About The champion newspaper. (Decatur, GA) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2018)
Page 4B liferffyl# THURSDAY, AUGUST 2 -8, 2018 Sad note leads to scholarships for emerging vocal artists BY KATHY MITCHELL Part of Opera Guild for Atlanta’s mission is to provide scholarship money for emerging opera talent. This year, the Brookhaven- based guild, dedicated to the advancement of the careers of vocal artists, has been able to take that commitment to a new level because of love for a member of the local opera community. The sudden death early in 2017 of tenor Tommy Trotter stunned the Atianta music community, but was especially devastating for his husband, Dr. Cecil Benoit, a retired clinical psychologist and Chamblee resident. “Tommy grew up in Atianta; however, he made an impact across the American opera scene. I want to be sure that impact is not forgotten,” Benoit said. Trotter was well known for his clarion voice, fine diction and dramatic skills, according to an announcement by Opera Guild for Atianta of the scholarship fund named in Trotters memory. His 25-year award-winning Trotter career included more than 50 operatic roles with such companies as the New York City Opera and Washington National, the announcement states. “He decided that he wanted to teach at the university level, so he decided to get a masters degree,” Benoit explained. “He had performed two seasons at the Hawaiian Opera Theater and we were married in Hawaii, so he decided to study at the University of Hawaii. He was within shouting distance of getting his degree when his illness [a throat infection] became full blown. His death was unexpected and Burrell shocking. He was only 52,” Benoit said. “I wanted to find a way to honor him that would also remind the community of the tremendous contribution he made,” he recalled. “I wanted to benefit emerging musicians. I believe this legacy would have pleased Tommy who loved teaching and helping musicians just starting their careers. Music is quite expensive, so I donated half of Tommy’s music to Kennesaw State’s music department because I knew he admired their program. The other half was turned over to Megan Mashburn, co-chair of Opera Guild for Atlanta’s scholarship committee.” Benoit learned of Opera Guild for Atlanta’s scholarship program through a series of connections that started with Trotter’s doctor. Benoit established the Tommy Trotter Memorial Scholarship to be administered through the guild. “I had always loved opera, but Tommy was the first professional opera singer I ever met,” he said of his spouse, whom he met in 2013. “I gave a $1,000 scholarship the year of Tommy’s death and again the following year. I could barely get through the first presentation. I wept through the whole thing; the second year was a little easier,” Benoit said. Benoit’s fundraising efforts have been so successful that this year the guild announced that the Tommy Trotter Memorial Scholarship endowment has reached more than $23,000, enabling Opera Guild for Atlanta to award the scholarship in perpetuity. Lee and Christine Fazzi, whom Benoit described as longtime friends, donated $10,000 of the total, causing the campaign to exceed its original goal of $20,000. “This wonderful donation makes a huge difference in our ability to fulfill the guild’s mission to support evolving vocal artists,” Mashburn noted. The 2018 Tommy Trotter Memorial Scholarship was awarded to a graduate student at Georgia State University, Joanna Burrell, whom the guild describes as “a talented soprano with a promising future.” The scholarship is to be awarded annually to an undergraduate or graduate student in an Atianta metropolitan-area music program. Scholarships are awarded based on technical facility, ease of vocal production, voice quality and the demonstrated connection between the singer, the music and the listener, as shown in the applicant’s performance in a public concert held in April each year, according to Opera Guild for Atianta. Gardeners don’t have to let Japanese beetles bug them BY KATHY MITCHELL Summer for gardeners may mean flowers in bloom and fruits and vegetables ready for picking. It can also mean combating such pests as Japanese beetles. “Sometimes people think the heat brings Japanese beetles,” said local arborist Chris Helm. “In fact, this is simply the time of year they emerge based on their life cycle.” Helm, who is the district manager of Davey Tree’s Atlanta office, which serves DeKalb County, said during the four to eight weeks of the year when Japanese beetles are typically around, they can damage such plants as rose bushes and fruit trees. “Japanese beetles, unlike some pests such as Southern pine beetles, usually don’t destroy plants in a single season but may weaken them and make them vulnerable to other destructive forces. “One reason gardeners don’t like them is that they spoil the appearance of many plants, Helm continued. “Rose bushes with holes in the leaves just aren’t as pretty. They also like to attack crepe myrtle, hibiscus and other flowery plants that people value for their beauty” A Japanese beetle infestation, he added, can diminish the quality of fruit produced by fruit trees. Unlike some other types of insects, Japanese beetles offer no benefits to gardeners, according to Helm. “There’s no reason you would want them around,” he said. Helm advised caution in using pesticides to get rid of Japanese beetles. “I always prefer environmentally friendly methods of getting rid of pests.” His recommendation for removal of Japanese beetles include picking or shaking them off trees and plants into soapy water or setting traps to capture beetles. Helm said Japanese beetles with their characteristic copper-colored bodies and green heads are easy to recognize. While insecticides needn’t be avoided altogether, Helm said, they should be used cautiously since spraying may also destroy beneficial insects along with the ones the gardener is trying to eliminate. “To prevent Japanese beetles or reduce the number that appear each season, use a well-timed insecticide treatment and try to destroy grubs (beetles in their worm-like larva stage) living beneath lawns. The grubs will turn into beetles and the cycle will continue.” Japanese beetles, as the name suggests, are from Japan. They apparently entered North America on plant shipments in the early part of the 20th century. “While they are here in Georgia they also are found in other parts of the United States. I grew up in Ohio and I remember seeing Japanese beetles when I was a child,” Helm said.
