Mount Union musician wins $1,000 prize

A Tiffin-area man has received a $1,000 award from the Alliance Alumni chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon International Honorary Music Fraternity.

The prize is awarded each year to a student in the music fraternity, based on an audition, grades and an essay about the importance of music in their lives.

Kathy Adams, president of the alumni chapter, presented this year’s award to Steven Smith, a music education major at University of Mount Union. Smith, of Sycamore, Ohio, is in his first year in the Mount Union chapter of MPE, known as the Phi chapter.

Smith, who plays woodwind instruments, primarily alto saxophone, is a student of Don Turoso, the jazz and woodwinds specialist at UMU.

“(The Phi chapter) is not just an organization to me,” Smith said. “It is a community of dedicated musicians who have become like family, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunities (the chapter) has provided me to grow as both a musician and leader.”

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Mount Union musician wins $1,000 prize