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Clear skies. Low 66F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: July 9, 2024 @ 8:36 pm
State senior Hayley Hitt, right, and OSU sophomore Cole Rogers, center, chat with Plimpton Foundation President Timothy Long prior to Saturday’s scholarship presentation at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Hitt and Rogers performed two songs as part of the ceremony.
Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Executive Director Tony Corbell, left, presents Plimpton Foundation President Timothy Long, center, and co-founder Randy Plimpton momentoes from the recent OMHOF induction ceremony. Neither Long nor Plimpton were able to attend the ceremony because of prior commitments.
State senior Hayley Hitt, right, and OSU sophomore Cole Rogers, center, chat with Plimpton Foundation President Timothy Long prior to Saturday’s scholarship presentation at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Hitt and Rogers performed two songs as part of the ceremony.
Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Executive Director Tony Corbell, left, presents Plimpton Foundation President Timothy Long, center, and co-founder Randy Plimpton momentoes from the recent OMHOF induction ceremony. Neither Long nor Plimpton were able to attend the ceremony because of prior commitments.
Hayley Hitt said opera has become a very big part of her life.
The Oklahoma State senior-to-be has been studying opera with Barbara McAllister for eight years. Hitt was one of two OSU students to receive the Plimpton Foundation Cherokee Voice scholarship.
Hitt and OSU sophomore-to-be Cole Rogers received their scholarships during a ceremony Saturday at St. Paul United Methodist Church.
Each recipient performed two songs followed by past recipients Annie Miller, Aislyn Hensley and Bretly Crawford performing one song each.
Hitt, from Muskogee, sang “Steal me sweet thief” from Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera “The old man and the thief,” and “When he sees me” from the Broadway play and recent movie “Waitress: the musical.”
Rogers performed “O sole mio” by Giovanni Capurro, Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi, and “Der Kuss” by Einstürzende Neubauten.
Hitt said the scholarship application process was “a big deal for me.”
“I’m not a music major,” she said. “I’m doing a minor in applied music which is like a vocal performance degree. I could not imagine my life without music — I hope it’s always something with me.
“This scholarship to me is kind of like a reminder that no matter what I’m doing, what path I’m going down I’m always going to have music.”
Hitt is hoping that her marketing degree will lead to a job in the marketing field “hopefully in the entertainment field.”
“Maybe working my way up to a job with a record label or music labels,” she said.
Rogers, a McAlester native pursuing a mechanical engineering degree, started working with Barbara McAllister on voice lessons two years ago.
“I’m still more of a novice and have always loved music,” he said. “But for a while I didn’t understand why I liked it until I started singing — and opera specifically. I realized it was a lot of fun for me to engage with what I love so much.”
Rogers said he has been singing for a long time “but nothing as serious as this.”
“I did choir throughout middle and high school,” he said. “Being able to take my hobby to the next level and now it’s turned into a passion. This is my first kind of recognition.
“I have started singing opera at OSU and I’ve joined the music program there with an applied music minor.”
The scholarships were presented by Plimpton Foundation President Timothy Long and co-founder Randy Plimpton.
Long, a 2024 inductee into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, said the young men and women applying for the scholarship are very impressive.
“Oh my god there’s talent and intelligence,” Long said. “I’m always so impressed with these people. There are people that are going on to great colleges with full rides. They’re aware culturally of things.
“There’s nothing better for the Cherokee Nation than to be educating these people on how to communicate to the world.”
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