Mr. Briggs, the long-time director of the University of California (Berkeley) Band, established this fund to provide scholarships to students who are interested in pursuing careers in instrumental music. Recipients of these scholarships shall be selected from Armijo, Rodriguez, Vanden, and Fairfield High Schools. The funds will be for financial assistance and are available to students who are both musically and academically talented. Recipients will be enrolled at four-year universities, with preference given to institutions in California. Mr. Briggs hoped that this fund will grow with contributions from other interested donors, to assure that as many scholarships as possible are awarded. And, as Mr. Briggs was very fond of saying, "Go Bears!"
2008-2009 scholarships have been awarded from this Fund. The application window is now closed.
Robert Briggs
Scholarship Criteria
Student must:
-be a senior at Armijo, Fairfield, Rodriguez, or Vanden High School who wishes to pursue a career of teaching or playing instrumental music
-use scholarship funds for financial assistance
-be both musically and academically talented
-be enrolled full-time at a four-year university, with preference given to institutions in California
Winds of Change
In the early morning of Feb. 15, Bill Doherty, an affable man who recently inherited the title of Solano Winds Community Concert Band director, arrived at the back doors of the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts with his family and band members to unload equipment for the evening’s concert.
To read the Solano Winds Community Concert Band story, click
here.
senior's endowment benefit aspiring musicians . . . what's your passion?
Robert Briggs spent most of his 80 years breathing life into instruments.
To read Mr. Briggs' story from Prime Time Senior's Magazine, click
here.
Solano Winds
In the Fall of 1994, as Bob Briggs was leading the California Marching Band through his last season before his retirement, it was suggested to him that he could fill his time in retirement by starting up a community band to conduct in Fairfield.
In the summer of 1995, a group of musicians gathered to discuss the possibility of putting together such a group, and two months later, 40 band musicians gathered at Fairfield High School for the first rehearsal of the Solano Winds. Since that enthusiastic beginning, the band has regularly fielded 45-65 members to perform a number of concerts throughout the year.
No doubt, his vision to have a band perform high quality literature while having fun has been achieved with Solano Winds. To learn more about Solano Winds, or to see their season schedule, please visit their site at
www.solanowinds.org.