Through its scholarship committee, PS Concerts recently awarded four $1,000 grants to four deserving students from the Palm Springs Unified School District. Among the many students who applied, according to the organization’s President Jack Lucas, these four showed in their applications that they were the most deserving.
The recipients are Steven Manjjarrez, Palm Springs High School; Jaciel Aleman, Desert Hot Springs High School; William Kerns, Cathedral City High School; and Mario Solano, Cathedral City High School.
The scholarship announcements were made by Lucas, who chairs the scholarship committee, along with committee members Ken LaConde and Ruth Messenger.
Palm Springs Concerts has had a long connection with the Palm Springs Unified School District, ever since the construction of the school’s auditorium in 1958 made possible its inaugural performance. All of PS Concerts’ more than 400 performances, except during its brief reconstruction period, have been held at the auditorium, now called the Richards Center for the Arts.
Every year during its concert season, PS Concerts offers free admission for all of its Sunday afternoon concerts to students from the Palm Springs Unified School District. In addition, special weekday performances are arranged with hundreds of students bused to the auditorium to meet and hear the selected performers.
And now with this new effort in meaningful student outreach, Palm Springs Concerts offers scholarships to deserving students who intend to pursue careers in music.
“It’s all about the music,” says Lucas and PS Concerts’ effort to introduce young people of the district to the glories of classical performances.
James Berry serves on the executive committee of PS Concerts.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs Concerts presents music scholarships to local students
Reporting by James Berry, Special to The Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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