Senior music performance major Michael Hollin (above, center) and senior music education major Sara Johnson (above, left) have won the inaugural 100 Mile Joe Scholarship. The two were presented with their scholarship awards at the Horn Concert on Sept. 10.

In March 2014, Adjunct Associate Professor of Music/French Horn Joe Lovinsky (above, right), also known as 100 Mile Joe, completed a 100-mile run, which raised $8,500 for French horn scholarships at Shenandoah University.

“It was extremely difficult to decide between these two very deserving candidates, so we decided to make two awards this year,” said Lovinsky.

More on the award winners, according to Lovinsky:

“Michael Hollin is an outstanding musician and a model student. When he came to Shenandoah as a transfer student in the fall of 2013, Michael was already a good horn player and a hard worker. As the son of a horn player and High School of the Arts band director, Michael came to Shenandoah with the knowledge of how much work it takes to become a professional performer. Now, due to his exceptional work ethic, Michael’s playing has already improved dramatically. Even when almost overwhelmed with academic studies, Michael consistently puts in 15 to 20 or more hours per week of individual practice time, while making time to rehearse and perform in almost every ensemble at Shenandoah, including the Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Wind Quintet and the Shenandoah Horns Ensemble. As a result of his consistent hard work, and a competitive audition, Michael is serving as our Orchestra’s Principal Horn Player this semester.”