LaGuardia Arts Graduate Francisco Haye Wins 2018 Theodora Zavin Scholarship
L-R BMI Foundation's Sam Cox; BMI Foundation's Michelle Moore; BMI Foundation Composer-in-Residence at LaGuardia High School, Jim Pugliese; Joshua Zavin; BMI Foundation’s Deirdre Chadwick; 2018 Theodora Zavin Scholarship winner Francisco Haye; Kaylah Haye; Frank Haye; BMI Foundation President Emeritus Ralph N. Jackson
The BMI Foundation has announced Francisco Haye as the winner of the 2018 Theodora Zavin Scholarship, a music study prize named in honor of the Foundation’s late founding President, Theodora Zavin. The $2,000 award was presented at a private event held on July 9, 2018 at Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)’s New York City headquarters.
The Theodora Zavin Scholarship is granted annually to a graduating senior musician at Manhattan’s prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, and recognizes outstanding achievement in composition. The award was established in 2005 through the generosity of friends, family, and colleagues to honor the memory of Theodora Zavin, BMI’s former Senior Vice President & Special Counsel. Zavin was a pioneer supporter of copyright protection on behalf of songwriters and publishers for nearly fifty years at BMI; she also oversaw the establishment of the BMI Foundation and many of its core programs for young musicians.
“I am honored to have won the Theodora Zavin Scholarship,” said Haye. “I’m so thankful to my family, teachers and mentors who have helped me get to where I am today.”
Haye is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, vocalist and bandleader based in Brooklyn. He began playing the piano and drums at the age of four. Under the tutelage of his father, he built a strong classical base which served as a foundation for his experimentation with other genres. Haye was recently named a finalist in the 2018 National YoungArts Competition, a semi-finalist in the Presidential Scholars Program and a recipient of the Gordon Parks Foundation Scholarship. He has performed at numerous venues including Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Afropunk Music Festival, The New World Center, The Brooklyn Academy of Music and The Bitter End. Haye will be attending Berklee College of Music in the fall.
About the BMI Foundation
The BMI Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 to encourage the creation, performance, and study of American music. The Foundation’s programs include competitive scholarships for songwriters and composers, operating grants for nonprofit arts presenters, and support for innovative music education initiatives in schools and communities across the country. For more information about the work of the Foundation, please visit our website at www.bmifoundation.org. For exclusive news and content, follow @bmifoundation on Twitter and Instagram, and like “BMI Foundation” on Facebook at facebook.com/bmifoundation.