by David Flint
On May 8 at age 19, Madalyn Parnas of Stephentown received her diploma from The College of Saint Rose, graduating summa cum laude with concentrations in both French and Music. Madalyn completed her college education in just three years taking more than 130 credit hours of classes and carrying a 4.0 GPA. During these years Madalyn also performed 30 concertos with orchestra including the New York String Orchestra conducted by Jaime Laredo and the Albany Symphony Orchestra under the baton of David Alan Miller. Along with her sister Cicely, she also recorded two CDs, took 1st prize in international
chamber music competition at Carnegie Hall, performed numerous concerts with Peter Serkin as violinist for the Parnas/Serkin Trio and joined the roster of professional artists at Latitude 45 Arts Management.
While at Saint Rose Madalyn presented many educational programs for young audiences, performed benefits for local arts organizations, and generously lent her talents to all Saint Rose music student requests for support in performances and recordings.
Accepted into the prestigious Artist Diploma Program at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a full scholarship having received the Artistic Excellence Award, Madalyn will pursue her studies with world renowned musician, violinist and conductor, Jaime Laredo.
Madalyn’s sister Cicely, having completed two years undergraduate in music and German at CSR, has also been accepted into the Artist-Diploma Program at Indiana U, something considered very unusual for an undergraduate student. Cicely also was awarded the Artistic Excellence Award and will receive a full scholarship to study with world-renowned cellist Sharon Robinson.
Acceptance to the Artist-Diploma Program at the Jacobs School of Music is a very prestigious accomplishment. Only students who intend to pursue a career in performance and are already at a performance level equivalent to acceptance into a major international competition may be accepted into the Artist-Diploma Program.