Our Association
Recognising the challenges faced by local music students compared with their metropolitan counterparts, the Eurobodalla St Cecilia Youth Music Scholarships Incorporated was established in 1995 by Maria De Rocco. Its aim is to foster musical excellence and provide financial assistance to talented young musicians on the South Coast.
Each year, auditions are held for students aged 8 to 18, adjudicated by an independent professional musician. Twelve scholarships are awarded, ranging from $200 to $1,000. Following the auditions, an Award Winners’ Concert is presented in November, celebrating the achievements of the scholarship recipients. It is held as close as possible to St Cecilia’s Day.
A $1,000 tertiary scholarship—named in honour of past president David Harding and sponsored by Batemans Bay Rotary—is also available to scholarship recipients who go on to pursue tertiary studies in music.
The scholarships are generously supported by community organisations including Batemans Bay Rotary, South Coast Music Society, and Moruya CWA, together with donations from individuals who value the encouragement of young musicians.
The Eurobodalla St Cecilia Youth Music Scholarships are organised and administered entirely by a dedicated volunteer committee, whose commitment and enthusiasm ensure the continued success of the program and the enrichment of the region’s musical life.
St Cecilia has long been regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians, and her festival day, 22 November, has been celebrated with musical performances for many centuries—a tradition proudly continued by the Eurobodalla community through these scholarships and concerts.
Our Founder – Maria De Roco
By Frances Harmey
Maria de Rocco founded the St Cecilia Youth Music Scholarships program 30 years ago with the sole purpose of helping young musicians and their families better afford the type of tuition that would nurture a love of music, while developing skills and talents. Over the years, the St Cecilia scholarships have developed into a forum where students could also perform and share their outstanding musical abilities with their community, spreading musical appreciation and culture in our region.
Growing up in Casarano in the Apulia region of southeastern Italy, Maria was surrounded by music. Her father was a musician and conductor, and instrumentalists floated through her family home, as well as through the piazzas of the town where performance was common and enthusiastically embraced by the community. That is the environment she wished to create in Batemans Bay, where she came to live from Canberra. Born in 1935, Maria had immigrated to Australia to marry. She raised her two daughters while always maintaining her own musical skills and love of performance. It wasn’t enough to teach young people, she had a burning passion to ensure their future as musicians and make sure they were celebrated. She wanted to honour her father, share her own talent, make music accessible to all and enliven culture on the south coast.
“I wanted to give Australian children, especially those who could not afford to pay for music lessons, the opportunity to enter the world of music,” Maria wrote in one of her publications.
Marianinna, as she was known in her Italian community, was also instrumental in founding the South Coast Music Society (which still thrives today), The South Coast Spiritualist Society (1993-2013) and Amici d’Italia – a gathering of people who loved all things Italian and which, when it closed down recently, donated generously to the scholarship program.
She hounded local journalists to give exposure to young musicians in the same way that sporting stars adorned the newspaper pages and she was famous for cornering local councillors and community leaders to enlist their support for her endeavours. Thus, the scholarships were funded and the community was made aware that extraordinary musical talent existed in their midst.
In preparing finalists for their performances at the annual concert, Maria was exacting in her expectations that students would know their pieces, introduce themselves and the works confidently and then share their talents with poise and aplomb. She adored those occasions and was never shy in sharing her enthusiasm with the audiences who came to appreciate the performances.
On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary Maria wrote of the student scholarship recipients: “They are all special people because music, or other forms of art, is in their psyche, it will never leave them. I am so very proud of them. They have made my life a joyous and a satisfying one.”
Maria now lives at Maranatha Lodge and, although her memory is fading, the young people she has loved and nurtured still live in her heart. Her legacy lives on in the performances you will see today on the 30th Anniversary of the St Cecilia Youth Music Scholarship Finalists’ Concert. The many people who have taken up her mantle, maintained the committee and organised the auditions, concerts and donations in the years since 1995 have been inspired by Maria’s vision, as well as the worthiness of this program. Che la musica viva per sempre!
Our Committee
President – Jess Ferguson
Vice President – Pam Larkin
Secretary – Lindy Connoly
Treasurer – Deborah Buchanan
Publicity – Frances Harmey
Committee – John Haslem, Lou Lassau, Julie Murray, Kathie Harris, Alan Russel.
