Student violinist wins statewide award for musical excellence
September 20, 2013
A music education student at UW-Whitewater who loves teaching beginners has won a prestigious statewide award recognizing her talent, leadership and service.
Deanne Carloni, a senior from Greendale who has played the violin since third grade, has been awarded the 2013 Richard G. Gaarder Award by the Wisconsin Music Educators Association.
She is the 15th UW-Whitewater student to win the award since its inception in 1989, when its first recipient was a Warhawk.
"All of us in the Music Department are delighted that Deanne has been recognized for her accomplishments,'' said Frank Hanson, department chair and professor of music.
"She's a dedicated musician and fine violinist who works hard at her craft,'' Hanson said "Most of all, she's always willing to help others."
For Carloni, who hopes to be an orchestra teacher, the award reflects not only her own hard work but also the caring excellence of her music instructors in the College of Arts and Communication.
"There are people I can turn to if I need to talk about music or education or life in general,'' she said.
Carloni is an active member and past president of UW-Whitewater's student chapter of the American String Teachers Association and Delta Omicron, the music fraternity. She also participates in the campus chapter of the National Association for Music Education.
She's in her fourth year teaching violin, viola and cello to children in Whitewater's after-school music program and works as a counselor at UW-Whitewater's summer string camp.
For Carloni, music is essential to living.
"It's something I turn to when I need to brighten my spirits. It challenges me, pushes me, to be a better person and friend and family member," she said. "Music is something that's essential to the soul. And it can be incredibly powerful."
She enjoys musical challenges, like learning to play the trumpet in her brass techniques class, and she loves teaching beginners even as they struggle to produce their first scratchy sounds on string instruments.
"That's where the magic starts to happen,'' she said. "They're practicing, they're learning. I really enjoy teaching because I love to see that spark of accomplishment or excitement when you see the students are learning."
Hanson said the Music Department is proud of Carloni, who also won a national service award less than a year ago from the American String Teachers Association.
"With students like Deanne, it's no surprise that the job placement rate for recent UW-Whitewater music education graduates is nearly 100 percent,'' he said.
The Gaarder Award commemorates the leadership of Richard G. Gaarder, who was executive director of the Wisconsin School Music Association from 1964 to 1988.