Stanley and friends gathered again for the tenth anniversary of the Stanley Clarke Scholarship Awards Program at Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, California, which this year included a performance event featuring the five finalists for this year’s awards.
Following an incredible and inspiring set of three songs performed by the panel of judges, which included Howard Hewitt, George Duke, Bunny Brunel, Ruslan Sirota, Larry Dunn, Greg Phillinganes, Doug Webb and Jimmy Paxson Jr., each scholarship finalist took the stage to perform two songs of their choice. The finalists (all high school seniors) showed tremendous talent and passion playing a range of styles from Classic Rock to Funk, Pop, Hip-hop, Heavy Rock and more, each performer consistently impressing the audience and judges alike.
When the final votes were tallied, the top two scholarship prizes ($12,000 Musicians Institute AA Degree Program tuition and cash) were awarded to guitarist Jon Williams, a student at Vista Murrieta High, and drummer Zech Hogan of Grace Brethren Sr. High School.
Runners-up Ashley McCabe, Stanley Jeong and Kenny Strickland each received one week MI Summer Shot program scholarships.
After the scholarships were awarded, the entire group of professionals and finalist musicians joined in for a final jam to successfully close out the tenth year of this celebration of music and education. Below are moments captured from the evening, courtesy of The Musicians Institute.