Office for the Arts Announces 2026 Arts Prize Winners

HARVARD STUDENTS RECEIVE PRIZES FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE ARTS

(Cambridge, MA) — The Office for the Arts at Harvard and the Council on the Arts at Harvard, a standing committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, announce the recipients of the annual undergraduate arts prizes for 2026.

The awards, presented to more than 230 undergraduates over the past 43 years, recognize outstanding accomplishments in the arts undertaken during a student’s time at Harvard.

Robert E. Levi Prize

Katherrin Billordo ’26, Joseph Foo ’26, and co-awardees Adam Bartholomew ’26 & Elizabeth Bennett ‘26 and Paola Lee-Vega ’26 & Miranda Morales ’26 are the recipients of the Robert E. Levi Prize. This prize goes to a Harvard College senior who has demonstrated outstanding arts management skills over the course of an undergraduate career. The recipient’s dedication, organizational talent and creative problem-solving, as well as ability to nurture artistry, have been critical factors in the success of one or more arts organizations and/or projects. The award honors the memory of Robert E. Levi, Harvard College class of 1933 and Harvard Business School, MBA, 1935.

Adam Bartholomew, (co-awardee with Elizabeth Bennett) a resident of Adams House and student in the Harvard–Berklee Joint Studies Program, explores the intersection of music and film through coursework in Music and Art, Film and Visual Studies at Harvard and Film Scoring at Berklee. While concentrating in Molecular and Cellular Biology, he has also pursued creative projects that connect artistic practice with cultural storytelling and community-building. In the spring of his first year, for a Harvard musicology course, Adam directed and edited a documentary on his uncle’s pioneering jazz steelpan ensemble, Panazz, from Trinidad. The film won the People’s Choice Award at the 2023 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival and has since screened internationally, from London to Japan. Through a sponsorship from the MITTCO Ltd. Steelpan factory that supported the film’s Digital Cinema Package production, Adam acquired steelpans that helped launch the Harvard College Steelpan Ensemble, which he co-founded with Elizabeth Bennett ’26 in September 2024. Rehearsing in Adams House and open to musicians of all experience levels, the ensemble fosters a welcoming space for collaborative music-making while sharing the vibrant tradition of steelpan music with the Harvard community. In January 2026, after a year of fundraising, the ensemble traveled to Trinidad to engage with the instrument’s cultural roots and collaborate with leading steelpan virtuosos in a culminating concert.

A resident of Dunster House, Elizabeth Bennett (co-awardee with Adam Bartholomew) concentrates in Music with a secondary in Government. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of these two disciplines with a focus on arts advocacy; this is reflected in the leadership roles she has embodied on campus. She is the co-founder of the Harvard College Steelpan Ensemble, a no-auditions-required group where she teaches members to play from a beginner level. With her co-founder, she planned and executed the ensemble’s inaugural trip to Trinidad, where they performed a sold-out concert collaborating with local artists. Elizabeth’s work with the steelpan ensemble is documented in articles by The Harvard Gazette, The Trinidad Express, and The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian; she was also interviewed on the breakfast show Trinidad and Tobago Today. Last year, Elizabeth was the music director of the Radcliffe Pitches, leading more than two hundred alumnae in their 50th Anniversary Reunion Jam. She is a dedicated member of the Harvard University Choir and the Ferris Choral Fellows, where she is also the social secretary. Next year, Elizabeth plans to pursue a master's degree in education at the University of Cambridge specializing in Arts and Creativity: her first step towards a lifelong career in the arts.

Katherrin Billordo is a resident of Mather House and a double concentrator in Psychology and Art, Film, and Visual Studies, with a minor in Economics and a certificate in Civic Engagement. As a visual artist from Chicago, her work spans painting, sculpture, photography, murals, and linocuts, exploring her Mexican-Argentine heritage, everyday life, and philosophical questions of identity, belonging, and perception. At age 16, she founded Visionary Art Gallery, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to expanding exhibition and networking opportunities for young artists. Through this initiative, she has organized five large-scale pop-up exhibitions across Chicago, Boston, and Cambridge, showcasing over 900 artworks from 320+ artists and 20 musicians to 1,300+ attendees. At Harvard, she's served as an Office for the Arts Ambassador, Marketing Director for Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business, Arts writer for the Harvard Crimson, Sekler Travel Fund recipient, and organizer of multiple exhibitions, including the first Harvard x Yale Art Gallery, the Boston-wide gallery, and collaborative OFA showcases at the Harvard Club of Boston. Her work has been exhibited at the U.S. Capitol Building, the Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and recognized with 24 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Joseph Foo is a resident of Pforzheimer House, double concentrating in Folklore & Mythology and Classics with a secondary in Art, Film, and Visual Studies. Foo has served as the assistant stage manager for the musical Atalanta and co-stage manager for Footloose. He has also worked as an undergraduate curatorial assistant at the Harvard Art Museums, supporting the Drawings Department on the 2024 rotating exhibition of Thomas Rowlandson. He also curated a line-up of speakers for the 2024 Harvard Undergraduates in Asia Program, bringing in artists to engage with students coming from partner universities across Asia. As an Office for the Arts (OFA) student arts ambassador, Foo assisted with the OFA 50th anniversary and helped organize a poetry writing workshop with poet Tatiana Johnson-Boria during National Poetry Month. Additionally, Foo has worked closely with Alicia Anstead, OFA Associate Director for Creative Productions on the Learning from Performers programming, including the ArtsBites series and artist residencies. Foo was also the Harvard J-term intern at the Pao Arts Center, contributing to the curation, planning, and logistics of the 2026 Lunar New Year Celebration and the Year of the Horse Exhibit in Boston’s Chinatown.

A resident of Currier House and concentrator in Psychology, Paola Lee-Vega (co-awardee with Miranda Morales) has been actively involved in Harvard’s dance and theatre community as a dancer, choreographer, and director. She has been a dancer with Candela, Harvard’s Latin Dance Troupe, since 2023, serving as Social Chair (2023–2024), Choreographer (2024–2026), and Showcase Co-Director (2024–2026). Paola has also worked with the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club, serving as Assistant Director for the 2022 Loeb Mainstage production of In the Heights and as choreographer for productions in the Agassiz Theatre, including 9 to 5 (2024) and The Addams Family (2025). In addition to her work in Latin dance and musical theatre, she danced in the 2024 Contemporary Dance-Theatre production of Romeo & Juliet, as well as in performances with the Harvard-Radcliffe Modern Dance Company. Paola co-directed Candela’s annual showcase, “Un Viaje Por El Mundo,” which took place on the Loeb Mainstage in March. This production, the largest in Candela history, brought together more than 80 performers and production staff in a large-scale celebration of Latin American dance and culture.

A resident of Dunster House and concentrator in Mechanical Engineering with a secondary in Psychology, Miranda Morales (co-awardee with Paola Lee-Vega) is a dancer and student leader whose work with Candela Latin Dance Troupe has been a significant part of her time at Harvard. While first joining Candela to remain connected to her Hispanic heritage, Miranda remained committed to celebrating and elevating Latino culture on campus through Candela. Serving as Treasurer in her junior year, she acquired grants and record funding for the club. That same year, her commitment to growing the club and its reach was reflected in co-directing Candela's annual showcase, which achieved the largest audience to date for the club. Currently serving as Co-President, Candela has continued to achieve unprecedented levels of growth, including hosting its annual showcase at the Loeb Mainstage, their biggest stage to date. Miranda is excited to continue fostering the celebration of and education about Latino culture and dance at Harvard and Boston at large.

Radcliffe Doris Cohen Levi Prize

Carolyn Hao ’26 is the recipient of the Radcliffe Doris Cohen Levi Prize. The prize recognizes a Harvard undergraduate who combines talent and energy with outstanding enthusiasm for musical theater at Harvard. The prize honors the memory of Doris Cohen Levi '35 and is conferred upon a student who has made a consistent contribution of high quality to the production or performance of musical comedy, opera, dance and all other forms of theater which combine music and theatrical performance at Harvard.

A resident of Leverett House, Carolyn Hao is a double concentrator in History of Science and Music, and a part of the Harvard-Berklee Joint Studies program concentrating in Jazz vocal performance. At Harvard, Hao has occupied and explored many of the different corners of Harvard's artistic opportunities as performer, playwright, music-director, and choreographer. She was a soloist at President Claudine Gay and President Alan Garber's respective inaugurations. She performed "Somewhere," a tribute to Rita Moreno, at Harvard's 374th Commencement. She has also been a soloist numerous times in Berklee's "Singers Showcase" at the Berklee Performance Center. Hao has been a part of 9 different theater productions at Harvard as a performer, music director, sound designer, and writer. In her final year at Harvard, she wrote an original musical titled "The Crane Wife's Return of a Favor:" an amalgamation of various East Asian folk tales retold in a contemporary setting. During her junior summer, Hao worked for the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) as a Music Assistant under Ryan Cantwell and Nadia DiGiallonardo on WONDER. She also acted as Afong Moy in the A.R.T.’s reading of "The Chinese Lady" at the Schlesinger Library's exhibit. Hao was a two-time choreographer of the Asian American Dance Troupe, the Music Director of the Din and Tonics, and a Ferris Choral Fellow with the University Choir.

Louise Donovan Award

Texaco Texeira-Ramos ’26 is the recipient of the Louise Donovan Award. The award recognizes a Harvard student who worked behind the scenes in the arts, for example, as director, producer or accompanist, contributing most to the success of a production and the opportunity for others to shine. The award is given in honor of Louise Donovan who, through her distinguished career at Radcliffe College, was a role model of unselfish, effective support for the College.

A resident of Adams House concentrating in Art, Film and Visual Studies (AFVS) with a secondary in Theater, Dance, and Media (TDM), Texaco Texeira-Ramos is a director, designer, technician and performer working across the mediums of theater and film. During her time at Harvard, she was heavily involved in the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club where she served from freshman to senior year on the board and was involved in 13 productions, most recently a production of The Glass Menagerie which she directed. Of these productions, Texeira-Ramos directed three and was a designer, technician, and/or producer for nine. She has also been involved in supporting arts at the college as a Proctor for the First-Year Arts Program for three years and through employment positions at the Office for the Arts, TDM, and the American Repertory Theater. Texeira-Ramos has also directed/co-directed five films during their time in the AFVS department. As a queer, Kānaka Maoli, Latino, and disabled artist, Texeira-Ramos is a vocal advocate for inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in the arts community. They are currently interning as Assistant to the Artistic Director at Central Square Theater and are developing a public art staging of Oedipus Rex.

Robert Levin Prize in Musical Performance

Enoch Li ’26 is the recipient of the Robert Levin Prize in Musical Performance. This prize has been established to recognize an extraordinarily gifted undergraduate musician. The award honors Robert Levin ’68, professor emeritus and former Dwight P. Robinson Jr. professor of the Department of Music at Harvard University.

A resident of Adams House and concentrator in Mathematics, Enoch Li is a Hong Kong-born and raised conductor and violinist. Enoch started learning conducting with Dr. Yip Wai Hong and subsequently studied with Samuel Pang and Federico Cortese. This past year, Enoch was the Assistant Conductor of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, and Music Director of the Bach Society Orchestra and the Harvard College Opera. This past summer, Enoch was a conducting fellow at the Aspen Conducting Academy. A recipient of the James Conlon Conducting Prize, he is looking forward to returning to Aspen this coming summer. As a violinist, Enoch formerly studied with Nicholas Kitchen and Lewis Kaplan. He was previous a violin fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and has played with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the Boston Symphony Orchestra as a section violinist. He was also a substitute violinist for the New World Symphony.

Jonathan Levy Award

Bernardo Sequeira ’26 is the recipient of the Jonathan Levy Award. This prize recognizes the most promising undergraduate actor(s) at Harvard College.

A resident of Lowell House and concentrator in English with a secondary in Economics, Bernardo Sequeira is an actor, writer, and producer. Bernardo has appeared in several Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club productions, including Merrily We Roll Along, In the Heights, and the original worksOUT, Utter Control/Utter Chaos, and SKETCH. Bernardo is a four-year cast member of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, having performed each of the last four Pudding productions (Salooney Tunes; 101 Damnations; Heist, Heist, Baby; and Cosmic Relief) eight times a week in Cambridge, New York, and Bermuda, for a total of 148 appearances on the Pudding stage. Bernardo made his professional theater debut in Diane Paulus’ Romeo and Juliet at the American Repertory Theater, where he also served as a student intern. He is also a trained improviser and member of Harvard’s Three Letter Acronym improv comedy group. On the creative development front, Bernardo has interned at Red Wagon, Invention Studios, and served as a creative producer at the Pudding, guiding the script development process from inception to premiere. As a writer, Bernardo recently completed a creative thesis in English by writing an immigration family dramedy series. His interests in writing, creative producing, and acting inform and enliven each other.

Suzanne Farrell Dance Prize

Kate LeBuhn ’26 is the recipient of the Suzanne Farrell Dance Prize. Named for the acclaimed dancer and former prima ballerina of New York City Ballet, the prize recognizes a Harvard undergraduate who has demonstrated outstanding artistry in the field of dance.

A resident of Adams house—concentrating in Integrative Biology with a secondary in Theater, Dance, and Media—Kate LeBuhn is a committed student choreographer, dancer, and improvisational artist. Growing up, Kate trained under the instruction of Beverly Rogers and David Foresman, at the Beverly Rogers Academy of Dance where she is now a guest instructor. Since her freshman Spring, Kate has actively participated in Harvard’s premier pre-professional contemporary dance company, the Harvard Undergraduate Contemporary Collective (HUCC), in which she has held the roles of co-director, dancer, choreographer, and treasurer. She co-directed HUCC’s production Bloom (2024) as well as their first Informal Showing (2023) and financed and produced the company's premier show, Breaking Ground (2023). She has independently choreographed and co-choreographed pieces featured in company performances as well as guest performances in Arts Fest, Eleganza, and Harvard Ballet Company Shows. Under Kate’s co-directorship, HUCC competed in the World of Dance Boston Competition. In Jeffrey Page’s 2025 Harvard Dance Project production, Kate portrayed the role of Benny the Gambler. She also has been a model for the annual Eleganza show, a Harvard CityStep teacher, and is an American Dance Festival SDI program alumni in which she performed in an international choreographic residency.

Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts

Ethan Antonio Chaves ’26 is the recipient of the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts. The prize recognizes outstanding artistic talent and achievement in the composition or performance of music, drama, dance or the visual arts. This prize honors the sum of a student's artistic activities at Harvard.

A resident of Winthrop House and concentrator in Music and Philosophy, Ethan Antonio Chaves is a composer, performer, and improviser from Charlton, Massachusetts. He is the Artistic Director and Composer for Lowell House Opera, for which he created an original opera based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit. He also serves as Concertmaster of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and has been co-principal violist of the Brattle Street Chamber Players and violist and orchestra manager for Harvard College Opera. Chaves has studied composition with Chaya Czernowin, Michael Gandolfi, Hans Tutschku, John Harbison, and Julian Anderson, and has participated in festivals including the Darmstadt Ferienkurse and Valencia International Music Festival. His recent and upcoming projects include the premiere of his orchestral work cloud of unknowing with the Apollo Ensemble of Boston, new works for loadbang and Ensemble Dal Niente, and the U.S. premiere of his Blodgett Prize–winning string quartet MIXED SIGNALS— by the Parker Quartet.

Council Prize in Visual Art

Justin Levy ’26 is the recipient of the Council Prize in Visual Art. The prize recognizes outstanding work by a Harvard undergraduate in the field of visual arts, which includes but is not limited to painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, film and video.

Justin ‘Styvly’ Levy is a filmmaker, cinematographer, photographer, and musician who has worked in both commercial media, music and digital storytelling, and is currently a resident of Harvard College concentrating in Art, Film and Visual Studies. Levy has worked with PUMA, Nike, New Balance and Under Armour, and currently works for PUMA as a cinematographer, photographer, and video editor. Styvly has directed and shot numerous campaigns for PUMA, notably working alongside elite athletes at events such as the 2025 Track and Field World Championships in Shibuya, Tokyo, where he shot figures such as Usain Bolt, Julien Alfred, Mondo Duplantis, and Karsten Warholm. At Harvard, Styvly has contributed extensively to campus culture; filming, performing in and producing widely celebrated Housing Day videos, including Currier’s acclaimed 2023 feature ‘Currier vs. the World’, Cabot’s beloved 2024 ‘Ocean’s 11nnaean’, and Pforzheimer’s, ‘Back on the Map.’ Across social media, Styvly has built a substantial online presence, amassing over 37,000 YouTube subscribers, 130,000 TikTok followers, with over 36 million views and 8 million likes, and 25,000 followers on Instagram, where his work has been featured in The Boston Globe, and has worked with renowned musicians such as Laufey, Pink Pantheress and 88Rising.

Council on the Arts members at the time of selection were: 
Sean Kelly (Chair) Teresa G. and Ferdinand F. Martignetti Professor of Philosophy; Dean of Arts and Humanities; Remo Airaldi, American Repertory Theater; Lecturer on Theater, Theater, Dance & Media; Alicia Anstead, Producer, Harvard Arts Festival; Associate Director for Programming and Communications, OFA; Daniel Chong, Professor of the Practice in Music, Parker Quartet; Fiona Coffey, Director, OFA; Angélica Durrell, Director of Programs, OFA; Elizabeth Epsen, Manager of College Dance, OFA Dance Program; Phillip Howze, Associate Senior Lecturer on Theater, Dance & Media; Ruth Stella Lingford, Senior Lecturer on Art, Film and Visual Studies; Laura Quinton, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies, Lecturer on Theater, Dance & Media; Matt Saunders, Professor of Arts, Film and Visual Studies, Director of Undergraduate Studies; Yosvany Terry, Senior Lecturer on Music, Director of the Jazz Orchestra; Laura van den Berg, Senior Lecturer, Director of Creative Writing, Department of English