ROTARY News:

The Rotary Club of Los Alamos recently held auditions for its annual Deborah Beene Memorial Music Performance Awards.

This is the first time in its history that awards were determined based on performances submitted on audio-visual recordings.

This year’s winners were each awarded $1,000 and asked to use the money for fees to attend a music camp, for college or university music expenses, for the purchase of a better instrument, or for tuition for private music instruction.

2020 recipients: Jackson Bell, Ursula Coe and Eleanor Henderson.

Jackson Bell

Jackson Bell is a trombonist performing the solo introduction of Gordon Jacob’s Trombone Concerto. His teacher is Ryan Finn.

Ursula Coe

Ursula Coe is a cellist performing David Popper’s Hungarian Rhapsody, accompanied by pianist Yelena Mealy. Her teacher is Dana Winograd.

Eleanor Henderson

Eleanor Henderson is a soprano performing three songs from popular musicals, accompanied by pianist Paul Roth. Her teacher is Kathleen Clawson.

The awards committee included three local professional musicians: Cindy Little, a pianist and winner of the 1978 Deborah Beene competition, Kay Newnam, a violinist and Rotarian Brian Newnam, a violinist/violist.

This award was established in the memory of Deborah Beene, daughter of Donald and Sara Beene, a violin and piano student who died in December 1972 while enrolled in school in Los Alamos. 

The award is intended to assist 9th to 12th grade students at Los Alamos High School students in their musical growth.

The Rotary Club of Los Alamos sincerely thanks this year’s competitors and their families for their support of music and stellar student performances.