From left above, Lion Steve Reber, Co-Chair; Angela Anting Xu, Oakton High School; Cecelia Steffen McKinley, Dominion High School; Robert Kirchenbauer, Swanson Middle School; Kayleigh Hoang, Mercer Middle School; Allison Gabrielle Engel, Potomac Falls High School; Jasper de Boor, Gunston Middle School; Hana Wang, River Bend Middle School; Nicole Marie Frank, Potomac Falls High School; Mialy Harenasoa Simon, Cub Run Elementary School; Katherine Ranson, Paul VI High School; Dhanbee Emma Suh, Greenbriar West Elementary School; Gabriela Paendong, Herndon High School; Masato Alexander Chang, Longfellow Middle School and Lion Jack Gazley, Co-Chair. Gabrielle Li, Thomas Jefferson High School; Charlotte Rose Cai, Rachel Carson Middle School and Rohan Parikh, Farmwell Station Middle School participated but are not pictured above. Photo by Mike Moseley
Winners of the James A. Bland Music Competition, co-sponsored by the Reston Lions Club and the Reston Community Center, on Tuesday, Feb. 3, were as follows: Vocal competition: Cecelia Steffen McKinley, first place; Nicole Marie Frank, second place; and Allison Gabrielle Engel, third place. Instrument competition: Gabrielle Li, first place; Jasper de Boor, second place; and Angela Anting Xu, third place.
First place winners received cash awards of $100 and are eligible to compete in Virginia Lions Regional, District and State competitions for additional awards. Second place winners received $75 and third place winners received $50. Judges were Lydia Kriso, Phyllis Vickers, Marje Palmieri and Denise Gulley.
The Reston Lions Club and the Reston Community Center have sponsored the James A. Bland Music Competition annually since 1982. Five hundred sixty talented students from the Reston and Herndon areas have participated in the competition during this period.
Sarah Quan, who was a senior at South Lakes High School in Reston, won first place in the instrumental category in the Reston competition in 2014. She won first place in the District competition, and first place in the State competition where she was awarded a $2,500 scholarship.