Lincoln Park’s first National Merit Scholar

Samantha Berry: ‘I can’t NOT go into music’

MIDLAND, Pa. – Composer Gustav Mahler struggled for five years to get beyond the first movement of what would become his 2nd Symphony, one of his greatest works. As the music played at the funeral for a dear friend and colleague, Mahler had an epiphany. Suddenly he knew how to write his symphony.

“It struck me like lightning, this thing,” he wrote to a friend, “and everything was revealed to me clear and plain.”

His symphony is, in part, an expression of the desire for a meaningful life, and for redemption and renewal in the life to come.

As a student, Samantha Berry strove for years to perfect her skill and artistry as a pianist. When it came to a commitment to playing the piano as her life’s work, however, she wavered.

She had transferred to Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, Pa., when it opened four years ago, studied hard, earned many honors and played in every venue the school had to offer.

In June 2009, at the end of her junior year, she heard Mahler’s 2nd Symphony performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. As with Mahler, everything was revealed to her, plain and clear.

“That symphony changed my life,” she said. “At the time, I had been sort of doubting the whole music thing, but after listening to that symphony, I was like ‘Oh, never mind. I can’t NOT go into music.'”

This fall, Berry will accept a National Merit Scholarship to study piano at Ithaca College in New York, one of the nation’s great conservatories of music. Her National Merit and other scholarships total $18,000 from Ithaca. There she will study playing piano in collaboration; that is, as an accompanist, in ensemble and as a teacher.

Berry has studied classical piano at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School since its opening in 2006. She is one of about 8,000 National Merit Scholars in the nation, and the first for Lincoln Park.

“At Lincoln Park, I got to perform in many different types of situations: solo, large ensemble, and also just instrumental or vocal duos, and I really enjoy playing with other people.”

When former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley visited Lincoln Park in 2009, Berry was selected to perform a piece on one of Lincoln Park’s Steinway pianos for his touring party. She was introduced to the secretary as an example of the school’s high level of both academic and musical achievement.

Berry said she enjoys collaborating with other musicians. Following up on her experience at Lincoln Park, she looks forward to performing with other students at Ithaca.

A talented vocalist, Berry said one of her fondest memories is singing Mozart’s Requiem Mass with the Beaver Valley Philharmonic Orchestra on the stage of the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center.

Berry was awarded the scholarship by Ithaca College after qualifying as a National Merit Finalist by scoring high on her Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

“She’s a great student and a wonderful girl. I don’t know of anyone who has worked harder to strive for perfection,” said Holly Castelli, dean of academics at Lincoln Park.

After her undergraduate studies, Berry would like to pursue a master’s and doctorate, and perhaps eventually teach at a college.

She resides in Beaver, Pa., with her mother, Rosibel, father, Keith, and sister, Emily.

She said of her family, “They understand that music is something I love, and they support me in that.”

A world-class conservatory, the music department at Ithaca College boasts 24 ensembles including three bands, a symphony orchestra and chamber orchestra, six vocal ensembles, three jazz ensembles, and numerous chamber groups. The school hosts more than 300 concerts annually. Its ensembles have performed in high-profile venues including Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and internationally in London, Dublin, and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Samantha Berry was among approximately 15,000 student scholars selected nationwide as National Merit finalists. A little over half of the finalists received either corporate or college scholarships, qualifying them as National Merit Scholars.

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