Scholarship General Information

For several decades, the Santa Barbara Music Club Scholarships have provided support to deserving instrumental and vocal music students from Santa Barbara County. The scholarships are made possible by the generosity of our donors who wish to provide aid and encouragement to outstanding music students from local schools and teaching studios that show promise of becoming our future soloists, orchestral musicians, opera singers, and other music professionals. Success stories from past scholarship winners testify to the importance of this support and vote of confidence in these formative stages of their careers.

Residence and Proficiency Eligibility: Scholarship eligibility is limited to those whose permanent address is in Santa Barbara County. Applicants coming from outside the county to attend college in Santa Barbara County are not eligible. Applicants must have completed a minimum of 3 years of private music study, and must currently be studying in, or have graduated from, pre-college schools within the Santa Barbara County.

Age Limits: Instrumental: 23 years; Vocal: 26 years

Repertory: Applicants must prepare two contrasting works, and are allowed 8 minutes to perform for the judges.

Applications: Application packages must be postmarked no later than MONDAY, APRIL 1ST, 2024. There will be no exceptions, in fairness to all. Auditions will be held Saturday, April 20, 2024 between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, and Sunday, April 21, 2024 between 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM at the First Congregational Church of Santa Barbara (2101 State Street at Padre). All applicants must audition in person. The recipients are generally announced in May.

Download the application here

You can view past scholarship recipients here.

2023 Scholarship Recipients

This year, we were pleased to award 39 scholarships to very deserving students. Ages of the recipients ranged from 9-19 years. Many were featured in our Scholarship Showcase Concerts at First United Methodist Church on June 3 and 10, 2023.

Ellen Reidel Memorial Scholarship

  • Ellen Butler, age 15, piano

Nathan Rundlett Memorial Vocal Scholarship

  • Aria Bonski Evans, age 14, soprano

Emil Torick Memorial Scholarship

  • Zahra Clark, age 16, violin
  • Sofia Malvinni, age 18, violin
  • Aidan Woodruff, age 18, cello

Santa Barbara Music Club Scholarship

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  • Aria Abraham, 16, flute
  • Bryan Chen, 14, piano
  • Victoria Chen, 15, piano
  • Leila Elkurjie, 19, cello
  • Leon Guo, 14, piano
  • Nathaniel Hadsall, 16, piano
  • Landon Hellman, 18, piano
  • Matvey Ioffe, 14, piano
  • Jiyoo Kim-Jung, 14, piano
  • Gwyneth Kinports, 12, violin
  • Miranda Li, 12, piano
  • Kiela Luke, 16, flute
  • Joseph Malvinni, 15, guitar
  • Mia Richmond, 14, cello
  • Sophie Saleh, 17, violin
  • Jonathan Yang, 15, cello
  • Angela Zhang, 11, piano
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  • Anna Butler, 16, piano
  • Kelly Chen, 9, piano
  • Hudson Chossek, 11, violin
  • Tarek Elkurjie, 16, piano
  • Holly Hadsall, 18, piano
  • Noelle Hadsall, 14, piano
  • Elaine Hu, 14, piano
  • Adam Kabaretti, 12, violin
  • Seungyoo Kim-Jung, 11, violin
  • Liam Lertchareonyong, 11, violin
  • Dylan Liu, 12, piano
  • Emmanuel Malpica, 14, violin
  • Evan Perez, 17, cello
  • Oliver Saleh, 15, trumpet
  • Elisha Wu, 11, piano
  • Max Zee, 12, piano
  • Annabelle Zhang, 9, piano
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