Washington College Magazine
Creative Students Need Apply
With the support of the Clarence Hodson Prize, organist Patti Keaton '07 will study sacred music in Europe.
A new prize rewarding creativity, initiative and intellectual curiosity among students majoring in the humanities is the latest in a growing number of small student grant programs that support academic enrichment opportunities.
The Clarence Hodson Prize is intended to support an internship, undergraduate research project or other form of study anywhere in the world. Requiring a grade point average of 3.4 or better, the Prize is offered to an upperclassman majoring in the arts, especially music. Established through the bequest of Margaret Hodson Black, the prize is worth about $2,500. Patricia Keaton, a senior music major, is the first recipient.
Keaton will use the grant to travel to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic to study sacred music in preparation for her career as a music director for a cathedral.
For the past seven years, Keaton has been a church organist including her stint last semester as the interim organist at Philadelphia Cathedral. Her pilgrimage to the sites where today's sacred music originated will include three live performances and visits to many important churches, cathedrals, concert halls and opera houses. This trip will be a culmination of her many years of study in music history, theory, piano and organ and will prepare her for further graduate-level study.
Margaret Hodson Black, a second cousin of Colonel Clarence Hodson, played and taught music well into her nineties. In 1992, she was named professor emeritus at Salisbury State University and in 1997 was awarded a place in the Music Hall of Fame at the University of Maryland, College Park.
300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, Maryland 21620 | 410-778-2800 | 800-422-1782