L-R: Levi Soper (17), Michael Rogers (12), Drake Nguyen (14), Annabelle Selvaraj (11), Luca Muendler (14), Jennifer Aruldass (10), Mackenzie Freschi (15), Peter Swanson (16). Rio Navarro (17). Missing: Olivia Ma (11). A total of $4500 in scholarships were awarded to these hardworking and young rising talented accordionists.

Annabelle Selvaraj (who gave versatile performances on both the piano and free bass accordions) placed first in group A and was presented with $500. Among Group B, Peter Swanson was awarded the $500 San Francisco Accordion Club Student Scholarship for the second consecutive year. Rio Navarro was the recipient of the $1500 grand prize “CONTINO AWARD” for the third consecutive year.

There is no fee to apply in the CASS scholarship competition which is open to accordion students up to age 18. This year four pieces were required as four separate video entries. Memorization is not required. For participants living in California, a financial travel stipend covering mileage was provided to attend the Cotati Accordion Festival (CAF) and showcase their performance.

Non California participants were not required to attend but were encouraged to do so, and some financial travel assistance may have been considered upon request. For scholarship information contact David Noferi, CASS Student Scholarship Program Director via email: dnoferi@aol.com.

Congratulations to this year’s student entrants who did an excellent job of preparation. You can watch their videos at youtube: search Cotati Accordion Student Stage. Appreciation is given to the students’ accordion teachers who trained them: Dave Caballero (Rio), Mark Carlson (Drake), Virginia Hartley (Levi Soper), Gordon Kohl (Luca), Marjorie Konrad (Michael and Olivia), Bratislav Manasijevic (Jennifer and Annabelle), Joseph Natoli (Peter), and Mike Zampiceni (Mackenzie). Also a big shout out and thank you to the three anonymous adjudicators, plus David Noferi who has been the CASS Program Director for the past 4 years. 

The CASS student scholarship program was founded and launched in 2014 by Sheri Mignano Crawford. Next year’s CASS scholarship live event convenes at the same venue at 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 21, 2027.