High School Musicians Sought For Rotary Contest

The Murrieta Rotary Club is putting a call out to high school-aged musicians interested in competing for as much as $750 in cash prizes.

Students should be prepared to perform in one of three categories—instrumental, piano or vocal—as they strive for prizes and the right to move on to a district-level competition, said Al Vollbrecht, contest chair.

This marks the 13th year regional Rotarians have conducted the contest, with about 25 clubs participating by staging local competitions before sending musicians on to the district level.

"The contest not only recognizes outstanding young talent, but also encourages the musicians to strive for even greater levels of accomplishment," Vollbrecht said, in a news release.

Professional musicians will judge the entrants.

The Murrieta Rotary Club expects to reward its first-place winner with a $400 cash prize. Awards of $250 to the second-place finisher and $100 to third place may also be granted, Vollbrecht said.

In addition to the winner, judges may also advance other contestants to the district competition if they are deemed ready to compete at that level, Vollbrecht said.

Last year’s Murrieta contest saw judges advance four of the 16 entrants onto district competition, Vollbrecht said. All four of them placed, and two of them won the top prize in the instrumental and piano categories, he said.

Applications must be filed with the club by Feb. 15. The contest will be conducted Feb. 22 at Salvation Army, 40270 Los Alamos Road, Murrieta. The public is invited to attend.

Contest rules and entry forms can be found at Murrietarotary.org. Contact Al Vollbrecht at 951-698-7766 with any questions.