The Friends of Music organization has donated a bow to a talented young Eastern Panhandle musician.

The bow is a new carbon fiber Diamond NX CodaBow, made by CodaBow International, Ltd., of Wionona, Minnesota. It has a retail value of about $470.

The recipient is Dorian C. L. Hemerick, 16, who lives in Gerrardstown and will be a senior at Musselman High School next fall.

Hemerick has been playing the cello since he was ten years old. He plays with the Senior Preparatory Orchestra at Shepherd University and also teaches private lessons. After he graduates high school, he plans to attend a conservatory and pursue a career in performance and music education.

The Friends presented the bow to Dorian at their May Board of Directors meeting, which was held May 3 at the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown.

Ms. Walker, who is also a cellist, was the winner of a “Pay-it-Forward Giveaway” sponsored this past winter by CodaBow and “Strings” magazine. Her prize was a new CodaBow for her own use and a second one to be donated to a school or institution of her choice. After consultation with the sponsors, it was agreed that she would donate the second bow to the Friends, who in turn would donate it to Hemerick.

Friends Board President Barkus said the donation was made to Hemerick “in honor of his promise as a musician and his intended career.”

The Friends of Music is a Shepherdstown-based, non-profit organization that was founded in 1999 to support and promote musical excellence. It supports the Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra, the only professional chamber orchestra in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

Full information about the Friends and the Orchestra is available at www.friendswv. org.