Celia Salazar of Indio won the First Place $500 Music Scholarship in the Hi-Desert Cultural Center’s Desert Music Foundation Scholarship Concerts & Recitals program.

JOSHUA TREE, CA – With the final scores verified, and all the music performers’ nerves now quieted, the Desert Music Foundation is proud to announce the winners of this year’s eleventh annual Scholarship Concerts & Recitals program held at the Hi-Desert Cultural Center’s Blak Box Theater January 19^th, 2013. In addition to the program providing student musicians performance experience and professional critique, the Scholarship Concerts & Recitals program also enables student musicians the opportunity to compete for cash scholarships to continue their studies and it selects a chosen few to represent the Joshua Tree Rotary Club in the Rotary International Regional Music Competition.

The Desert Music Foundation’s 2013 music scholarships were awarded to Celia Salazar of Indio (First Place, $500), Olivia Berheimer of Indian Wells (Second Place, $200), and Beinn Stewart of Twentynine Palms (Third Place $100). This year’s selection of individuals who will advance to the upcoming Regional Rotary Music Competition on behalf of the Joshua Tree Rotary Club include sixteen-year-old vocalist Celia Salazar and fourteen-year-old alto saxophonist Beinn Stewart. These students will be competing on select dates between now and June of 2013 for additional cash scholarships sponsored by Rotary International.

The qualifying adjudication panel, where musicians’ applications and portfolios are evaluated, included Cody Hanford, Carol Hiestand, Mizuki Seita, Ruth Sholtz and Kay Taylor. The Semi Finals adjudication panel for music talent included Jesse Henry, Susan Henry, Jason Powell, and Sam Sloneker.

A pianist performs in the Hi-Desert Cultural Center’s Desert Music Foundation Scholarship Concerts & Recitals program.

The Finals adjudication panel included Kristina Brook, Denise Huntington, Jon McKinney, and Jackie Nichols.  As the program’s primary focus is on education, a new learning element was added this year: student adjudication, where student adjudicators Alec McKinney and Malcom McKinney were “thrilled” and “intrigued” to learn and be a part of the adjudication process.

All participants of the Scholarship Concerts & Recitals program received written constructive critiques on their performances to further enhance their musicianship and performance skills. The Desert Music Foundation has awarded over $27,000 to aspiring student musicians since its inception and is sincerely appreciative to all the donors and volunteers who continue to help make this important event a reality each and every year. For more information on this annual music scholarship event, call Desert Music Foundation Chair Kathleen Radnich at 760.366.3777.

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