Scholarship Concert Award Winners

The annual Scholarship concert has been jointly presented by the Pearl Beach Progress Association and the Irvine Family since the inaugural concert held in May 2005. In conjunction with the Central Coast Conservatorium we offer performance opportunity to students who have excelled in their chosen field.

This year the Pearl Beach Music Scholarship program has been generously sponsored by members of the community and the Irvine Family who continue to sponsor the Piano Scholarship.

Patrick Brennan, Artistic Director at the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music in his welcome remarks extended his heartfelt thanks to the Progress Association and the Irvine Family and in particular the generous donors as we celebrate 20 years of this remarkable partnership. He continued, ‘It is a privilege for the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music to present our finest students where they have the chance to shine before such a supportive and enthusiastic audience. For two decades, this encouragement and generosity have played a pivotal role in nurturing the musical dreams of our students and invaluable performance experience and share their artistry with the community’.

Nineteen students participated at two concerts and in the morning 12 junior students impressed the audience with their solo performances on a range of instruments from bassoon, violin, piano, flute, vocal, trumpet, and guitar. The afternoon scholarship concert seven students competed with trombonist, seventeen year old Anya Sandeman taking out the first place.

Significant financial awards with a value of over $6,000 were presented for first, second and third, plus a Rising Star, and two awards for Peoples Choice as voted by the enthusiastic audience. These financial prizes generously donated by members of the Pearl Beach community including the Irvine Family for piano enables the students to help them further their musical studies at the Central Coast Conservatorium.

Irvine Piano, two awards – 1st Kaytlin Copaceanu and 2nd Grace Atkins

Pearl Beach Scholarship music awards as follows:

1st $2,000 to Anya Sandeman, Trombone, sponsored by the Fussell Family Foundation

2nd $1,000 to Emma Deed, Flute, sponsored by Julian Knights Family

3rd $ 750 to Minjy Lee, Violin, sponsored by Justice David Davies

The 3 Winners, left to right - Anya, Emma and Minji

Peoples Choice, $1,000 sponsored by Russell Grove in memory of Frances Grove and shared by Minjy Lee, Violin and Emma Deed, Flute.

Rising Star $500, Amaya Farri, Vocal Adjudicator Patrick Brislan commented, ‘performance by each of the students was fantastic making it extremely difficult to asses, so much diversity, style and skill of such a high level achieved by these young music students’.

Russell Grove presenting the Rising Star award to Anya

The students were accompanied by pianist and associate artists Liisa Munnukka and Noah Peres official accompanist for many well known Choirs. Special guest appearances by last years Pearl Beach Scholarship Winner, flutest Elana Sydenham, violinist Kaito Deed the 2023 scholarship winner and 2012 winner, flutist Alyse Faith re-enforces the value of fostering music in our lives.

Lynne Lillico

Publicity officer , Pearl Beach Progress Association