Anton Greene (BM ’26, jazz & contemporary improvisation) has received the Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award. Presented by the Presser Foundation, the award recognizes students in higher education that have “achieved a high level of musical and academic excellence, demonstrated leadership and service, and contributed to an inclusive community,” according to the foundation’s website.
“I am truly honored to receive this award,” said Greene. “The Presser Foundation has provided me with an incredible opportunity to pursue something that I love and believe will be a meaningful contribution to the music world.” In addition to his jazz degree, Greene is pursuing a bachelor’s in political science. He is a member of Professor Andrew Bishop’s studio, and he shared his appreciation for SMTD faculty: “I would like to thank, with immense gratitude, all of my professors in the JCI department, particularly Andrew Bishop, Ellen Rowe, Andy Milne, and Robert Hurst. They, along with the entirety of SMTD, have been instrumental in my growth, both as a musician and as a person.”
Anton Greene
As a jazz multi-instrumentalist focusing mainly on tenor saxophone, Greene is able to perform on alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute, and a variety of folk instruments such as the jaw harp, Turkish ney, and Ukrainian telenka. He has played gigs in Ukraine, Italy, Azerbaijan, and the United States. As an arranger, he created a rendition of the Ukrainian folk tune “Ой чий то кінь стоїть” (“Oh, Whose Horse Is Standing There”), capturing the pain of the Ukrainian people at war. In addition to being an avid performer, Greene has interned for Congressman Seth Moulton and for Yaroslav Ruschyshyn (a member of Ukrainian Parliament), volunteered as a translator for the Superhumans Center (a medical facility in Ukraine), and helped raise over $125 thousand for humanitarian services for Ukraine as a spokesperson with the organization Stand with Ukraine Through Film.
After graduation, Greene plans to continue his study of Ukrainian and Turkish folk instruments. He will study in Turkey for one month and in Ukraine for six months with local musicians. He draws inspiration from his family’s rich tradition of Ukrainian folk music, and he reflected on moments with them: “When a night with the family is winding down, my grandma always pulls from her incredible reserve of folk songs and begins to sing, and we all join her.” Though the traditional music of Ukraine has been passed on through generations, instrumental music has been suppressed by various Russian regimes, with its near-complete elimination by the USSR. The war in Ukraine, however, has sparked a national revival of traditional Ukrainian culture. Greene noted that, “As a Ukrainian, with this incredible opportunity from the Presser Foundation, I feel that I am in the perfect position to contribute to this revival and help bring instrumental folk music, a tradition that has been buried and lost, back into the national consciousness.”