Kim Anderson Awarded 1st Theodora Zavin Memorial Scholarship

Ralph N. Jackson, President of the BMI Foundation, Inc. has announced that Kim Anderson is the first recipient of the Theodora Zavin Memorial Scholarship. The new award, to be given for outstanding achievement in composition, will be presented annually to a graduating senior at LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts in New York City. Anderson received a $2,000 scholarship to further her musical education.

Theodora Zavin Memorial Scholarship winner Kim Anderson (center) accepts her $2,000 check from LaGuardia Composer-in-Residence Jim Pugliese and BMI Foundation President Ralph N. Jackson. photo by Dana Rodriguez

The scholarship was established through the generosity of family and friends to honor the memory of Theodora (Thea) Zavin, Founding President of the BMI Foundation. In making the announcement, Jackson said, “Thea was passionate about helping young musicians and I know that she would have been delighted to be remembered in this way. Her vision, drive, intelligence and kindness serve as a compass for all of us who continue her charitable work.” Kim Anderson, a 2005 graduate of LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts, started writing folk songs in elementary school and became interested in jazz and classical music in high school, where she studied composition with Jim Pugliese, the BMI Foundation’s Composer-in-Residence at LaGuardia. She is a flutist, pianist and singer and has performed in concert bands, jazz bands and other ensembles. Anderson is currently a jazz composition major at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.