Wichita State University's College of Fine Arts has named recipients of the Armstrong Scholarship and the Shera Barton Memorial Vocal Fellowship.

Xan Mattek, a senior at Salina Central High School, is the recipient of the 2016 Armstrong Scholarship. She will begin studying music theater at Wichita State in the fall.

A participant in high school theater productions and community theater plays and musicals, Mattek has played more than two dozen different roles.

The Armstrong Scholarship was established in 2006 by Mildred Armstrong to provide full tuition and fees for a music theater resident student.

Alongside her husband, Pete, Armstrong has contributed to the support of the WSU community for years.
 

“I will never stop believing that I was made to tell stories through songs and characters.”
– Sable Strout

Sable Strout, an incoming graduate student in vocal performance from the University of Southern Maine, is the recipient of the Shera Barton Memorial Vocal Fellowship, a scholarship of $4,000 a year based on merit.

Strout will study opera performance with WSU’s Alan Held, the Ann and Dennis Ross Faculty of Distinction in Opera.

“My one and only goal is to make a living as a singer,” says Stout. “I will never stop believing that I was made to tell stories through songs and characters.”

The Shera Barton Memorial Vocal Fellowship was established in 2013 by Barton’s mother and brother, Patsy and Craig Barton.

This is the first fellowship the College of Fine Arts School of Music has designated specifically for female vocalists who want to make music their profession.