Local Students to Compete in Scholarship Concerts

Local students will show off their musical talent to compete for scholarships during RB Chorale’s annual spring concerts Friday and Saturday at the .

This year’s production, “Disney to Broadway,” will feature the chorale performing Disney classics and Broadway hits. But Director Pat Bean said the highlight of the two-hour concerts will be the graduating high school seniors who will also take the stage.

“They are just the most incredible kids we’ve had in the history of the chorale,” Bean said. “It’s really exciting!”

Six students were selected from 22 who auditioned for the annual scholarship on May 14.

All of the finalists get to choose what to perform at the concerts. They each have up to five minutes.

“I want them to be able to show off what they can do to the best of their ability,” Bean said. “These kids are so professional. They’re ready for Broadway and the symphony and everything. Nothing is going to stand in their way.”

On Friday, La Jolla High School senior Valentine Byrne will play the piano, will play the cello and Poway High School senior Sydney van Putten will sing. On Saturday, Canyon Crest Academy senior Chase Morrin will play the piano, Poway High School senior Anthony Whitson-Martini will sing and Valhalla High School senior Alexys Tiscareno will sing.

Audience members will vote to help divide $10,000 among the finalists. Finalists will be awarded $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000 each night.

“I know it’s really hard to get this stage,” said Yu, who has been a cellist in the San Diego Youth Symphony and the Young Musicians Foundation. “I’m blessed with the opportunity.”

Yu has played the cello for 12 years. She will perform a selection by composer Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns.

Van Putten said she was surprised to be named a scholarship finalist.

“I’m really, really proud of everyone else who was a finalist in the process, because I know it was a tough competition to get in,” she said. “I want to congratulate everyone who has made it this far and is pursuing their dreams to go into music, because it’s not going to be an easy thing.”

On the weekend, van Putten, a self-described “musical theater nerd” said she had not yet decided what song she wanted to sing.

Still, she said she, too, was not nervous to perform on stage.

She and fellow scholarship finalist Whitson-Martini have performed at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts before. They are both in Die Lieders, the most advanced choir at Poway High School.

“I’m really familiar with the stage, and I’m comfortable there,” van Putten said. “I’m really looking forward to it. I’m really excited that I get to be a part of it.”

Whitson-Martini will perform a selection from the musical Les Misérables.

“It’s a really emotional song,” he said. “It’s really a beautiful piece, just mellow accompaniment so that the singer has this enveloped emotion.”

Whitson-Martini said he is excited to share the stage with some of the most talented youth in the county.

“This is a wonderful year with wonderful talent, and I’ve been so blessed to be able to perform with these people,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be a wonderful concert.”

Since its formation in 1974, RB Chorale has awarded nearly $300,000 in scholarship funds to local students.

“I think this is a great opportunity for musicians to earn scholarships based on their musical abilities,” Yu said. “There’s not that many scholarships like this in the nearby community. It was nice to have this close by home.”

After graduation, van Putten plans to study musical theater at New York University, Whitson-Martini plans to study vocal performance at Point Loma Nazarene University and Yu plans to study music and business at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“Tuition is not cheap for anyone, and especially for art students who are barely going to make any money coming out of college,” van Putten said. “It’s really going to help. I feel very lucky to be a finalist.”

Van Putten leaves for NYU three days after the concert.

“It’s going to be pretty special for me,” van Putten said. “It’s my last time in the PAC performing and doing what I love. I hope that a lot of people come and see it.”

Bean encouraged community members to attend the show and sing along to well-known tunes.

“It’s just, I feel, an event they don’t want to miss,” Bean said. “I think it’s going to be an incredibly great show.”

The concerts begin at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, located at 15498 Espola Rd. Tickets cost $20 for general admission,  $18 for seniors and students and $5 for children. Net proceeds benefit the RB Chorale Scholarship Fund.