Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Awards $42,000 for Music Education

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SANTA BARBARA, California – The Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation (PASF), a nonprofit that supports classical music education through scholarships and grants, has awarded $42,000 to five local arts organizations.

The foundation’s Education Grant Committee met in June to discuss the 2024 disbursement of funds for music education programs. These funds are distributed following the foundation’s annual performing arts competition, in which individual vocal and instrumental students receive scholarships and prizes to support their musical studies. Foundation funds that remain after the competition are used for grant awards. PASF’s full board approved the grants earlier this month.

This year’s grant recipients are the Santa Barbara Symphony, the Santa Barbara Education Foundation, the Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara (CAMA), Opera Santa Barbara and State Street Ballet.

Santa Barbara Symphony received $12,000 from PASF. The symphony is dedicated to furthering young musicianship through three youth performance groups that help student musicians hone their skills and work side by side with professionals. The groups are the Camerata Ensemble for beginners, Philharmonia Orchestra for intermediate players, and the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony for advanced players. The professional Santa Barbara Symphony’s internationally renowned conductor, Nir Kabaretti, sometimes conducts the Youth Symphony, providing an exceptional learning opportunity for up-and-coming players.

The Santa Barbara Education Foundation received $11,830 to be distributed across three programs: Keep the Beat, String Camp and Nick Rail Band Camp. Keep The Beat supplies instruments and pays for after-school music lessons for elementary and middle school students who otherwise could not afford them. String Camp, held in late June/early July, offers an opportunity for young music students to practice and learn new pieces during summer break.

Nick Rail Band Camp, named for the man who started and initially funded it, is a summer band camp that draws students from across the Santa Barbara area. The Santa Barbara Education Foundation began running the camp after Rail retired.

CAMA’s school docent program received $4,000. This in-school music history program introduces students to the great composers and some of their “greatest hits” through listening exercises that help teach focus and harnessing the imagination. Musicologist and guitar teacher David Malvinni wrote the course and has taught it alongside other local music docents for about 20 years.

Opera Santa Barbara received $5,000 to fund its school outreach programs that allow students to hear real opera singers and to learn about this unique art form. These programs were put on hold during the pandemic and post-pandemic difficulties but are now resuming. Opera Santa Barbara is also subcontracting with the San Diego-based non-profit Opera4Kids this coming school year to bring exciting music programming to school children in Santa Barbara classrooms.

State Street Ballet, which is marking its 30th anniversary season, was awarded $9,160 to expand its in-person dance education outreach program beyond high schools. The expansion will allow the organization to bring interactive performances of their new ballet, “The Little Mermaid,” to younger students. They will also introduce sensory-friendly performances for children with special needs, making ballet accessible to families that may not otherwise be able to attend a performance.

The Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation was formed in 1982 by the late Sylvia Dellar. Since its inception, the foundation has helped hundreds of students reach their performing arts goals through the competition award funds, as well as encouragement awards to select students in the audition process. Awards are given based on talent and skill first, but also with consideration of financial need.  

— For more information about PASF, visit pasfsb.org.