Local News

Students selected for Donna Campbell Award for Excellence

PARKERSBURG -- Two students from St. Marys and Williamstown high schools are the 2023 winners of the Donna Campbell Award for Excellence established by the conductor of the American Pops Orchestra.

Kyle Jones of St. Marys High School and Payton Woodard of Williamstown High School will each receive a $1,500 scholarship award.

Jones is a horn player from St. Marys. He has played horn for eight years, the past four as a member of the St. Marys High School marching and concert bands.

While in high school, he was named first horn of the West Virginia Music Educators Association All-State Band, performed as a Solo and Ensemble Festival honor recitalist and played with several honor bands throughout the state. He is a past recipient of the Dr. James F. Dunphy Memorial Scholarship through the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Jones will attend West Virginia University for a bachelor's in music performance where he will study with Albert Houde, assistant professor of horn and principal horn of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Jones then plans to attend a major conservatory for a master's in music with a career goal of winning a position in one of the nation's premier military bands.

Woodard is a senior at Williamstown High School. She has played the violin since the second grade through the Williamstown Strings Program and also enjoys playing the cello, guitar and piano. Woodard writes and composes music on the side and is excited for one of her pieces to be played by the orchestra at its upcoming spring concert.

After graduating high school, Woodard plans to attend Ohio University to become a music therapist. She plans to pursue a master's in that field of study and to work in a children's hospital.

"It is a privilege and honor to receive the Luke Frazier and Artsbridge Donna Campbell Award for Excellence," Woodard said.

The Donna Campbell Award for Excellence was established by Maestro Luke Frazier, a Parkersburg native, and is administered by Artsbridge. The award, created in 2019, honors Frazier's grandmother, Donna Campbell.

The award is available to graduating West Virginia high school seniors in the Artsbridge service area who will attend college in the fall with a major in one of the fine arts. Applications for next year will open in early 2024.

Frazier is a graduate of Parkersburg South High School, West Virginia University and Ohio University. He founded the American Pops Orchestra in 2015.