Congratulations to Lucia Delgado Rojas, Ben Saunders, Neel Dutt, Gabby Farinas Alfonso, Srilakshmi Veda Nimmagadda and Oliver Romero for receiving Jacob Titus Youth Music Scholarships!

About the winners:

Oliver Romero
At age 14, Oliver discovered his passion for Jazz music in middle school when he first heard the jazz band rehearsing while walking down the hall. He knew that this music was something he wanted to be a part of and has dedicated himself to the jazz art form. With his scholarship, Oliver could attend the JazzArts Latin Jazz Camp.

Gabby Farinas-Alfonso
Gabby is 15-year-old sophomore who moved from Havana, Cuba to Matthews, NC only a year ago. She plays clarinet, piano and plays snare drum in the Weddington High School Marching band. Gabby represented her school in the All-District Band. She was awarded a Tosco Music scholarship to a Marching Arts summer camp and a JazzArts scholarship to their summer jazz camp. She has dazzled audiences at Tosco Music Open Mic with her skills as a multi-instrumentalist.

Ben Saunders
Ben is an amazing kid! A hardworking and creative musician and artist, Ben has grown and matured by leaps and bounds. He loves music, hums all the time, and constantly has a song in his head. Ben is also kind and compassionate and loves to bring joy and happiness to others, especially by playing music for them. Violin is his "thing".

Neel Dutt
At age 14, Neel has been playing instruments since he was in second grade starting with guitar. Once he got to middle school he joined a band which for him was an easy decision. With his love for music and desire to get better, he took private lessons and made all district band. With his scholarship, Neel was able to attend the UNCG summer camp and immerse himself with like-minded young musicians.scholarship, Julia will attend JazzArts Summer Music Camp, where she looks forward to furthering her experience in playing Jazz and growing her musical education as a trumpet player.

Lucia Delgado Rojas
Though she initially started studying voice, her love of music inspired her to add more instruments to her arsenal, starting with the acoustic guitar. As soon as she picked up her first guitar, she fell in love with the instrument and knew that it would make a profound difference in her life and musical journey. Learning to play the guitar didn't come easily, but she refused to give up. Over time, she got better, and was able to master more chords and rhythms. These days, one of Lucia’s guitars is always at her fingertips and whenever she feels happy, sad, angry, or excited, playing is one of her favorite ways to express herself.

Srilakshmi Veda Nimmagadda
Veda began exploring piano basics on YouTube. She studied through Simply Piano and finished the entire course in only 5 months. At that point, her parents enrolled her in more formal studies at Steel Creek Arts Academy. Srilakshmi Veda Nimmagadda, aka Veda, is one of those rare finds. She has an incredible amount of passion, enthusiasm and drive to succeed in her piano studies, as well as to engage in an interest in music composition.

Tosco Music is a volunteer-powered nonprofit organization that has been building community through music in Charlotte for more than 30 years through Tosco Music Parties and music outreach throughout Charlotte. Since 2010, Tosco Music has provided dozens of scholarships for youth and adults to summer music camps through Arts+ (formerly Community School of the Arts), Jacob Titus Scholarship, Charlotte Rotary Club and The Swannanoa Gathering.