14 Performing Arts Finalists Compete for Scholarships | Arts & Entertainment

Fourteen proficient instrumentalists and vocalists will vie for hundreds of {dollars} in scholarships on the Performing Arts Scholarship Basis’s (PASF) annual competitors April 27. Finalists had been chosen throughout auditions March 28-29 on the Music Academy of the West’s Weinmann Corridor in Montecito.

The finalists will compete for money prizes on the PASF Competitors live performance, which has 4 divisions: Junior Vocal, Grownup Vocal, Junior Instrumental, and Grownup Instrumental. This 12 months, some $27,000 in scholarships can be awarded to the finalists.

The audition committee, comprised of Deborah Bertling, PASF Board president; Erin Bonski-Evans, secretary; and administrators Jill Felber, David McKee, and Kristine Pacheco-Bernt, chosen the next finalists from a area of grownup and youth musicians.

Grownup Instrumental Finalists:
• Cam Audras, violist
• Alice Dring, violinist
• Ellen Butler, pianist

Grownup Vocal Finalists:
• Ariana Horner Sutherland, soprano
• Xeni Tziouvaras, mezzo-soprano

Junior Instrumental Finalists:
• Skylar Abello, violinist
• Matvey Ioffe, pianist
• Seungyoo Kim-Jung, violinist
• Elisha Wu, pianist
• Annabelle Zhang, pianist

Junior Vocal Finalists:
• Arturo Cabrera Balaguera
• Amelia Checketts
• Aria Bonski Evans
• Nikki Seppala Kurtis

“Witnessing the expertise of those younger musicians every year is actually inspiring,” mentioned Bertling.

“Music is an important a part of the human expertise, enriching our lives in profound methods, and these younger musicians characterize the way forward for this important artwork type,” Bertling mentioned. “It’s why the Performing Arts Scholarship Basis believes in nurturing this expertise and offering alternatives for them to flourish.

“We invite the Santa Barbara neighborhood to come back, be moved by their performances, and have a good time the extraordinary musical expertise that’s rising from our personal yard.”

Based in 1982, the PASF gives monetary assist to deserving vocal and instrumental college students in Santa Barbara County. The annual competitors conjures up younger musicians to pursue excellence and helps additional their improvement as artists.

The Junior Vocal Division, introduced final 12 months, was created in response to suggestions from a symposium held in February 2024 with main arts educators. The class is devoted to singers underneath the age of 17.

A further $6,000 in scholarship funds is on the market to assist the brand new division. The scholarships can be utilized for music classes, tuition, summer season packages, or to enhance devices.

Since 2023, PASF has awarded some $915,000 in scholarships and grants, benefiting greater than 5,000 college students yearly.

Along with the competitors, PASF gives about $40,000 every year in grants to native music education schemes, together with the Santa Barbara Schooling Basis, Opera Santa Barbara, and the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony.

The grants assist fund afterschool classes, summer season music camps, and outreach packages that introduce younger college students to the performing arts, guaranteeing the humanities stay accessible to all.

For extra about PASF, go to pasfsb.org.