Cascade Blues Association's
Christopher Mesi
Memorial Music Scholarship
Spring 2000 Award Announcement
In March, the CBA awarded two Christopher Mesi Memorial Music
Scholarships, in the amount of $500.00 each, to two deserving students who
are pursuing a college major in music. And our winners are...
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson, described by his guitar teacher as "someone who has a natural feel for music, a good ear, and a spirit from which his musicality easily flows", is our first winner of the spring 2000 Scholarship. A senior at
Sam Barlow High
School, Craig plans to attend Mt. Hood Community College in the fall and transfer to the
Berklee College of Music,
where he will continue his education towards a BA in Performing Arts. He is also an active volunteer at
Ethos, Inc., a multicultural music center, where he teaches guitar and has helped organize a benefit concert for disadvantaged youths.
Craig's focus on music began at age six when he started taking Suzuki piano lessons.
Suzuki teaches the student to play by ear rather than sight. By age 11, he decided the guitar was what he wanted to play and even though he was fully competent in
sight reading, ear training and performing - mostly classical music - he began leaning his musical tastes towards something different.
Eric Clapton's album, "Unplugged" was hot on the charts and
Craig was introduced into the world of Blues and Blues-Rock. He began to study the great Blues artists such as
Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters and Mississippi John
Hurt, as well as the rock side of the Blues with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, and
Jimmy Page. By the time Craig turned 17, he was already trying his hand at Jazz and listening to the likes of
Coltrane, T. Monk, and his biggest influence, Wayne
Shorter. Craig believes that his study of Blues, Rock, Swing and Jazz has made him a
well-rounded guitarist and musician and it has helped him to perform with many different types of musicians. After graduation from College,
Craig has plans of becoming a working guitarist and explains that he wants to be there supporting other musicians either in the studio or on the road. He says it is a goal of his to not only
perform for other artists, but also to work as a composer and a teacher of
music.
Rebecca Suzanne
Our second winner of the spring 2000 scholarship is Rebecca Suzanne.
A music major at Mt. Hood Community College
with plans to transfer to Portland
State University, Rebecca describes herself as a
non-traditional college student who enrolled in college to pursue her life-long
dream of a career in music. Surviving the turbulent life of an adolescent
in Indiana, she learned to play the piano and, although she excelled at the keyboards and even won several contests, decided to give it up and create some social change as a community organizer and a
Peace Corp Volunteer. After moving to Portland in 1991, Rebecca began taking voice lessons from
Suzi Stern and most recently, Mary Kadderly, which turned her onto Jazz and expanded her interest in singing the Blues.
Now, along with being a college student focused on vocal and piano, she contributes her writings to
"The Woman's Journal", substitutes as a group leader for Weight
Watchers, and has received a recognition award from the Hispanic Service Roundtable for her contribution to the Clara Vista housing project in the Cully neighborhood. She is committed to her musical goals and is excited about making her soul connection in music and sharing that with others through performance and teaching.
Love and Blues
Susan Stewart
CBA Scholarship Committee Chair
©
2000 Cascade Blues Association