Musicians to Compete for Scholarships
Six high school seniors will compete for Westmont music scholarships at the fourth annual Music Guild Competition on Saturday, March 5, at 7 p.m. at Westmont’s Deane Chapel on lower campus. The event is free and open to the public.
The winner of the Guild Scholarship, 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.
The judges for this competition include Grey Brothers, professor of music, Steve Butler, professor of music and music department chair, Steve Hodson, professor of music, Han Soo Kim, assistant professor of music, and Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of music and worship. The Guild Scholarship program is funded by The Guild for Music at Westmont. For information about becoming a Guild member or any aspect of this competition, please contact the Westmont Music Office at (805) 565-6040.
This year’s finalists are flutist Marissa Condie of Santa Barbara, cellist William Ellzey of Culver City, cellist Marlena Gonzalez of Los Angeles, soprano Nyajima Tut of Minneapolis, pianist Christina Yang of Diamond Bar and oboist Bethany Yew of San Marino.
Condie, a home-schooled student who also takes classes at Santa Barbara City College, has been involved in music for the past eight years, playing a variety of instruments, including piano and piccolo. She has performed with the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony for the past two years. While continuing to perform in college, Marissa plans to double major in history and chemistry.
Ellzey, a senior at Southern California Christian Academy in Culver City, has performed with the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, the Culver City High School orchestra, First Baptist Culver City String Quartet and various ensembles through the Los Angeles Junior Chamber Music program. Ellzey also plays piano and hopes to major in cello performance in college.
Gonzalez, who will graduate from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts this spring, performed with the Renaissance Arts Academy Orchestra and the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Orchestra, where she is principal cellist. She will major in music performance in college.
Tut graduated from Storm Lake Senior High in Storm Lake, Iowa, in January 2016 and has been singing for as long as she can remember. She has studied eight years of cello, seven years of flute and three years of oboe. Tut is also involved in large group and individual speech and has competed at the district and state level, she has been selected for the individual all-state festival two years in a row. As a mezzo-soprano, she has been a part of numerous honor choirs and has received multiple superior rankings at Iowa High School Music Association (IHSMA) solo contests. Her greatest choral experience includes singing in a choir of 600 at the 2015 Iowa All-State Music Festival. Over 1,000 vocalists across Iowa audition to be a part of this choir, only 13 percent of those who audition are selected for the festival. Tut plans on majoring in music and psychology.
Yang, a pianist from Diamond Bar, will be completing her senior year this spring as a home-schooled student. She has been playing for 12 years and has completed the Certificate of Merit 10-level panel with honors in theory. She has attended and participated in masterclasses in her local branch. In addition to the piano, Yang has begun playing the viola and enjoys singing in choir. Her recent viola experiences include Junior Chamber Music, Great Commission Church International Orchestra, Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra, where she had the honor of being in a rehearsal with highly acclaimed conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and California Orchestra Directors Association All-State Orchestra, in which she was assistant principal for one year. Christina plans to major in piano performance in college, and in the future aspires to teach at the collegiate level.
Yew, who has played oboe for seven years, will graduate this spring from San Marino High School. She has performed with the Pasadena Youth Symphony and San Marino High School Orchestra’s for the past four years. Yew, who also plays the guitar, piano, and studies voice, intends to continue performing in college while majoring in kinesiology.