The Rotary Club of Bend is honored to announce the winners of its annual Traxler and the Del Morris Scholarships for the 2022 year.
The awards are named for Ernie Traxler and Del Morris, two past-members of the Rotary Club of Bend who shared a passion for music.
The Traxler Scholarship is awarded to local graduating high school seniors who excel in music
and pursue music in some way at the university level. This year’s recipients are:
- Alexandria Johnson, piano, graduated from Bend High School and is now attending
University of Southern California. Alexandria plays violin as well as piano.
- Sophia Gonzalez, jazz vibraphone, graduated from Mountain View High School and is now attending St. Olaf College. Sophia plays piano, concert percussion and drums as well.
The Del Morris Scholarship is awarded to secondary education students and goes directly
towards piano lessons. This year’s Del Morris recipient is Matthias Santucci for his excellence in piano.
Matthias attends Summit High School and is in 12th grade. This is the fifth year Matthias has received the award. He recently had his debut public concert at Central Oregon Community College, showcasing his amazing gift.
Two additional scholarships were awarded to Aiden Koistinen and Amelia DuBose, also well deserving recipients.
The Rotary Club of Bend is the longest-standing Rotary club in Central Oregon, celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2022. As a global network that strives to build a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change, Rotary values diversity and celebrates the contributions of people of all backgrounds, regardless of their age, ethnicity, race, color, abilities, religion, socioeconomic status, culture, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
