People, Places and Things: 6-10-15

Lynners honored at Salem State for leadershipThirty-five members of Salem State University’s 2015 graduating class were the recipients of awards at ceremonies at the Peabody Essex Museum on May 11.Lynn residents Rachael Carter and Fatou Mandiang were each recipients of the university’s Silver Key Award, which recognizes students who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average between 3.00 and 4.00, who demonstrate significant involvement within their major area of academic concentration and who actively participate in co-curricular activities within the university community.Jacquelyn Bowden and Grace Duran were recipients of the university’s Special Recognition Award, which recognizes students who have demonstrated involvement within the major area of academic concentration and demonstrated significant involvement in co-curricular activities within the college community.Lynn students among 25 scholarship winners across MassachusettsLynn Tech’s Nelson Barrios, English’s Alondra Peral and Classical’s Krystal Veras were awarded the Christian A. Herter Memorial Scholarship from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. It is a four-year, 50 percent scholarship given to only 25 students in the state each year. The students were recognized at the State House.”Sleeping Beauty” to come alive in opera at Nahant Music FestivalWith versions written by the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault, plus a ballet by Tchaikovsky and movies by Walt Disney and Angelina Jolie, “Sleeping Beauty” endures after a lifespan of at least three centuries.Composer, violinist and Berklee College of Music professor Francine Trester has created a contemporary, operatic version of the tale, set in a country where national security is in jeopardy. The three-act work premieres on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the second annual Nahant Music Festival at St. Thomas Church, 248 Nahant Road. Tickets may be purchased at the door. For more information, go to www.nahantmusicfestival.org.Prior to the concert, Trester will give a talk at 6:30.Donald Wilkinson is founder and artistic director of the festival, which is supported by music lovers around the North Shore and in the Greater Boston area. He teaches voice at Phillips Academy Andover and is a frequent soloist with Emmanuel Music and the Handel and Haydn Society.Performing “Sleeping Beauty” are the eight 2015 Nahant Music Festival vocal apprentices. They are Grace Allendorf, mezzo-soprano; Lawson Daves, baritone; Samantha Dearborn and Eileen Huang, sopranos; Fausto Miro and Kilian Mooney, tenors; Ethan Sagin, baritone; and Kylee Slee, contralto.Other artists who appear in the opera are Trester, violin; Megan Jacoby, flute; and Timothy Steele, piano. Frank Kelley is the stage director.