The 2026 SOUNDS Academy Fellows!

The SOUNDS Academy Fellowship empowers students to strive for excellence and experience life-changing opportunities! Students interested in music, writing, science, and more receive resources, mentorship, and support to pursue their passions without financial constraint. In order to be eligible, students must consistently demonstrate our SOUNDS Academy character values and have spent at least two years in our program.

This year, SOUNDS Academy Fellows Giselle, Justin, Caleia, and Israel received support that allowed them to attend programs in medicine, cello performance, secondary education, and composition. They all had amazing experiences that opened their eyes to opportunities to improve their future and inspire other students to reach beyond expectations. Continue reading below to learn all about it.

Giselle attended The Burton Family Foundation Summer Health Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, where she learned about different career opportunities in medicine. “I never knew there were so many options to choose from in the medical field. I went into this program wanting to do surgery, and now I think I want to be a traveling nurse!” She’s excited to share this information with friends and other students, especially those who might not think they can do that. “We often [have] tunnel vision about what types of jobs we think we can do. I want to change that, especially for people from minority and underserved communities.

Justin attended the Encore Summer Academy’s Solo Artist Track in Berea, Ohio. In just three weeks, he studied with six renowned cello faculty and received ten lessons, including a masterclass, and served as Associate Principal Cello in a student-led Camerata orchestra. “This was one of my favorite summer program experiences. It allowed me to focus intensively on my solo repertoire for college auditions, and being surrounded by passionate musicians also motivated me to stay constantly immersed in music.” Working with several instructors exposed Justin to different perspectives and ideas, helping him develop a deeper understanding of both performance and teaching. “I loved seeing how each teacher explained their ideas differently. Some had methodical breakdowns, and some used really creative analogies. It shows there’s no single “right” method to learning.” Inspired by this, Justin hopes to help younger musicians at SOUNDS discover what works best for them.

Caleia utilized the Fellowship to attend online summer courses in English 102 and Gender and Society at Maricopa Community College. “I learned different sociological terms, how gender impacts society and culture, and about the women’s rights movement. And I greatly improved my academic writing.” These extra courses will allow her to finish her associates degree at the same time she graduates from high school! She also strengthened a skill she had learned the previous summer at Brown University, called ekphrastic writing. Ekphrastic writing is typically poetry about visual art, but she wants to write poetry about music and teach others as well. “So now we’ll write poems on music. Instead of instead of physical descriptions of art, we’ll write about the tone or tempo of a song.”

Israel took the Fellowship to Interlochen High School Composition Summer Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, where he spent time writing with both amateur and professional composers. “I wrote a piano solo piece called Lovers at a Distance, a brass quintet called Five Pearl Cloud, a woodwind quintet called After The Rain, a solo cello piece called Impetus, and I’m working on my fifth symphony called Entelechy.” He appreciated that he got to work with a wide range of people and learned how to write for both brass and percussion. While he will gladly share this new knowledge with other students, he’s most looking forward to mentoring. “I really want to help kids coming into high school figure out what they want to do. I’ve found my calling to compose, and I want to help them find theirs!”

These four incredible students embody the SOUNDS Academy character values and found them helpful in their fellowships. Giselle said, “I used teamwork because we had medical simulations where we had to work in teams, and resilience because I didn’t get everything right the first time and had to keep trying until I could get it.” Caleia said, “I used perseverance and resilience to keep up with everything, and ensure I had the same level of dedication for the entirety of my classes. I used leadership to log into class every day and complete assignments on time.”

Israel said, “I used a lot of resilience to push through and write when I didn’t feel like it, and of course lots of creativity to compose all that new music!” Justin said, “I used perseverance to spend hours practicing throughout the day until I reached my daily goals, and I also practiced leadership as Associate Principal Cello by helping guide my section, encourage discussion, and unify our section.”

So there you have it, folks, our SOUNDS Academy Fellows of 2026! They took risks, they worked hard, they were resilient and creative, and they had fun. A huge thank you to the SOUNDS Academy Board for creating and sustaining this Fellowship. It truly produces today’s musicians and tomorrow’s leaders! 

Way to go 2026 SOUNDS Academy Fellows! 👏🏿👏🏿