Guild Awards Scholarships to Singers, Musicians

In its seventh year, Westmont has expanded the Music Guild Scholarship program to include two competitions, one for vocalists and one for instrumentalists.  In total, 12 high school singers and musicians will compete for Westmont music scholarships.  The Vocal Guild Competition, which features Abigail Bradshaw of Naperville, Illinois; Chris Cassriel of Santa Barbara; Andrew Genge of Orcutt; Caleb Marll of Spokane, Washington; Elizabeth Simmons of Phoenix; and Lily Warren of Littleton, Colorado, is Sunday, Feb. 24, at 3 p.m. in Westmont’s Deane Chapel on lower campus. The Instrumentalist Guild Competition features violinist Sam Chung of Cypress, California; pianist Nathanael Nims of Colorado Springs; violinist Alyssa Stegall from Salinas; oboist Carissa Corrigan from Gilbert, Arizona; violist Sarah Soza, from Covina; and violist Alison Thomas of Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, March 2, at 7 p.m. in Dean Chapel. Both events are free and open to the public. The winner of each competition, who will be announced immediately following the event, will receive up to $10,000 in annual music scholarships funds (up to $40,000 over four years) to study at Westmont. All other finalists will receive additional music scholarships.

Bradshaw, who has been singing in choirs for most of her life and has been studying classical music privately for six years, performs frequently with her high school chamber choir, both as a member of the choir and as a soloist. She also enjoys singing musical theater and opera.

Cassriel, a senior at San Marcos High, started singing, playing guitar and piano when he was 10. He is currently in the Madrigal and Royal Knights Choirs at San Marcos, and plays on two worship teams at his church. He has opened for JOHNNYSWIM and Ben Rector at the annual Kids Helping Kids Gala at the Granada Theatre.

Corrigan, the principal English horn player and principal second oboist for the Youth Symphony of the Southwest, began her musical journey on piano when she was 6 and started playing oboe at 11. She plays oboe for the Gilbert Classical Academy (GCA) Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra and sings in the GCA Chorale.

Genge, a senior at Orcutt Academy High School, sang lead tenor in the school’s award-winning barbershop quartet, The Crescendudes, and with its award-winning choir. An actor as well as a singer, he has appeared in a variety of leading roles including Dr. John Watson in “Sherlock Holmes,” Danny Zuko in “Grease” and Prince Charming in “Snow White.”

Marll, a senior at Mt. Spokane High School, is involved in many choral groups and plays the piano and guitar. He serves on his church’s worship team, and last year starred in a musical theater production.

Simmons, a senior at Arizona Conservatory for Arts and Academics, is head chorister of the All Saints’ Episcopal Chorister Program. She sang in the 2018 Arizona North Central All-Region Honor Choir, the 2018 Arizona All-State Choir and the St. Thomas Girls’ Chorister Course in New York City.

Warren, who has participated in musical theater since she was 11, has studied voice for the past six years. She has performed at Denver Thescon (2017), the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Intensive Theater Showcase (2017), and Broadway to Africa (2011-2018: an annual Broadway revue benefitting Young Life ministry in Africa).

Chung, a senior at Chadwick School, has played violin for eight years and studied conducting for three years. He has held principal second and concertmaster positions in the Colburn Youth Orchestra and serves as the conducting intern at the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra.

Nims used the internet to teach himself to play the piano when he was 11. He began classical training when he was 15 and accepted a full scholarship to the Colorado Springs Conservatory. He performs regularly in a variety of venues and styles, including jazz.

Soza, a senior at Saint Lucy’s Priory High School, has played the violin for 12 years. Last year, Soza took an interest in the viola and made the switch. She has performed with the Santa Monica College Orchestra and recently joined the Colburn Youth Orchestra.

Stegall, who studies at Robert Louis Stevenson School, has been studying violin for 13 years through the Associated Board of Royal Schools Music. She is a first violinist and former associate concertmaster with the San Jose Youth Symphony Philharmonic Orchestra. She toured internationally with the orchestra in 2017 to Croatia, Austria, and Hungary, and this summer will tour with the group to Argentina and Uruguay.