Awty student named Emerson Scholar

Houston resident and Awty International School student Clara Loeb will attend Interlochen Arts Camp in northwest Michigan as an Emerson Scholar this summer.   According to a news release, Loeb, 16, is one of 43 selected Emerson Scholars, a distinction that includes a full scholarship covering tuition, room and board, and private lessons to the six-week summer music program. Loeb will study the viola at Interlochen.   "I have heard so many great things about Interlochen and I see it as a unique opportunity to work and live in an environment that is solely based upon the creative arts," Loeb said in the release.   The Emerson Scholar program, the release stated, has been sponsored for the last 23 years by Fortune 500 company Emerson, which is headquartered in St. Louis.   "Every year, Interlochen Arts Camp brings together some of the most talented and motivated students from around the world," Interlochen president Jeffrey Kimpton said in the release. "Thanks to the generosity of Emerson, we are able to extend even more opportunities to talented young artists by providing them with an experience unlike any other."   Students in grades nine through 12 who show high instrumental skill are eligible for the scholarship program, which offers young musicians the opportunity to perform with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, the release noted. This year's orchestra, to be conducted by Jung Ho Pak, is scheduled to perform alongside cellist Anthony Ross and pianist Awadagin Pratt, both well-known musicians.   "To be recognized as an Emerson Scholar puts these students in a most elite and prestigious group of talented people," Kimpton said in the release. "It is quite an honor not only for the students themselves, but also for the people and places that helped them to become the promising young musicians they are."   Loeb, daughter of Richard and Victoria Loeb, is currently taking private viola lessons from Whitney Bullock. She also takes part in theater and choir and is a volunteer with the Houston Symphony. Loeb, the release noted, has thought about teaching the viola herself or possibly joining an orchestra, though she has an interest as well in the liberal arts.