Ryan Krell from Campbell River has been awarded the 2015 Keen Halleran Memorial Scholarship.
Krell is the fourth recipient of the scholarship, given to a student studying music at the post-secondary level.
The Keen Halleran Scholarship was first established in May 2003 as the Halleran Scholarship by Frances Keen (1955-2006) in recognition of her high school band/choir and piano teachers, Noreen and Mickey Halleran of Quesnel, B.C. Unfortunately, Keen passed away before she could finish her project.
When the project was completed Keen’s name was added to the scholarship in recognition of her work as an elementary choir and band teacher, as a community choir director and as an advocate of music education in the community.
Ryan Krell, the son of Dr. John and Carolynne Krell, grew up in Campbell River where he studied piano with Shelley Roberts and advanced theory with Sandy Havelaar. He obtained his A.R.C.T. Diploma in piano performance before leaving for college. He is presently a Senior at The Master’s College in Santa Clarita, California and will be graduating in May, 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music.
He has been a member of The Master’s Chorale, an auditioned choir, and this year serves as the Chorale accompanist. Last spring, the Chorale travelled to Albania and Croatia for a two-week concert tour.
Following the tour, Ryan and his twin brother, Nathan, joined their piano professor and fellow students for a two-week Music History Course that took them to sites in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.
This year, he has been serving as keyboard accompanist for one of the college chapel bands and as a music ministry intern at Santa Clarita Baptist Church. His future plan is to pursue post-graduate studies.
This award is open to students who have studied for a minimum of one year in school district 72, Campbell River.
The recipient must be a full-time student who has completed at least the first year of an undergraduate degree in music or is in a post-graduate degree program in music.