NEW ORLEANS – The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA), in partnership with the Trombone Shorty Foundation, announced the winners of its annual visual art and songwriting contests. Thirteen high school juniors and seniors from across Louisiana were awarded $25,000 in college scholarships. The 2025 contest theme was “HOME.LAND. – Reflections on Louisiana Landscapes and the Meaning of Home Through Art & Song” which encouraged students to explore and express what home means to them through the lens of the state’s unique landscapes and experiences.
The 13 finalists and their families recently gathered at the Scholarship Art & Songwriting Contest Awards Luncheon on Saturday, March 22, at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel. In addition to the scholarship awards, visual art winners’ pieces will tour on exhibition across Louisiana (Summer + Fall 2025), while the first-place songwriting winner will have the opportunity to perform at the Trombone Shorty Foundation’s annual fundraiser, Shorty Fest, next May.
This year, GRFA has also partnered with the Loyola University’s College of Music and Media to provide additional opportunities for Songwriting Contest Finalists. These benefits include: the opportunity to record their song in Loyola’s state-of-the-art Studio A, alongside in-house engineers and producers; the opportunity to have their original song distributed through various Digital Service Providers (DSPs); and, the opportunity to perform live at Freret Fest.
“We are so impressed with the quality of the work – both art and song – that the students have created for this year’s contests,” said Jacques Rodrigue, executive director of GRFA. “I know that dad would have loved seeing Louisiana’s land and culture showcased through the works of these talented students.”
Songwriting Contest Finalists: A panel of celebrity judges, including: Bill Taylor (Founding Executive Director, Trombone Shorty Foundation), Jonathan McHugh (Hilton-Baldridge Eminent Scholar/Chair in Music Industry Studies, Loyola University), Ashley Shabankareh (Director of Operations & Programs, Trombone Shorty Foundation), Nate Cameron (Music Business Apprenticeship Program Manager, Trombone Shorty Foundation /Co-Founder of glbl wrmng), Julian “Juice” Gosin (Artist, Educator, Producer /Music Instructor at Trombone Shorty Academy), and Quiana Lynell (Award Winning Vocalist, Touring and Recording Artist, Educator and Arts Advocate) selected three finalists to share $6,000 in college scholarships. Judging criteria was based on structure and composition, melody, and lyrics.
*Soundcloud files for each song are hyperlinked below.
1st Place Songwriter – $3,000 Scholarship
Annabeth Ellerman (Senior, Ouachita Christian School, Monroe)
“East Shore Road”
2nd Place Songwriter – $2,000 Scholarship
John Zaffuto (Junior, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, New Orleans)
“Old Trace, Hammond Song”
3rd Place Songwriting – $1,000
Saige Berthelot (Senior, St. John High School, Plaquemine)
“The Beat of Louisiana”
“It is such an honor to celebrate the creativity and spirit of our region, especially through the honoring talents of our young people,” says Bill Taylor, Trombone Shorty Foundation Founding executive director. “We are grateful to the Rodrigue Foundation for creating this platform to give back to the future culture keepers who will carry our heritage forward.”
“We are so excited to have the Loyola College of Music partnering with the George Rodrique Foundation’s statewide songwriting contest,” says Jonathan McHugh, Hilton-Baldridge Eminent Scholar/Chair in Music Industry Studies, Loyola University. “To be able to have the songwriting contest winner, Anna Beth Ellerman, collaborate and be mentored by some of our talented Loyola singer songwriters/ producers and engineers in our college’s Studio A is amazing to have high school and college students work together”
Visual Art Contest Winners: Contest judges selected the below 10 finalists to share $19,000 in college scholarships. Individual visual artwork was judged on concept/design, technical skill and creativity.
Visual Art contest judges included: Jill Hackney (Artist), Misty Taylor Pride (Collections and Exhibitions Manager – Hilliard Art Museum), Emily Feazel (Designer, Exhibits & Special Events – R.W. Norton Art Gallery), Ashley Royer (Creative Director – Imperial Calcasieu Museum), Priscilla Simpson (Executive Director – Shaw Center for the Arts), Shemsi Frezel (Curator – Rodrigue Studios), Kathy Rodriguez (Assistant Professor, Department of Fine Arts, University of New Orleans) and Olivia Helmer (Curator – Alexandria Museum of Art).
*Image files for each finalist are hyperlinked below.
1st Place Senior – $5,000 Scholarship
Michael Shi Baton Rouge Magnet High School, Baton Rouge)
“Through the Lens of Heritage”
2nd Place Senior – $4,000 Scholarship
Abram Ledet (Central Lafourche High School, Raceland)
“Imperialism”
3rd Place Senior – $3,000 Scholarship
Hyowon Lee (Haynes Academy School for Advanced Studies, Metairie)
“Solace”
4th Place Senior – $2,000 Scholarship
London Dupree (St. Joseph’s Academy, Baton Rouge)
“A Song To Come Home To”
5th Place Senior – $1,000 Scholarship
Addyson Wade (Senior, West Ouachita High School, West Monroe)
“Love in the Ouachita”
1st Place Junior – $1,500 Scholarship
Luci Lavery (West Monroe High School, West Monroe)
“Evolution of Home”
2nd Place Junior – $1,000 Scholarship
Claire Rimmer (Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport)
“Pelican Pointe”
3rd Place Junior – $750 Scholarship
Trinity Smith (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, New Orleans)
“Woodland Plantation”
4th Place Junior- $500 Scholarship
Sophia Savoie (Central Lafourche High School, Raceland)
“Jazz on the Bayou”
5th Place Junior – $250 Scholarship
Audrey Lemoine (St. Joseph’s Academy, Baton Rouge)
“Beans”
The foundation gave special thanks to this year’s Art & Songwriting Contest Sponsors & Partners: Trombone Shorty Foundation, Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, Jones Walker LLP, Loyola University College of Music and Media, Keith Wildhaber Charitable Fund, Wendell & Anne Gauthier Family Foundation, Dathel Georges, Lucas Huddleston, Mark & Fran Scofield, and Paul J. Leaman, Jr.
Founded by George Rodrigue in 2009, the GRFA Scholarship Art & Songwriting Contest has received over 6,750 submissions and awarded $630,000 in total scholarships to almost 248 students. For more information, please visit www.rodriguefoundation.org.
###