William Jenney (left) with guitarist Luis Zea at a master class.

William Jenney, a junior Music Education major from Elma, was awarded the Oasis Guitar Jury Prize, a $500 cash award that recognizes the guitar student who exhibits the greatest improvement over the course of a semester, at the State University of New York at Fredonia.

According to SUNY Distinguished Professor James Piorkowski, Mr. Jenney has shown wonderful growth, both as a musician and a classical guitarist. “It is always satisfying, as a teacher, to witness the blossoming of a student, as it takes ample time for all of the components of technique, musical understanding and the potential for artistic expression to come together.

“Those attributes are what Will Jenney recently developed, and he has been able to display that solid progress in his performances this year,” added Mr. Piorkowski, who heads the Guitar area in the School of Music.

During the spring semester, Mr. Jenney had the opportunity to perform in a master class for Venezuelan maestro Luis Zea during his residency at the School of Music. Jenney is also passionate about jazz, and performs professionally with his own ensemble. He will give his senior classical guitar recital in November and student teach in the Spring 2020 semester.

The Oasis award was established in 2012 in the Fredonia College Foundation by Dave Hepple, president of Oasis, Inc., maker of the Oasis guitar humidifier.