Benny Westcott
Accomplished pianist and music teacher Dr. Carmen Wolthuis Hall received the Sweet Home Alumni Foundation’s High Q Award of Merit during Sweet Home High School’s graduation ceremony Friday, June 10, at Husky Field.
Alumni Foundation President Greg Ego said the honor was bestowed “in recognition of her many accomplishments, numerous awards, dedication to teaching and coaching young people to fulfill their dreams and outreach both nationally and internationally.”
Hall, a 1987 Sweet Home High School graduate who now resides in Utah, is the daughter of retired dentist Dr. Henry Wolthuis and his wife, Mollie, and brother to current dentist Dr. Ivan Wolthuis. As a high school student, she was senior class president, Senior Girl of the Year and a Junior First Citizen for Linn County. Hall also ran track under coaches Dave Martin and Alan Temple.
She began taking piano lessons as a child and played in her first competition at age 14. In 1990 she earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance and pedagogy, followed by her master’s in those studies two years later, from Brigham Young University. She received her doctorate of musical arts in piano performance and music theory from the University of Utah in 2021. She has performed with the Salt Lake City Symphony, the Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra in American Fork, Utah; the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra and the Emerald Chamber Orchestra.
Hall operates the Carmen Hall Studio of Piano in American Fork, where she prepares 40 students for competition, evaluations, recitals and college auditions. She also created Young Pianists International to allow students to share cultural experiences and performances with students in other countries. Through that program she has led trips to China, Japan, Mexico, Washington D.C., and Oregon.
Hall is a certified member of the Music Teachers National Association, as well as a member of the Utah Music Teachers Association, where she will serve as the vice president in the coming year. She’s also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as a counselor and leader in that capacity. She uses her musical talents to serve as organist and pianist at her church. In the past year she received an American Fork grant to establish the Timpanogos Chamber Music Series and has performed nine of its concerts.
Hall gave the class of 2022 some advice in her High-Q Award of Merit acceptance speech.
“I hope you remember to always show gratitude, always say yes to good things that help you become a better person and be kind and value the experiences and friends that you have,” she said. “You have lots of adventures ahead of you.”
The school’s 1972-73 state championship High-Q teams established the award to recognize exceptional students or graduates for national or international recognition and accomplishments in the area of academics, leadership, vocations, extracurricular activities and sports. Original team members Erik Duncan, Richard Black, Jim Cook, Tom Palkki and Steve Stenberg outlined its criteria. The Sweet Home Alumni Foundation took over its coordination in 2015.