Date: Fri 24-Jan-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

schools-Weller-scholarships

Full Text:

Bassett And Bajracharya Are Weller Scholarship Finalists

B Y D OROTHY E VANS

Once again, Newtown is in the running for the annual Barton L. Weller $10,000

scholarship that will be awarded in April to a senior high school student

chosen from one of five area schools: Newtown, Joel Barlow, Masuk, Shelton and

Trumbull.

"We can be proud that this year we've got two excellent candidates," Newtown

guidance counselor Gerry Waterbury said Tuesday.

"Some years we've even had three out of a possible five. Newtown seniors have

actually won the Weller eight years total," Ms Waterbury said.

But Newtown has always had at least one student represented among the five

area finalists, ever since 1978 when the Weller Foundation scholarship was

first offered. The purpose of the scholarship is to encourage academic

excellence in a substantial independent project.

"He was an incredible philanthropist," Ms Waterbury said of the late Barton

Weller, the founder of Vitramon, Inc. in Monroe.

"I urge the kids to go out for it. It's local, it's a lot of money and there

is a relatively small field of competition," she said.

Last year, "after a long dry spell," Ms Waterbury noted, Newtown student Kate

Zimmerman won the award.

"Now I'm ready for another one. These are outstanding candidates," she said,

referring to Newtown's two candidates this year, Christopher Bassett and Max

Bajracharya.

Christopher Bassett

"Since I've been a child, writing tunes has been a habit," says Newtown High

School senior Christopher Bassett.

Now, he is hoping to "add harmony, full instrumentalization and rhythmic

background" to create a large-scale piece for a symphonic band.

The ultimate experience would be to hear one of his original compositions

played live - either by the Newtown High School Concert Band directed by Jack

Zamary, or by the Yale Symphonic Band directed by Professor Thomas Duffy of

the Yale School of Music.

Chris, who also plays saxophone in the Newtown High marching band, had talked

with Mr Zamary about how he might get help with composition. Mr Zamary

recommended that Chris try calling Prof Duffy, though he cautioned chances

were "slim" the Yale professor would have the time.

"Incredibly, I lucked out," Chris said.

Prof Duffy agreed to meet weekly with Chris through Newtown's Honors

Mentorship Program, a commitment of both time and talent by Prof Duffy for

which Chris is extremely grateful. The two have been getting together at the

Yale campus, with Chris driving down to New Haven after school for the

teaching sessions.

"I bring my ideas in to him and he shows me ways to orchestrate them," Chris

said.

Prof Duffy uses piano, tapes and CDs to illustrate his suggestions, Chris

added.

As for how he begins composing, Chris said he usually sits down at the piano

by himself, drawing on his knowledge of music theory taught him by Ann Doyle,

choral teacher at Newtown High.

It seems he's always working on a composition, to the point where his

girlfriend frequently tells him to "just stop it."

"But I can't!" Chris said, smiling.

He is applying for admission to both Yale and New York University and would be

happy with either school should he get in, Chris said.

He hopes to follow a career in scoring soundtracks for film and he named

certain composers whom he especially admires in the field, such as John

Williams, Alan Mencken and Michael Kamen.

"When I go to a movie, I hardly pay any attention to the plot because I'm so

interested in the background music," Chris admitted.

For his Weller scholarship project, Chris will study ways to portray emotions

in various scenes through music.

"I've already got the scenes in mind. It will be film without the words, just

music."

Max Bajracharya

A quick tour around Newtown High School senior Max Bajracharya's room might

yield the following curiosities: a fishing box full of clock parts; note pads

full of sketches for electronic circuitry; wires, gadgets, puzzles and

games... lots of literature for inspiration.

"It's my fun!" Max said of his compulsion to play around with electronics and

solve problems, an interest that has led him toward inventing and the study of

computer software.

"Making a digital clock run backwards," is one such project, he said.

Max is an advanced math student who moved into Newtown from California two

years ago and has already run the gamut of every math course the high school

here has to offer.

Now, he's taking several classes in computer science at Western Connecticut

State University, including a "C Plus Plus" computer language course.

He still attends Newtown classes in Advanced Placement (AP) English,

government and economics and helps out with AP biology, he said.

For his Honors Mentorship project, Max is working at the Electronics Design

Lab in Redding, building "whatever their clients want," specifically in the

field of robotics and motion control.

As for how Max found his mentor, it was through ordering electronic parts, he

said.

"I looked in the Yellow Pages, called [Electronics Design Lab] and asked them

what they do," he said.

The president of the company answered, they talked, and after the president

got in touch with Mrs McEvoy concerning the Newtown Mentorship Program and

Max's interests and abilities, the rest was history.

"I drive there three times a week and am writing software to run systems,

matching formats," Max explained.

"They've offered me a job for this summer," he added.

Max has been accepted through early decision to MIT and looks forward to

spending at least the next four years in Boston, he said.

"I knew I needed an engineering school.