The University of Arkansas Department of Music has announced the finalists for its 2021 Trombone Solo Scholarship competition. The three students chosen are:

• Jacob Pavlick, Keller High School, Texas — Private teacher, Amanda Kana

• Charles Williams, Keller High School, Texas — Private teacher, Amanda Kana

• Evan Wood, Fayetteville High School, Arkansas — Private teacher, Steven Kamilos

The annual competition is open to high school juniors and seniors who wish to major in music at the University of Arkansas. The winner of the competition will receive a scholarship of $6,000 per year while second and third places will receive $5000 and $4000 respectively. Under normal circumstances, the competition is part of the annual Arkansas Trombone Workshop, an event celebrating everything trombone, not only for high school and college students, but all trombone enthusiasts. Unfortunately this year, due to COVID-19, the Workshop had been cancelled, but plans to resume next year.

Cory Mixdorf, associate professor of trombone, was thrilled with this year's entries.  

"What's inspiring about this year's applicant pool is that despite all the hardships these students have had to deal with concerning COVID-19, the quality of recordings is as good as, or possibly better than, past years' competitions. The dedication demonstrated here shows that nothing can keep down music education!" Mixdorf said.

Winners will be announced during a Facebook Live event via the RAZORBONES Facebook page on Saturday, Feb. 27.