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The Rotary Club of Bend has awarded four Central Oregonian musicians with its annual Traxler scholarships. Each scholarship is $2,000 each to the accomplished students.
Heidi Watkins plays trombone and piano and plans to attend Montana State University after graduating from Summit High School this spring. In eighth grade Heidi set her career sights on being a middle school or high school band director and plans to major in music education.
Kimberly Santaguida attends Mountain View High School and plays piano and acoustic guitar. She will attend Colorado Christian University and will double major in music and business administration. She is passionate about music therapy and regularly plays piano in the waiting area at St. Charles Medical Center. She aspires to open her own music school one day.
Logan Anderson plays drums and plans to attend Portland State University after graduating from Bend High School. His musical experience and interest crosses many genres and disciplines with affinity for jazz performance.
Noah Ochander played saxophone and piano before transitioning to trombone, which he hopes to play in a symphony one day. A senior at Summit High School, Noah will attend the University of Oregon, Carnegie Melon University or Princeton University to pursue music performance and music education.
The Rotary Club of Bend established the Traxler scholarship as a living memorial to Ernie Traxler, a professional musician and member of the civic organization. The fund provides scholarship support to local Bend area high school seniors who have demonstrated outstanding musicianship and plan to continue music studies in higher education.
“Central Oregon is fortunate to have dedicated students who want to continue pursuing their music education and performance in college and university. Honoring Ernie Traxler’s legacy, this scholarship fund is a way to support and encourage the arts from here,” said Holly Polis, Rotarian and scholarship chairperson.
The scholarship recipients were selected based on applications, school transcripts, an interview and musical audition with the Rotary club selection committee.