Frank J. Farina Jr. Award
Gabriel Gotz awarded the 2023 Frank J. Farina Award for Musical Excellence
Playing piano has been my passion for thirteen years, defining my character and influencing my personality. I have loved every bit of it – the lessons, my teachers, and especially […]
Quinn Volpe awarded the 2022 Frank J. Farina Jr. Award for Musical Excellence
Announcing the winner of the 2022 Frank J. Farina Jr. Award for Musical Excellence- Quinn Volpe. Hear from Quinn as she tells us how music has had a positive and […]
Kiera Wilkinson awarded the 2021 Frank J. Farina Jr. Award for Musical Excellence
We are excited to announce our 2021 Award for Musical Excellence winner – Kiera Wilkinson of North Allegheny Senior High School.
Futen Wang Awarded the 2020 Frank J. Farina Jr. Award for Musical Excellence
Futen Wang is the winner of the 2020 Frank J. Farina Jr. Award for Musical Excellence at North Allegheny Senior High School.
Roshie Xing Awarded the 2019 Frank J. Farina Jr. Award for Musical Excellence
Roshie Xing is the recipient of the NA Foundation’s 2019 Frank J. Farina Jr. Award for Musical Excellence at North Allegheny Senior High School.
Chris Fedor Awarded the 2018 Frank J. Farina Jr. Award for Musical Excellence
Chris Fedor is the recipient of the NA Foundation’s 2018 Frank J. Farina Jr. Award for Musical Excellence at North Allegheny Senior High School. “This was the work that Mr. Farina […]
Frank J. Farina Jr. served as the Chairman of the North Allegheny Music Department and Director of Bands, including “The Marching 300,” for 26 years. Frank had a deep passion for teaching, music, and family. He brought the world of music to countless students and showcased their talents with many college bowl game appearances, including the prestigious Rose Bowl and regional awards bands. He also took students abroad to perform concerts to European audiences, showing goodwill to others through music as the Director of the American Youth Symphony. He chaired many musical boards and helped to found local performing groups.
Each year the Farina Foundation offers one $1000.00 scholarship to this year’s top senior in the musical arts through the NA Foundation. This student must demonstrate a GPA of 3.0 or higher, commitment to continue his/her music education at a four-year college or university, demonstrates previous musical extracurricular activities, and writes an essay expressing his/her passion for music or how music has positively affected his/her life.
Over the years, the Farina Foundation has continued Frank’s legacy through supporting outstanding students in the arts. Below is a listing of past awards and awardees:
Frank J. Farina Outstanding Leadership Award in Marching Band
2004: Adam Kubala
2005: Melissa Kroll
2006: Mike Burleson
2007: Angela Smarto
2008: Caitlin Cready
2009: Danielle Perdue
2010: Rachael Dittmar
2011: Kaylea Schreibeis
2012: Paige Colao
2013: Abby Koehler
2014: Jonathan Grygiel
2015: Connor Stewart
2016: Mathew Pelo
2017: Zehra Khan
2018: Sebastian Immonen
2019: Ian Rampton
2020: Nathan Bjorklund
2021: Abigail Witherell
2022: Avery Hoffman
Frank J. Farina Outstanding Musician Award in Marching Band
2004: Angela Bucci
2005: Mike Borrebach
2006: Cole Durica
2007: Jeff Gilmour
2008: Matt Zellers
2009: Alyssa Shaw
2010: Kelsey Steele
2011: Thomas Helgerman
2012: Sean Kurtz
2013: Natalie Heineman
2014: Greg Fraley
2015: Reed Antonich
2016: Regina Munsch
2017: Maya Waller
2018: Chris Zunski
2019: Nate Giercyznski
2020: Emilie Whitewolf
2021: Marissa Granite
2022: Maya Sivakumar
Frank J. Farina Fine Arts Scholarship
Musical Art
2002: Brandan Gillis
2003: Christina Ho
2004: Andrew J. Griffin
2005: Julia M. Filson
2006: Kevin Rabold
Visual Art
2002: Adam Gebhart
2003: Jennifer Mills
2004: Shannon Yon
2005: Gregory Laffey
2006: Brooke Keith