On May 21,2017, at the Bach to Bluegrass Concert, three young Floyd County musicians were awarded scholarships by VBRMF. In memory of Ed Fallon, Eli Wildman, age 16, was awarded a scholarship to attend the Berklee Global String Program this summer. Aila Wildman and Heather Blake, both 14, were awarded scholarships to attend the Roanoke Youth Symphony Orchestra Summer Institute.
Homeschooled siblings, Eli and Aila, playing mandolin and violin respectively, performed Kittlel’s The Boxing Reel at the concert. The siblings study and perform both classical and traditional music. They have performed in and won numerous bluegrass competitions. Aila plays in the first violin section of the Roanoke Youth Symphony Orchestra. For more details on this talented duo, please see their bios in the musician section of the 2017 Bach to Bluegrass concert on this webpage.
Heather Blake is a rising 9th grade student at Floyd County High School (FCHS) where she plays bass clarinet in the FCHS concert band and is drum major for FCHS marching band. She also plays bass clarinet in the Blacksburg Community Band. She began playing violin 3 ½ years ago and has just been accepted into the Roanoke Youth Symphony Orchestra. Heather was the recipient of the David Wiley Sr. annual scholarship.
Congratulations to these three fine young musicians!