Palm Beach Symphony Reveals 2025 Lisa Bruna B-Major Award Winners

Three musically talented high school seniors from Palm Beach County have been named Palm Beach Symphony’s 2025 Lisa Bruna B-Major Award recipients and have been gifted new professional level instruments as their prize to use during college auditions and for the scope of their professional performance endeavors. The official announcement was made at the Symphony’s 23rd Annual Gala “A Standing Ovation” at The Breakers Palm Beach. 

Flutist Thomas “Aidan” Gardner and cellist Malorie Bliss, both students at the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, took first and second place, respectively. The third-place winner, euphonium player Alexander Rodriguez from Palm Beach Central Community High School in Wellington, has a remarkable story of perseverance and beating the odds to master this brass instrument. The teenager was born without the lower portion of his left arm, so he is missing his left hand. Typically, the euphonium requires two hands to play because of where the fourth valve is located. Given his unique circumstances, the Symphony ordered a custom-made euphonium specially configured to enable him to play all four valves with only his right hand. This musical A-Rod hits it out of the ballpark by also overcoming his physical challenge to earn a first-degree black belt in karate.

“These three exceptional students truly deserve a standing ovation, the theme of Palm Beach Symphony’s gala,” said Palm Beach Symphony CEO David McClymont. “Every musician starts somewhere, and with the help of our very generous donors, Palm Beach Symphony nurtures and develops young musicians from first grade through young adulthood as part of our mission to engage, educate and entertain. One of our most impactful programs is the Lisa Bruna B-Major Award because the new instruments we award to these deserving and dedicated high school seniors empowered them during their college auditions to ignite a lifelong journey in music. We’re looking forward to seeing where their musical careers take them. If we are lucky, they’ll return to Palm Beach County after college to join the Symphony on stage at Kravis Center as an orchestra member or guest artist.”

First Place

Flutist Thomas “Aidan” Gardner will graduate with honors from the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in May. In pursuit of a lifelong career in music, Gardner will major in flute performance in his higher education studies. As the first-place winner of Palm Beach Symphony’s Lisa Bruna B-Major Award, he was gifted the instrument of his dreams – a professional model Powell Conservatory sterling silver handmade flute and custom Lumina cut headjoint with a 14k rose gold crown.  

“Having an instrument like this is really important, because it gives high school students like me the opportunity to achieve things that we probably couldn’t imagine achieving until much later in our careers. I would not have thought about getting an instrument like this until I was already working in the field,” Gardner said. “But now, this puts me much further than I thought I would have been right now, and it really helps accelerate my growth. It’s almost validating in a way to know that our effort we are putting in now is good enough to warrant getting these opportunities to keep pursuing music. This is inspiring me to push myself farther and achieve greater things. It means a lot to us, probably more than I think donors realize. It’s a donation for them, but it’s lifechanging to us. I’m grateful. I’ll keep working to prove that.”

For the past four years at Dreyfoos, Gardner has played flute and piccolo in the school’s Philharmonic Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, joining them at the esteemed Midwest Clinic in 2022, La Croix-Valmer Music Festival in France in 2024 and the Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis this March. With the Dreyfoos Jazz Ensemble, he plays alto saxophone and regularly participates in the Essentially Ellington regional, national and international competitions. Gardner has performed in Florida All-State Bands since 2019 where he has served as first chair of the flute section twice. He’s also played in pit orchestras for Young Singers of the Palm Beaches and Ebony Coral since 2022.

As a chamber musician and soloist, Gardner performed in a quartet with acclaimed flutists Nestor Torres and Alaima Gonzalez at the Baroque Jazz Club in Miami. He’s been a featured soloist at St. Mark’s Church since 2021, the Cannon Music Camp at Appalachian State University in North Carolina and a Prism Concert with Dreyfoos students at the Kravis Center. Gardner was named a finalist in the National Society of Arts and Letters Concerto Competition and the Florida Flute Association’s High School Young Artist Competition. Remarkably, he has received superior ratings in Solo and Ensemble consecutively for the past seven years. Last year, Gardner was named Outstanding Flutist at the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival held at Lincoln Center in New York City.  

Second Place

Cellist Malorie Bliss will be graduating in May from the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts where she has served as Principal Cello of the Dreyfoos Philharmonic, String Orchestra and Pit Orchestra under the direction of Jeffrey Adkins, a Palm Beach Symphony double bassist. Bliss studies cello under the tutelage of Dr. Claudio Jaffé, principal cello of Palm Beach Symphony. As a winner of the Symphony’s Lisa Bruna B-Major Award, she was gifted with an exquisite handmade cello by Stefan Petrov, a Herman Luger bow and a polycarbonate flight case.  

“Receiving the Lisa Bruna B-Major Award has given me a lot of confidence in playing as I begin auditions for college, and this instrument can take me throughout my whole collegiate career and thereafter,” she said with gratitude. “Having this new instrument helps me explore new tones and lots of different colors with my sound and performance.”

Bliss also served as Principal Cello of the Youth Orchestra of Palm Beach County, All-County Orchestras and the Philadelphia International Music Festival and as a section cellist in a New World Symphony Side-by-Side, All-State Orchestras, Camerata di Magdalena String Orchestra and the Eastern Music Festival, in which she has played under the baton of world-renowned conductors including Palm Beach Symphony’s Music Director Gerard Schwarz. Bliss plays in chamber ensembles ranging from trios to nonets. On several occasions, she’s participated in a variety of ensembles that presented pre-concert performances prior to Palm Beach Symphony Masterworks Concerts at the Kravis Center. In November 2024, she participated in a cello masterclass led by the Symphony’s featured soloist Julian Schwarz.

Bliss is a member of the National Honor Society and Tri-M Honor Society. She is on the Honor Roll at Dreyfoos and currently serves as co-vice president and previously co-secretary of the school’s orchestra department. 

Third Place

Euphoniumist Alexander Rodriguez is a senior at Palm Beach Central Community High School in Wellington. As a winner of the Lisa Bruna B-Major Award, he received a custom-made Willson 2975 professional model euphonium being built specially for his needs. Rodriguez was born without the lower portion of his left arm. This newly crafted instrument was made with all four valves in a right-hand configuration to be played with his one hand since traditional euphoniums require the use of two hands. Rodriguez will also receive a custom-made carrying case by Messina Covers for his unique instrument.

“For me, winning this award isn’t just getting an instrument. It’s much more than that. I don’t even know how to express my gratitude,” Rodriguez said with great sincerity. “The professional level euphoniums play much better and [the] notes in tune. Palm Beach Symphony has helped me find the best instrument I can play on at a higher level with greater ease. Winning this instrument right before I start college marks a new milestone in my playing.” 

Rodriguez continued, “Palm Beach Symphony is known for giving back and recognizing individuals or groups of people that have done great things for the community. The Symphony is vital for music education in Florida and Palm Beach. Without them, many musicians would never have found their way as a musician and many band programs and music educators would have never been in the place they are. Music would not be the same without the Symphony.”

Rodriquez graduates in May with an Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) diploma awarded by the University of Cambridge International Examinations. Rodriguez is active in the Palm Beach Central Bronco Marching Band, that was recently awarded 2nd place at the Florida Marching Band Championships, as well as the Palm Beach Central Wind Ensemble, Brass Choir, Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble, and as a soloist that have all continuously earned superior ratings in Solo and Ensemble competitions and Music Performance Assessments. This academic year, Rodriguez was named Principal Euphonium in the All-County Honor Band.  

Rodriguez is on the Principal’s Honor Roll and is a member of the National Technological Honor Society for studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). He is the recipient of the World Language Excellence Award, certified in Adobe Visual Designing Photoshop and a karate Goju Ryu Shodan (first-degree black belt).
 

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