Cole scholars live for music

Eliodoro Vallecillo is 17, the same age his brother was when gang members shot him to death. The freshman music major is attending Cal State Long Beach with a full-ride scholarship from the Cole Scholar program.
The Bob Cole Trust donated $16.4 million in March to the Cal State Long Beach Department of Music — which was subsequently renamed the Bob Cole Conservatory — to provide scholarships for music students.
Vallecillo’s father died before his birth and his mother, a farm worker from Salinas, Calif., was left to raise him and his older brother.
His fourth grade teacher, Jeannie Echenique, introduced Vallecillo to the French horn and she continues to influence him today.
While growing up in Salinas, Vallecillo said in a press release that he began to notice the gang activities in “the barrio.” As a result of gang violence, Vallecillo’s brother was shot to death at the age of 17. Vallecillo was in eighth grade.
Vallecillo used music to help him deal with his brother’s death. When his friends began joining gangs, Echenique helped Vallecillo enroll in the Bruce Kirby Preparatory High School. Vallecillo was able to attend the school for free because the principal thought Vallecillo had a great talent for the French horn, according to a press release.
Vallecillo will enter the music program at CSULB with some experience already under his belt. He has performed with the Monterey Bay Symphony as a soloist, and with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Vallecillo wasn’t the only student selected for a full-ride scholarship from the Cole Scholar program.
Fellow recipient, Rodolfo Silva said he considers it a blessing to have been accepted into the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music and it was an even greater blessing to have received a full-ride scholarship covering all his expenses at CSULB.
“I was praying to God to help me chose the right school and I feel that He pretty much pointed me toward this school because I was offered this scholarship when it seemed like all the other doors were closed,” Silva said.
After the first few weeks of the music program, Silva said that he is excited about all of the knowledge that he will gain. He said he was left in “awe” after attending the first rehearsal meeting of the Wind Symphony at CSULB.
“It was hard for me to concentrate on my own playing,” Silva said. “Because I was in awe of how great the band sounded here, even though that was just the first practice. I’m looking forward to the first actual performance.”
Silva auditioned at two schools prior to his CSULB audition.
He said that his first choice was Cal State Fullerton. He was accepted to their music program and offered a $1,000 scholarship, but he didn’t feel that he was getting the financial support that he and his family were looking for.
He then auditioned at University of California, Los Angeles, where he was offered a $2,000 scholarship, but admited that he wasn’t interested in the program and that the process was more of a learning experience for him.
In March Silva auditioned at CSULB, where he played two small excerpts from “Sonata #1” by Johannes Brahms during his audition.
Silva said he was in disbelief when he found out about the scholarship.
“I can’t even explain the feeling,” he said. “I was really, really happy. I feel really blessed. Opportunities like these — I don’t hear them happen often.”
Approximately 65 students received scholarships this fall from the donation made from the Bob Cole trust.
According to Paul Browning, assistant director of media relations at CSULB, 27 students received scholarships that will cover their tuition (an amount equivalent to $3,392), 36 students received between $400-$2,500 scholarships and Vallecillo and Silva were the two students who received full-ride scholarships.