- Joshua Polion, trumpet
- Devin Shaw, piano
- Jacob Smith, drums
- Adam Lord, saxophone
- Aidan McCarthy, bass
Chuck Bergeron, M.M. ’93, Professor of Professional Practice in Jazz Bass and Jazz Pedagogy, stated: “The class of 2025 truly represents the future of jazz. As Stamps Distinguished Scholars they are an elite group of young musicians who will not only benefit from the finest musical education, but share some of the best experiences of a lifetime while at Frost. We look forward to working with them and helping them to evolve as artists and professionals.”
About the Class of 2025 Stamps Jazz Quintet
Joshua Polion, B.M. ’25, is a jazz trumpeter from Louisville, Kentucky. He recently graduated from DuPont Manual and the Youth Performing Arts School where he was awarded the Principal’s Leadership Award and the Lois Armstrong Award.
Devin Shaw, B.M. ’25, is a pianist who graduated from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 12, he began his classical music training at the Merit School of Music and has studied jazz with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the 8Ravinia Jazz Scholars. In 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Jacob Smith, B.M. ’25, is a Studio Music and Jazz Studies Major at the Frost School of Music. Through middle school and High School, he participated in The Massachusetts Music Educators Association Junior and Senior Western District Jazz Ensemble for 6 years. He has also won many awards at high school jazz festivals including two Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival Judge’s Choice Awards in 2017 and 2018, and the 2019 Outstanding Soloist Award, among other notable recognition.
Adam Lord, B.M. ’25, is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. He started playing the saxophone at age 14, having studied both piano and clarinet. He is a graduate of Dreyfoos School of the Arts, in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he was a member of their premier Jazz Ensemble, JE1. He is a former FMEA All-State clarinetist and an alumnus of the 2020 Music for All Jazz Band of America. Adam is a two-time YoungArts winner and a 4-time DownBeat Student Music Award winner.
Aidan McCarthy, B.M. ’25, is an acoustic and electric bass player, hailing from Oakland, California. Aidan has been a member of numerous prestigious award-winning ensembles, such as the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Big Band, the California Jazz School’s Advanced High School Workshop I, and Studio Band. In both 2020 and 2021, Aidan was a member of Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra Jazz Band.
Through the Stamps Scholars Program, funded by the generosity of South Florida philanthropists and music lovers E. Roe Stamps and his late wife Penny, five exceptional young artists of the highest caliber are selected every four years for this prestigious scholarship. Together, these five students form a working jazz quintet for the length of their tenure at Frost. They are mentored by a host of Frost’s world-renowned faculty artists, spearheaded by Chuck Bergeron (Jazz Bass, Jazz Pedagogy), and including Frost School of Music Dean Shelly Berg, multiple Grammy-winner Brian Lynch (Jazz Trumpet), John Hart (Jazz Guitar), Martin Bejerano (Jazz Piano), John Yarling (Jazz Drumset), and Grammy-winner Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Additional mentoring is provided by guest artists of the Frost School.
