Hailed as the best in Ohio
Tuesday Musical’s 2026 Scholarship Competition's first round on March 21 awarded scholarships to 26 music majors throughout Ohio to help them achieve their careers aspirations as music educators and performers.
Three additional awards were presented May 3 during the Final Round/Winners Concert.
Now in its 70th year, Tuesday Musical’s Annual Scholarship Competition provides support for music majors from throughout Ohio. More than 130 applicants from 15 schools applied to compete this year for scholarships totaling a record-breaking $43,050.
Begun in 1955 with support from donors and volunteers, Tuesday Musical’s Annual Scholarship Competition is widely recognized as the best of its kind in Ohio. Mark Greer and George Pope co-chair Tuesday Musical’s all-volunteer scholarship committee.
Bravo to all who competed and to the many volunteers, donors, judges, and teachers who make the competition possible every year!
Meet our top scholarship winners for 2026!
Flutist Dylan Masariego (pictured at left above) and classical guitarist Solis Dornan (center) won the two top awards in Tuesday Musical’s 2026 Annual Scholarship Competition Final Round/Winners Concert on May 3. Violinist Christoforos Petridis (right) won the People’s Choice Award.
Masariego, a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory who is studying with Mary Kay Fink, piccolo of The Cleveland Orchestra, won the $2,000 Arden J. Yockey Scholarship. Dornan, a bachelor’s degree student at Oberlin Conservatory, won the $1,000 Arden J. Yockey Scholarship.
Petridis, also a bachelor’s degree student at Oberlin, garnered the most audience votes to win the $500 John M. Ream Jr. DDS People’s Choice Award.
Held in Guzzetta Recital Hall at The University of Akron, the 2026 Scholarship Final Round/Winners Concert featured performances by 15 first- and second-place winners of Tuesday Musical’s Annual Scholarship Competition in March.
The final-round judges were Eric Benjamin, associate conductor of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Akron Youth Symphony; Erica Brenner, Grammy-winning producer and classically trained musician; and Dan Hathaway, founder of ClevelandClassical.com and a member of the Music Critics Association of North America.
Final Round Winners
Dylan Masariego is a contemporary-classical flutist and orchestral piccolo player, earning a bachelor’s of music degree from Oberlin Conservatory and studying with Mary Kay Fink, piccolo of The Cleveland Orchestra. In 2025, Dylan was awarded a Flute Fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival and School. Dylan has earned distinctions in solo performance and competition settings including second prize in the 2023 Kujala International Piccolo Competition, semi-finalist of the 2022 National Flute Association’s International Piccolo Young Artist Competition, and others.
Solis Dornan is pursuing a bachelor’s of music degree in guitar performance and studies under Stephen Aron at Oberlin Conservatory. Born in Los Ranchos, New Mexico, Solis is steeped in the Spanish and Mexican guitar tradition, studying flamenco, mariachi, and classical guitar in school. An international performer, Solis played in the first classical guitar concerts in the Shetland Islands and the northernmost classical guitar concert in the United Kingdom. Solis has performed in Aspen Music Festival under Sharon Isbin. Solis plays a bespoke 7 string guitar made by New Mexican luthier Michael Thames.
Christoforos Petridis graduated at age 16 from the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, Greece, with highest honors. He made his Carnegie Hall debut and returned for multiple performances, appeared at major international halls, and performed as a soloist with leading orchestras in Greece and abroad. A winner of more than 25 national and international competitions, Christoforos currently studies at the Oberlin Conservatory on a full scholarship with Sibbi Bernhardsson.
