Scholarships awarded for voice training

ELLSWORTH – Three people have been named as the first recipients of the Lee Patterson Scholarship Fund for Classical Voice Training. They are Jason Wilkes of Bangor, Sarah Upton of Orland and Margaret Ames of Ellsworth.

The winners were announced Saturday, July 14, after a performance of “The Pirates of Penzance” at the Grand Auditorium by the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Hancock County. They will study with Ann Mills, Joan Mercer and Sandra Blanchette, respectively.

The fund, established in March by Somesville resident Lee Patterson through the Maine Community Foundation, provides financial support to singers who want to receive training in classical voice. In exchange for help in developing their expertise in opera, operettas and art song literature, the scholarship recipients agree to sing with the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Hancock County during their award year. In 2002, the society will present “Ruddigore.”

Applications for 2002 are available from Patterson, who can be reached at 244-4044. The deadline is March 15. Applicants must be at least 14 years old, and preference will be given to residents of Hancock and Washington counties.

For more information about the Maine Community Foundation, call 1-877-7000-6800 or check the Web site at www.mainecf.org.