At the end of each school year, Elemental Music provides two alumni scholarships to Santa Monica High School Seniors who have demonstrated perseverance and persistence to keep music as a vital part of their lives.

MANY CURRENT SAMOHI STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN OUR PROGRAMS WHEN THEY WERE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, DEVELOPING THE ENSEMBLE SKILLS THAT WOULD BECOME SO VITAL TO THEIR HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC EXPERIENCE.

WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE TWO OUTSTANDING ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS FOR 2021: MARCO PACIFICI AND NAOMI VILLAFANA

Jason Aiello, Director of SAMOHI Orchestras and Co-Director of Elemental Strings, writes this of Marco:

Marco Pacifici is a student that I have grown to admire not only because he is a wonderful cellist, but because during his high school career he has learned to balance and be successful in music, academics, and sports. He is a role model for students who want to “do it all” and I’m sure the skills he has developed in order to manage everything will continue to serve him well in college and beyond. Marco will be attending UC Berkeley next year and we wish him the best!

And of Naomi, he writes:

Two words come to mind when I think about Naomi Villafana, “quiet” and “focused”. Quiet might be just how she is in class or when you first meet her, but focused is something I see in everything she does. Through focus and hard work, the amount of progress I have seen in Naomi over the past four years is tremendous. She is such a talented violist and I look forward to seeing all that she accomplishes in the future. Naomi will be continuing her viola studies at UC Santa Barbara next fall!

Congratulations to both Marco and Naomi on all of their achievements in music and beyond. We are so proud to call you alumni, and wish you the best of luck as you begin your college journey!