Carson Valley Pops announces 2023 scholarship winners

Two Douglas High School graduates and one Carson High graduate received $500 scholarships from the Carson Valley Pops Orchestra.

Rayanne Bytheway, Kendall Odell and Sam Davis each received the awards.

Bytheway took Advance Placement courses and was a teaching assistant. She played flute in the Douglas High School Wind Ensemble and Northern Nevada Honor Band. She also played in the high school marching band as a flute leader and drum majora and participated in the Memorial Day parade in Washington, D.C. She is attending the University of Nevada, Reno, majoring in music education.

Odell graduated from Douglas High School and took several Advanced Placement classes and served as a teaching assistant. Kendall began playing the clarinet in fifth grade and over the years participated in Honor Band and All-State Band. She played clarinet in the high school marching band, where she was a section leader and drum major. She also performed in solo and ensemble groups and plans to play in her college’s concert band. She is attending the University of Puget Sound, majoring in French and teaching English as a second language.

Sam graduated from Carson High School, where he took several Advanced Placement courses and was a teaching assistant in physics class. He started playing piano at age 8 and now plays the violin. He played in the Chamber Orchestra at Carson High School and also in the Strazz community group. He has played at various community events and retirement centers and shared his musical talent in religious congregations and church events. He occasionally creates his own music as a hobby. Sam is attending Brigham Young University and is majoring in astrophysics and video.

Scholarships are given to students who have participated in various endeavors in the local musical community to thank them for their contributions and encourage students to pursue music as a career.

Students interested in applying in the future should email the Carson Valley Pops at cvpops.org.

The Carson Valley Pops Orchestra is a nonprofit organization made up of musicians in the community who donate their time and talent to provide free concerts to Carson Valley. There are approximately 40 members consisting of both amateur and professional musicians and middle school, high school and college students as well.