HATTON WINNER OF ECU’S PRESTIGIOUS GEORGE NIGH AWARD

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Tobey Hatton is the winner of East Central University’s prestigious George Nigh Award as the top graduating senior for 2012-2013.

Hatton, of Pauls Valley, received the award Friday at a luncheon honoring him and four other finalists Lindsey Dugan, of McAlester; Ashley Cardwell, of Mustang; Checed Rodgers, of Stonewall; and Kristin Belicek, of Purcell, for their outstanding academic achievements.

Former Oklahoma Gov. George Nigh, who was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives when he was a senior at ECU, answered questions from the finalists before the winner was announced.

Hatton received $1,000 for the award, which is based on academic achievement, character and potential contribution to public service.

The late Julian Rothbaum, a Tulsa oil man, banker and one-time state regent for higher education, established an endowment through the East Central University Foundation Inc. to fund the Nigh Award in honor of the former governor.

Nigh, also a former president of the University of Central Oklahoma, served four terms in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, four terms as lieutenant governor and two terms as governor.

Hatton graduated in December with a bachelor’s of science in biology with a pre-dental concentration. He also minored in business administration and chemistry. He plans to apply to dental school at the University of Oklahoma/College of Dentistry this fall.

He has made the President’s and Dean’s Honor Rolls at ECU as well as acquiring memberships to the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society and TriBeta College Honor Society. He also earned the Raniyah Ramadan Scholarship, Presidential Plus Scholarship, Francisco-Hatchett Scholarship and James A. Thomas Scholarship.

Besides being a member of the ECU Business Club since 2011 and a guitarist for the Cornerstone Community Church Worship Band for four years, Hatton has volunteered for the Free Community Thanksgiving Dinner at Little Ben’s Pizza for eight years, 5-7 Food Ministry, Cornerstone Community Church youth group for two years and Mission Arlington Christmas Store for three years.

Finalist Lindsey Dugan will graduate in May with a bachelor’s of arts degree in English with a minor in mass communications. Dugan has received ECU’s Presidential Plus Scholarship and is a member of ECU’s Honors Society; Literati, an organization dedicated to the literary arts; Sigma Tau Delta, an English Honors Society; and Rotaract, an organization dedicated to world cooperation. She also won the 2012 Reed Loving Watt Award, is president and co-founder of the ECU Anime Club and is regular volunteer at P.A.W.S. animal shelter.

Ashley Cardwell, another finalist, is a math major at ECU and is expected to graduate in May. She received an ECU Regent Baccalaureate Scholarship, golf scholarship, James O. Danley Mathematics Scholarship and Mathematics Academic Achievement Award. Her activities include: ECU Honors Student Association as a peer mentor and treasurer, women’s golf team member, Alpha Chi member, NASA Fellow and McNair Scholar. She was the class valedictorian at Mustang High School.

Finalist Checed Rodgers is a computer science major who is expected to graduate in May. He has already obtained one bachelor’s degree in legal studies from ECU in 2010 and was a math minor. Rodgers has been a part of the ECU Honors Program. He participated in the ECU Legal Professionals Association by assisting with fundraising and community service efforts and was a Legal Research and Writing Scholar. Rodgers also founded, coordinated and participated in a no-cost math tutoring program for local Native American grade school, high school students and children of tribal employees.

Finalist Kristin Belicek, who will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, is a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society and has been on the ECU Dean’s Honor Roll all four years. Belicek has served a student teacher at Francis Elementary School and has planned units, taught lessons and assessed students at the Ada Early Childhood Center and Hays Grade Center. Her objective is to obtain a teaching position in the early childhood education field.

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MARQUARDT WINNER OF ECU CONCERTO COMPETITION; TO HAVE PIANO SOLO PERFORMANCE WITH WIND ENSEMBLE

ECU's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students,
faculty, staff and community interact to educate students for life.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

East Central University Communications and Marketing580-559-5650 or 405-812-1428 (cell)

Claire Marquardt is the winner of the Second Annual East Central University Concerto Competition, it was announced recently by the ECU Music Department.

Marquardt, a junior from Poteau, will have the honor of performing a piano solo with the ECU Wind Ensemble’s Spring Concert on Thursday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Ataloa Theatre of the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center.

She will perform George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, one of the most popular pieces ever arranged for piano and wind ensemble.

During her time at ECU, Marquardt has won honorable mention at the Oklahoma Music Teachers’ Association Collegiate Contest and has performed at their annual convention. She also won the collegiate division of the Lynn Freeman Olson Composition Contest in 2011.

Marquardt will graduate from ECU in 2014 and plans to attend graduate school for piano performance.

She was introduced to piano at age 4 by her mother and continued studying with her grandmother as part of her homeschooling. At age 12, she became a student of Mrs. Noma Curtis. She competed at Oklahoma Federation of Music Clubs festivals and, at age 13, won the piano duet division at the state level, followed by three state solo wins.

For several summers, Marquardt attended Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony, where she met ECU professor Dr. Starla Hibler. Her time at the arts colony was instrumental in her decision to pursue music as a career.

Marquardt won the IPFAC Junior and Senior Solo Competitions, as well as the Concerto Competition and multiple state and regional awards. In addition, Marquardt received honorable mention, at the high school level, in the national Lynn Freeman Olson Composition Contest.

“I am very happy that this year’s competition found another talented young musician to showcase at the upcoming concert,” said Juliana Overmier, ECU flute instructor and competition coordinator. “I am equally happy that the competition itself has been so well received, and will continue as an annual event generously funded by the Masonic Endowment for Cultural Enrichment. Their support, added to the combined efforts of the ECU music faculty, will ensure that the Concerto Competition will be successful in supporting and encouraging emerging musicians for many years to come. It has been a pleasure to be associated with this event.”

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EKU Big Winner at KMEA Conference

Eastern Kentucky University was a big winner at the recent Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) Conference.

The University’s Foster Music Camps, the second longest-running such event in the nation, received the President’s Award. Earlier, the Foster Camps had received the District 11“Friend of Music” award, given in recognition of individuals, organizations or corporations whose activities have demonstrated outstanding support for music education. “The evidence submitted for Foster Camps was so compelling that the KMEA Awards Committee felt that recognition by way of the President’s Award was in order,” said KMEA Executive Director John Stroube,

The Foster Camps will mark their 78th anniversary this summer.

Also, Ben Walker, who for the past several years has served as director for the Foster Music Camps and is the band director at B. Michael Caudill Middle School in Richmond, received a (District 11) Citation for Service in recognition of “several years of skillfully managing the work crew at the annual KMEA conference.

“This job requires leadership, effective communication, organization, a mature perspective on the mission of the conference, patience and physical endurance,” Stroube said. “Ben had demonstrated these characteristics consistently, and he has applied these same skills for the past several years as the director of the Foster Music Camps, deepening and broadening his service to the profession.”

Also receiving a Citation for Service (District 8) was Terry Thompson, an EKU graduate who has taught in Carroll County, Greenup County and Ashland over the course of his career.

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International Guitar Competition Winner Dylla to Perform at EKU March 26

Marcin Dylla, international guitar competition winner, will perform at Eastern Kentucky University, his last stop before his Carnegie Hall debut.

The concert, sponsored by Eastern Kentucky University Department of Music, Division of Guitar Studies, Guitar Society and the D’Addario Strings, will be held in EKU’s Gifford Theater on Tuesday, March 26 at 8 p.m. Tickets will be $20 general admission, $15 for senior citizens and $10 for students with a valid ID.

Richard Storm, writing for the Sarasota Herald Tribune (Fla.) said: “‘Incredible’ is a word used far too frequently these days, but Polish guitarist Marcin Dylla restored the meaning of the word in an absolutely stunning concert. Large-scale, challenging compositions for solo guitar are not heard often, certainly not performed at this level of seemingly effortless technique and intense artistry. It was clear from the outset that we were hearing a major talent performing music of serious proportions with both impressive technique and deeply musical interpretive skill.”

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