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Andrew George De Grado Foundation, Inc. 



Jason Tammam, cellist and Faye Xu, pianist

Faye Xu is a sophomore at Union County Magnet High School in Scotch Plains. She has been playing piano for approximately eight years. Currently, Faye is studying piano with Sondra Tammam of Westfield and has been taking lessons with her for the past two and a half years. Faye participated in the New Jersey Music Educators Association auditions for four years, three of which were for the MEA master class. In 2001, Faye won the duet category for 15-16 year olds in the MEA. In addition, Faye was a winner in the accompaniment category of the Piano Teachers Society of America (PTSA) and performed in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Faye Xu was a winner in the 2002 Fourth Annual Andrew De Grado Piano Competition in the soloist category with her performance of Fantasiestücke #1 by Robert Schumann and Libertango by Astor Piazzolla.
Jason Tammam is a senior at Westfield High School. He studies cello with Leo Wang and is the Principal Cellist for Westfield High School’s Chamber and Symphonic Orchestras. Jason is President of the Junior Musical Club of Westfield and has organized a concert series at Runnells Specialized Hospital for the Junior Musical Club. Jason is a member of the New Jersey Youth Symphony, fourth chair and its chamber music programs. He is also the recipient of the New Jersey Youth Symphony Seven Year Gold Award. In addition, Jason is the winner of the Five Year Carnegie Award for first place in the Ensemble Division Competition as well as the Zayde-Hambro Ensemble and the Mary Jean Nelson Chamber Music competitions of the Piano Teachers Society of America (PTSA.) As a PTSA winner, he has performed five times in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. Both in 2001 and 2000, Jason was a winner of the Chamber Music Competition for the New Jersey Music Teachers Association’s Convention Master Class. He has also performed at Alice Tully Hall with Angela and Dina Kim as winners of the Cecilian Club’s Ensemble Competition and with pianist Dorothy Chou at Kean University’s Wilkins Theatre for the 2001 Third Annual Andrew De Grado Piano Competition. Jason’s musical interests have extended to composing. Recently, he composed a cadenza to the Haydn Cello Concerto in C. Jason is very interested in the career of public policy. He is a member of Westfield High School language clubs. Jason is an active member of the Spanish Club as well as the Italian Club where he now holds the title of President. Also, in 2001, Jason participated in JP Morgan Chase’s Lincoln Douglass Debate Competition at Rutgers University representing Westfield High School.