Three Houston-are students have been named award winners by the Texas Cultural Trust (TXCT).
Saj Baldwin, a Houston 9th grader, was honored for visual arts. 11th grader Caroline Jacobson, of Spring, was recognized for music (voice). Eva Rami, a Sugar Land 10th grader, was honored for literary arts.
All three are part of the TXCT and the Texas Commission on the Arts’ 12th class of Texas Young Masters, a prestigious designation designed to spotlight high-achieving young artists and provide opportunities for them to pursue their craft at an advanced level.
Saj Baldwin is a freshman at the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Hehad his first solo exhibition at Lanecia Rouse Tinsley Gallery in 2023. His work was also featured in “Where Do We Go from Here?,” the 2023 Teen Council Exhibition at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. His work explores themes of identity, nostalgia, and embracing the present.
Jacobson is a junior at Klein High School and has been studying voice with Judy Boyter for five years. She has won top honors at numerous state and local contests, including winning her division at the Greater Houston National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition, qualifying for nationals at the Schmidt Vocal Competition, and winning the 2023 Houston Masterworks Chorus Young Singer Competition. Caroline’s most recent achievements include being chosen as a soloist in the Texas All-State Mixed Choir and starring as Donna in the Klein High School production of Mamma Mia! She will use her Young Masters award to participate in the Schmidt Vocal Institute in Oxford, Ohio.
Rami (Literary Arts) is a sophomore at the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, where she studies creative writing. She has been recognized by the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards and New York Times Student Contests and attended the Ellipsis Summer Writing Workshops this past summer. Eva hopes to use her Young Masters award to attend Barnard College’s NextGen Leadership Institute and participate in their Writing & Literature track.
The three are among 15 8th through 11th grade students who will receive $10,000 each in scholarship grants over the course of two years to pursue specialized studies in their chosen artistic discipline, including dance, theatre, musical theatre, literary arts, music, visual arts, and more. Previous awardees have used their scholarships to attend summer intensives at institutions like Juilliard, or to travel internationally to receive private lessons from acclaimed artists.
The students were recognized at the biennial Texas Young Masters celebration and awards show on April 16, 2024, at ZACH Theatre in Austin.