Dana Saramago Wins Linda Shoemaker Band Scholarship

LIU Post bound Huntington High School Class of 2026 member Dana Saramago has captured has this year’s Linda Shoemaker Blue Devil Marching Band Scholarship in the amount of $2,000 for the first year followed by $1,000 in each of the next three years.

An accomplished musician and Huntington UFSD music teacher, Ms. Shoemaker enjoyed a three decade long career as the Blue Devil marching band director. She died peacefully in her sleep on August 10, 2019, at the age of 76.

“The key to my success has been diligence and drive,” Ms. Saramago said. “By committing myself entirely to both my studies and the activities I enjoy, I have found great success. I love performing in ensembles and exploring my creativity. I tend to learn better when stimulating the creative part of my brain. So, anything that includes something creative has helped me thrive. I am actively involved in athletics, academics, and music. I have participated in the high school wind ensemble and jazz band and I have held leadership roles in the marching band.”

Ms. Saramago interned with marching band director Andre Rizzuto in his junior band class and she conducted the high school’s spring concert. A member of eight separate academic honor societies, the teenager also captained the winter and spring girls’ varsity track and field teams.

An Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction, Ms. Saramago plans to study music education in preparation for a career as a teacher.

Born in Bell, California in September 1942, Ms. Shoemaker’s love of music and her talent was inherited from both sides of her family where there were music educators and opera singers, according to an obituary posted online. She saw her first parade at age four and fell in love.

Ms. Shoemaker began studying clarinet as a fourth grader and later marched during the opening ceremonies of Disneyland in Anaheim on July 17, 1955, and in four Tournament of Roses parades in Pasadena.

A graduate of Downey High School in Modesto, California, Ms. Shoemaker studied at Long Beach State for two years and then accepted a full scholarship as the first chair clarinet at the University of Nevada, Reno. She later moved to Columbus, Ohio and took classes at Ohio State while working in a music store there.

Ms. Shoemaker accepted a teaching position in Huntington UFSD in 1967, initially working at Flower Hill and Woodbury Avenue School. She later became the Finley Junior High School band director and moved to Huntington High School in 1982 where she spent 15 years as a teacher and marching band director before retiring in 1997.

An avid photographer, Ms. Shoemaker traveled across the country, especially enjoying multiple trips to Ireland and Kenya. She frequently attended concerts and performances of the New York Philharmonic, New York Opera and Metropolitan Opera. Among her favorite singers were Luciano Pavarotti, Beverly Sills, Renata Tebaldi, Maria Callas and Leontyne Price.