Scholarship Vignette: William Hueholt, 2011
In the fall of 2023, member Vivian Carter was hard at work, determined to identify and locate some former TMMC Scholarship Winner who could perform at our Centennial Year Scholarship Luncheon in May, 2024. Vivian writes, here, of a recent part of that experience when it seemed that this dream would never happen.
As my hopes became dim, a TMMC lady said, "Do you remember our scholarship winner, pianist William Hueholt?" Of course, I remembered him! He was one of the most outstanding high school winners I can remember over the years I have been in the TMMC.
So my search began. He was a 2011 winner. I found him teaching at a small college in Northern Alabama. As soon as I told him I was calling from the TMMC, he started talking exuberantly about how appreciative he was for our scholarship.
I asked him to come to the Scholarship Luncheon on May 16. He said he would come except that he was getting married May 18! Then he said, “If you really want to hear me, I am playing at Beckwith Hall at UNCW on Nov. 19.” Wow, I was excited! Here’s an excerpt from that program at Beckwith Hall:
Pianist William Hueholt presents a recital showcasing works by North American composers alongside C.P.E. Bach's enigmatic "Variations on the Spanish La Folia." The centerpiece of the recital, Carlos Chavez's monumental Sonata No. 2, is a rarely-played masterwork of the early-20th-century virtuoso repertoire. More recent compositions by Frederic Rzewski and Reena Esmail include elements of improvisation and combine American folk and non-Western traditions with Western classical music. Finally, Chinese-American composer Zhou Long's Pianogongs theatrically combines two Beijing opera gongs - played simultaneously by the pianist - with the sonorities of the piano.
On Nov. 20, William played a short selection for us that we videoed, along with a brief interview by TMMC Historian Linda Pyle. We will play the video after the May Luncheon. We will have a scholarship winner! OUR VERY OWN Scholarship Winner!!
— Vivian Carter