Los Alamos Symphony awards scholarships to four graduating seniors
Four LAHS seniors earned LASO scholarships backed by memorial gifts, revealing a music pipeline that reaches All-State, college and beyond.
Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra’s scholarship awards did more than hand four Los Alamos High School seniors a final boost before graduation; they showed how much of the county’s music pathway is carried by donors, families and volunteers. LASO says its scholarships go to seniors with exceptional talent and interest in music, that students must attend Los Alamos High School or live in Los Alamos County, and that the awards are meant to keep recipients making music even if it is not their career. In 2026, three of the four scholarships came from memorial gifts, while the orchestra scholarship was funded by audience and member donations. Anyone who wants to help can donate directly to LASO.
Noelle M. Judd received the Jackie MacFarlane Scholarship, a $1,000 award honoring longtime LASO violinist Jackie MacFarlane, who died Nov. 25, 2024. Judd had played viola for almost nine years, spent four years in Los Alamos Symphonic Strings Orchestra and attended the New Mexico All-State Music Festival for the past three years while studying with Tamyra Smith. She plans to attend Colorado State University for a bachelor’s degree in music therapy with a viola emphasis, a route that keeps music central even as she moves into college.
Carlos Martinez received the Rosemary O’Connor scholarship, also $1,000, after building a résumé that ran through choir, marching band, pit orchestra, honor band, the Santa Fe Youth Symphony, the Los Alamos Symphony and Los Alamos Community Winds. He was selected as a Youth Musician Ambassador for the Santa Fe Symphony Association, plans to major in bassoon performance and has been accepted into the University of New Mexico music program. Penelope Barry-Hoffman, who received the Jane Gerheart scholarship, also got $1,000. She started on piano and trumpet, moved to oboe in fourth grade, played with the Santa Fe Youth Symphony, and will attend the University of Chicago as a President’s Scholar and University Scholar.
Taken together, the awards show a county arts pipeline that starts in school ensembles, is tested in statewide All-State festivals and can still matter after graduation. That matters in Los Alamos, where seniors were already collecting other local honors in the high school’s scholarship season and where the broader question is not whether exceptional students can be celebrated, but whether more young musicians can find the same support once they leave Los Alamos High School. LASO’s 2025 class, which included five scholarship winners, showed the program is already an annual tradition rather than a one-time gesture.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
