The Colburn School Announces 2024 Fortissima Fellows

Eight female high-school students from underrepresented backgrounds will take part in the six-month program

The Colburn School has selected eight high school students to be the 2024 cohort of its Fortissima Fellowship. Open to those interested in pursuing a music career and play an orchestral instrument, the program is targeted at young women of minority ethnicity or those who have experienced socioeconomic disadvantage.

The six-month program will see the new fellows complete an online leadership curriculum, complete with one-on-one mentorship and a week-long residential intensive on the Colburn campus. The week will culminate with the Fellows giving a performance of works by female-identifying and BIPOC composers.

All participants receive full scholarships that cover tuition as well as room and board while at Colburn.

The Fortissima Fellows for 2024 are as follows:

• Felicia Adizue, 17-year-old violinist from Knightdale, NC. Felicia identifies as Nigerian/Taiwanese American. She currently attends the University of North Carolina School of the Arts High School. In 2023, she attended the Brevard Summer Institute and was a part of the El-Sistema USA National Symposium Youth Ambassador Cohort.
• Kai Isoke Ali-Landing, 17-year-old violinist from Melbourne, FL. Kai Isoke identifies as African American and is homeschooled. In 2023, she attended the Sphinx Performance Academy and the Heifetz International Music Institute.
• Ryannah Blackman, 18-year-old violinist from Washington Township, NJ. Ryannah identifies as Black and is a student at Camden County Technical Schools. She is a current member of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and participated in the Sphinx Performance Academy and the NJ All-State Orchestra in 2023.
• Merilyn Delgado Gameros, 16-year-old tuba player from La Puente, CA. Merilyn identifies and Hispanic/Latina and is a student at the California School of the Arts. She is a Herbert Zipper Scholar at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts and plays in the Colburn Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and Chamber Ensemble.
• Gabrielle Diaz-Alcantara, 17-year-old violinist from Stamford, CT. Gabrielle identifies as Hispanic and is a student at Hackley School. She is currently in the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Program and recently attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and Sphinx Performance Academy.
• Kendall Gonzales, 16-year-old cellist from Greensboro, NC. Kendall identifies as Afro-Latina and attends the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Program. She attended the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute in 2023 and recently participated in NPR’s 2024 From the Top, Daily Joy.
• Tess Reed, 17-year-old violinist from Manvel, TX. Tess identifies as African American and is a student at Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She is the current concertmaster for the Kinder HSPVA Symphony Orchestra, recently served as  Stage Manager for Kinder HSPVA’s production of The Wiz and has been a member of the National Honor Society since 2022.
• Abigail Regua, 18-year-old violinist from Idyllwild, CA. Abigail identifies as African/Asian American and is a student at the Idyllwild Arts Academy. In 2023, she attended the Sphinx Performance Academy, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists program, and is a Sphinx 2023 MPower Artist.

You can learn more about Fortissima here.