A Bottle Of White, A Bottle Of Red, Perhaps A Bottle Of Rose Instead

Do you wonder if recipients of the Billy Joel scholarship will ever feel a little lame? NYU announces the first year’s winners:

Several graduate students in the department of music and performing arts professions were awarded a total of $500,000 from the Billy Joel Scholarship fund this summer.

In its first year, the fund will cover part of the tuiton for three Steinhardt School of Education students: Yuval Cohen of Jerusalem; Peter Cruz of Perth Amboy, N.J.; and Michael Eckroth of Las Vegas. All of these students started at NYU this September.

. . .

A multi-Grammy winner and 2002 Musicares Person of the Year, Billy Joel — whose daughter, Alexa Ray, attended NYU’s musical theater program — is a supporter of musical education.

“Billy Joel’s extraordinary talents as a composer and a performer, and the impact of his work on the musical scene and industry resonate perfectly with NYU Steinhardt’s numerous bridges to the music profession,” said Lawrence Ferrara, chair of the music and performing arts department, in a statement.

That seems a little effusive.