The Foundation for Santa Barbara City College is pleased to announce the first award of the Don Richardson Memorial Scholarship at SBCC.

Dr. Don Richardson was a strong supporter of choral music throughout his career, and a strong supporter of the SBCC Quire of Voyces, in which he was a founding board member of.

He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and doctorate from UCLA. As a music professor, composer, author, conductor and radio commentator covering the arts, Dr. Richardson was passionate about the education of young musicians. For 12 years he wrote and hosted the KCRW radio program “Behind the Scenes,” covering the performing arts through his 600 interviews with renowned artists.

He was an advocate of the community colleges of California, and taught for years in Santa Monica before retiring to Santa Barbara.

To honor his memory, the Quire of Voyces and its supporters undertook the creation of this scholarship in his name. The first scholarship award recipient is Brandon Thibeault, who received $1,000 to further his education in choral music.

Thibeault has been a fine addition to the Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and vocal music at SBCC.

“Brandon possesses a strong tenor voice particularly suited to Baroque music,” said Ann Dwelley, board president of Quire of Voyces. “Professors describe him as being an extremely determined student, with a great attitude in his approach to his work, and his practice and performance have steadily improved since his start at the college.”

Thibeault was selected by audition for Music 185, Applied Vocal Lessons, and has showed tremendous growth in this area. He has been a featured soloist for several Concert Choir performances and will be joining the Quire of Voyces in the fall.

He plans to finish his studies at SBCC next year, singing in Quire of Voyces, continuing to study voice with Nathan Kreitzer and applying to transfer to a California State University campus in vocal performance.

The endowed fund will provide scholarships for choral music students at Santa Barbara City College. It is maintained by the Foundation for Santa Barbara City College.

— Candice Tang Nyholt is a publicist representing the Foundation for SBCC.