Three students and a student organization won awards for their accomplishments in the arts at MIT in 1994-95.
The Laya and Jerome B. Wiesner Awards, established by the MIT Council on the Arts, went to Edward W. Kohler, a senior in computer science and mathematics; Lian Quan Zhen, a graduate student in architecture; and the officers of Dramashop. The Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts, established by arts patron Louis Sudler, was awarded to Erin McCoy, a senior in music and theater arts.
Mr. Kohler was recognized at the Awards Convocation by Ellen Harris, associate provost for the arts, for his "exceptional gifts in these disciplines [of music and theater arts] complemented by his dazzling skills in graphic design and a sustained record of academic achievement." He has also written Athena software and has been a Nightline counselor since 1992.
Dr. Zhen, trained as a doctor in the People's Republic of China but now pursuing a career in architecture, has won grants from the Council for the Arts for his watercolors of the MIT campus that have "charmed the eyes, ears and hearts of the entire MIT community," Professor Harris said. "We celebrate an individual whose superb artistry has distilled the essence of the MIT spirit in faithful and fluid images," 14 of which are in the MIT Museum.
The Dramashop officers were recognized for "their unique educational and artistic services in galvanizing all of the MIT student body interested in theater." Their efforts in expanding script readings and office hours were "a breathtaking example of initiative and commitment," Professor Harris said.
Ms. McCoy, director of the Chorallaries, produced musical arrangements on the group's latest recording that "revealed sparkle, ingenuity and invention," Professor Harris said. She is also a singer and has participated in more than 40 chamber music ensembles as well as MIT's Balinese Gamelan Galak Tika.
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Seven win music, theater accolades
Seven students who have made outstanding contributions to the cultural life of MIT were recognized with music and theater arts awards last month.
Eugene Chiang, a senior in physics from Dix Hills, NY, received the Joseph D. Everingham Award recognizing a single creative accomplishment.
Edward S. Darna Awards, honoring substantial contributions to the life of the theater at MIT, were presented to Richard C. Davis, a senior in electrical engineering and computer science from Hopkins, SC, and Anne E. Dudfield, a senior in mathematics from Loveland, CO.
The Gregory Tucker Memorial Prize recognizes students for exceptional ability in composition, performance and/or music history studies. This year's winner was Jose L. Elizondo Cecenas, a senior in music and electrical engineering and computer science from Chihuahua, Mexico.
Joel L.Dawson, a junior in electrical science and engineering from Woodbridge, VA, and Julia C. Ogrydziak, a junior in physics from Davis, CA, received the Ragner and Margaret Naess Awards in recognition of their high level of private music performance study.
Given for the second time this year was the Philip Loew Memorial Award which honors a single creative achievement in music. The recipient was Arley Kim, a senior in architecture from Riverwoods, IL.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on June 7, 1995.
