemble trombone section, the
symphonic orchestra and jazz band. He was selected first chair for the Iowa All-State
Orchestra last fall, marking his third straight selection to the prestigious group.
He’s also a member of the Southeast Iowa Bandmasters Association Honor Jazz
Band and the Iowa All-State Jazz Band. Additionally, Conrad is active in the school’s
drama department productions and was a director of the annual One-Act Plays production.
He also serves as president of the Bettendorf High School National Honor Society
chapter.
Lauren Hartman of Steamboat Rock, who plans to major in vocal
performance at Simpson College. Hartman, at age 15, won the Iowa Talents for Christ
competition and earned the opportunity to compete in the National Talents for
Christ where she won in the female voice category. She won the Iowa Music Teachers
Association pre-college voice auditions last year as a junior, and won the National
Association of Teachers Singing (NATS) competition three years in a row before
winning the Central Regional NATS competition this year in Illinois. She also
won the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) at the state and regional levels
this school year, and will travel to Texas this month to compete at the national
level. Hartman plays the piano, organ and cello; arranges and composes music;
participated in the Quad Cities Opera fundraiser; and studied with international
opera singer Simon Estes and Des Moines Metro Opera Company Artistic Director
Robert Larsen.
Steven Lambert of Sioux City, who plans to major in music at the University of Northern Iowa. Lambert is a four-time member of the Iowa All-State Band, and earned the Outstanding Musicianship Award at the 2005 Iowa All-State Jazz Band Championships. In 2004, he received the Iowa Jazz Championships Outstanding Soloist Award and, in 2004 and 2005, he was named Center Choice Alto Saxophone Soloist at the state music contests; lead alto sax at the Midwest All-Star Jazz Orchestra; and a member of the Iowa All-State Jazz Band on lead alto saxophone. In 2005, he received the Silver Key Award in the Scholastic Arts Competition and first place at the 16th Annual Juried High School Art Exhibition. The logo he created and designed for the Sioux City Community School District as an elementary student is still in use today. Most recently, he has written, recorded and created the cover art of a CD.
Kara McKeever of Defiance, who plans to major in English and
writing. McKeever, who has received numerous literary awards from a variety of
organizations, has written a novel that parodies the fairy tale, Sleeping
Beauty. She has won two national writing awards through the Scholastic Writing
Contest and earned numerous awards at the district level. She also received honors
through Iowa State University’s Wild Iowa Essay Contest, where she received
an award of $200. An exceptional student, McKeever’s ACT Composite score
of 31 ranks her in the 98 percent range of all college-bound students. As a high
school senior, she is taking college composition through Des Moines Area Community
College and has participated in Mock Trial and History Day at IKM Community Schools
since second grade. She has excelled in the fine arts department, and has been
in marching band, pep band and concert band during her high school career. She
has mastered piano and saxophone in the first chair position and participated
in the high school choir and the Boyer Valley Honor Choir, where she recently
received a Boyer Valley All-Conference award in chorus and instrumental. She has
been involved in ensemble acting, Readers’ Theatre and Choral Reading, and
competed at state contests in individual and group categories.
