MCC Awards 6 McLean Musicians 2025 James C. Macdonald Performing Arts Scholarships

McLean Community Center Press Release.

MCLEAN, VA — The McLean Community Center awarded 2025 James C. Macdonald Performing Arts Scholarships to six local high school students. The annual scholarship competition began with preliminary auditions in February and culminated with a final competition on stage at The Alden on Wednesday, April 17. A division of the McLean Community Center, The Alden Theatre is located at 1234 Ingleside Ave.

The James C. Macdonald Performing Arts Scholarship Competition encourages artistic achievement and promotes study in the arts by high school students who reside or attend school in the McLean district (Small Tax District 1A, Dranesville). Scholarship prizes of $1,200 are awarded to students placing first in each of four categories: Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater and Vocal Music. Second-place winners are awarded $800 and third-place winners receive $400.

This year, the competition was limited to two categories, Vocal Music and Instrumental Music. In 2020, the first place Instrumental Music Award was named in honor of Anita Lamkin, a longtime friend of young musicians and supporter of music performances in McLean.

This year’s winners are:

Vocal Music

• First Place: Caden Peng, Sophomore, Langley High School
• Second Place: Mia Mortman, Junior, McLean High School
• Third Place: Alex Valencic, Junior, McLean High School

Instrumental Music

• First Place: Sophia Lin, Senior, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
• Second Place: Guillermo Javierre Carmona, Junior, McLean High School
• Third Place: Ryan Chun, Senior, McLean High School

The competition’s distinguished judges were:

• Anne Curley, bassoon performer and double reed teacher and former chair of the Arlington Commission for the Arts. She holds a doctor of music degree from the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign.
• Luke Ratcliffe, an acclaimed pianist, holds a doctoral degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and serves on the faculty of Levine School of Music.
• Dr. Yong Su Clark, flutist, holds a D.M.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park and an M.M. from the Yale School of Music. He has served as the principal flute for the Baltimore Sinfonietta and the 257th Army National Guard Band.
• Jennifer Edelsen has more than 20 years of experience in arts education administration and is the director of Wolf Trap’s Institute for Early Learning through the Arts
• Gustavo Ahualli is renowned for his dramatic portrayals of leading roles across both the standard and contemporary operatic repertoire. He holds a master’s degree in vocal performance from Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

About The Alden

Built in 1975, the 383-seat Robert Ames Alden Theatre, “The Alden,” is a cultural resource for the citizens of McLean and the Washington Metropolitan area that presents a full professional season of interdisciplinary and high-quality performances, lectures and educational programs for audiences of all ages. The Alden is ADA-compliant and will make arrangements for accommodations. To request this information in an alternate format, call 703-790-0123, TTY: 711, or visit: www.aldentheatre.org.