Congratulations to Elwood Middle School eighth-grader Rithika Narayan, who was recently selected to receive the Long Island String Festival Association Studio Award! She was presented with a $500 scholarship to further her study of the viola. 

The award is offered each year to deserving students who participate in the LISFA festival. The students who are considered for the award were already selected to LISFA based on their NYSSMA score, which is highly competitive. Out of those students, Rithika was selected based on an essay that she wrote and a recommendation letter from her music teacher Diana Gotzen-Berg.  

Only one student is chosen per age group and Rithika was picked out of the eighth and ninth grade students who participated in the festival. 

“Rithika is an incredibly dedicated student,” said Ms. Gotzen-Berg. “I could not be prouder of her accomplishments both in music and beyond.”