From left to right: Joanne Johnson (President of NCS Board of Directors), Janet Nee (mother of scholarship winner Jennifer Nee), Solomon Berman (Quantum Prep Founder, NCS Board of Directors Member-at-Large, NCS Scholarship Committee Member), Lori Coppen (NCS Scholarship Committee Chair), George Case (NCS Music Director, Professor of Choral Directing at The Boston Conservatory)

Newburyport, MA- In collaboration with the Newburyport Choral Society (NCS), the STEM education group Quantum Prep has established a $250 scholarship to be awarded to a high school senior who is planning to major in music in college.

The scholarship reflects the mutual mission of NCS and Quantum Prep to promote education in the community. The Quantum Prep STEAM scholarship will be a component of the NCS WE SING Program which encourages music in the broader community by fostering opportunities for all ages to experience and participate in choral music and to continue education in a music related field.

“We felt that while so many schools are being forced to focus more and more of their very finite budgets on pure STEM education, effectively limiting music and art programs, we as STEM teachers should try to give back to support the arts and bring awareness to the STEAM movement, “said Quantum Prep founder and lead teacher Solomon Berman.

STEAM Education is a recent movement that aims to improve upon STEM curriculum by adding art to encourage creative problem solving and level the “learning field” across socio-economic boundaries.

Berman has been a long time member and supporter of both NCS and the arts. His tutoring organization was founded on STEM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), but music has always played an important role in his life and work.

“We often use music and art to help students make stronger connections to material that might otherwise be very difficult to understand or remember,” Berman explained. “At Quantum Prep we believe there is an art to teaching, just as there is math and science in music.”

Criteria for the scholarship award will include the student’s vocal skills and instruments, colleges to which they have applied and acceptance status, musical accomplishments, school activities, and both musical and non-musical awards. The scholarship will be awarded annually by the NCS Board through its Scholarship Committee.

If you are an area high school senior planning to major in music and would like to be considered for next year’s scholarships, complete and submit your scholarship application to [email protected] by March 25th, annually.

ABOUT NCS
The Newburyport Choral Society (NCS) is an educational, 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to excellence in performance and to bringing outstanding choral music to the North Shore of Boston. As one of the oldest choral groups in the United States, NCS has brought choral masterpieces to local audiences for more than 75 years. While formally established in the spring of 1934, NCS continues a choral tradition dating back to the first Newburyport chorus formed in 1848. Known for the exceptional quality of its programs, NCS has made a significant contribution to the cultural life of this area. The quality of NCS concerts springs from a single common bond shared by all of its members — a love of singing and sharing great works of art with community audiences.

ABOUT QUANTUM PREP
Quantum Prep is a Boston-based, privately held education service provider delivering personalized, one-on-one academic tutoring, SAT and ACT test preparation and College Admissions Consulting services to high school and college students in the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island areas. Quantum Prep’s unique programs are developed by experienced, professional educators working together as a community to mentor and challenge students of all levels to reach their academic potential and achieve both their short-term and long-term educational objectives. As a program developed solely by educators and with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, Quantum Prep’s highly qualified instructors boast some of the industry’s best student achievement rates.