By Caitlyn Kamminga

The Academy for the Performing Arts prides itself on offering students pathways towards a professional life in the Arts.   In the string studio of our Music Department, alongside an intense focus on performance itself, students are offered opportunities to learn the craft of instrument maintenance and repair.  Through a partnership with the international organisation Luthiers Without Borders (Luthier = Maker of stringed intruments such as violins and guitars), promising students are offered intense workshops and semester-long mentored sessions via video conference with luthiers in the United States.  Each year, the most promising students are afforded the opportunity to attend internships abroad to further their studies.  This year, double bassist Akil Patrick and violist Dionne Smith were the recipients of such a scholarship, and the Academy wishes to congratulate them on their success!

Dionne Smith
 

Akil Patrick