Five SDUHSD music students awarded scholarships by Coastal Communities Concert Band

The Coastal Communities Concert Band (CCCB) awarded five music scholarships to San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) students at its annual Salute to Young Musicians Concert April 23.

For more than 20 years, the band has invited SDUHSD students to rehearse and perform in this concert. As part of the program, participating students auditioned for $750 scholarships and the $1,500 Caneva Scholarship. The band has donated more than $100,000 in scholarships to elementary and high school students in the San Dieguito district since the program’s inception as part of its commitment to promote music education.

Erica Wang, a flutist and senior at Canyon Crest Academy, was selected as the winner of the Caneva Scholarship. Erica received $1,500 and an invitation to perform as the featured guest artist at the band’s Salute to Young Musicians Concert in 2024. The award is named in memory of long-time CCCB director Don Caneva.

Awarded $750 scholarships were flutist Lauren Suh, a sophomore at Torrey Pines High School; Andrew Kang, a clarinetist and senior at Canyon Crest Academy; Brian Yoo, a clarinetist and senior at Canyon Crest Academy; and Melanie Pollard, a freshman bass clarinetist at San Dieguito Academy High School.

Candidates were selected by their school band directors and auditioned before a panel of CCCB board members and the band’s conductor. Scholarship recipients may use their awards for private lessons, instruments or summer music camps. Nearly 30 students from La Costa Canyon High School, Torrey Pines High School, Canyon Crest Academy and San Dieguito Academy performed with the band at the Salute to Young Musicians concert. The concert was made possible by a grant from the City of Encinitas.

The Coastal Communities Concert Band based in Encinitas is an award-winning symphonic band of more than 75 musicians who live throughout San Diego County. CCCB, under the auspices of MiraCosta College, is supported and operated by the Coastal Communities Concert Band Foundation, a nonprofit 501c3 corporation.