Javier Niño

Javier Niño was wonderful young man who brought joy through beauty and kindness to countless people during his short lifetime. He was an excellent student, an inspiring musician, and a great friend to many. Javier graduated high school as a distinguished member of the McCallum Chamber Guitar Ensemble under the direction of Andrew Clark, and for years he worked closely with ACG team members Joseph Palmer and Jeremy Osborne. 

With the help of the Skeel/Baldauf family, Diane, Larry and Aaron, and many friends and supporters, we at Austin Classical Guitar honor Javier’s legacy through the Javier Niño Memorial Scholarship Fund. You can learn more about Javi’s fund, read comments from friends, and contribute, online here

 


Today we are pleased to announce that our first recipient of the Javier Niño Scholarship is Elijah Melodic Flores.  Elijah began studying guitar with Phil Swasey at Bedicheck Middle School. Currently, Elijah is a junior in the Crockett High School guitar program under the direction of Ron Hare. 

As a Javier Niño Scholarship award winner, Elijah will receive a new instrument, weekly lessons, and various performance and enrichment opportunities in the coming year.

We asked Elijah about his start with guitar.

Elijah Flores

“I started playing classical guitar when I was 11 years old at Bedichek Middle School. I was drawn to guitar after listening to my dad as a child. The main reason I wanted to join a music program was because of my dad. He wanted me to have a productive outlet for my energy.

Before I started Middle School, I struggled with focus and I was very hyper and uncontrolled. I would frustrate my teachers because I would never sit still or stop talking. I remember my very first day walking into guitar class feeling excited and a little scared when I met my first guitar teacher, Mr. Swasey. He was very nice and charismatic and helped me to feel comfortable along with the other students in a friendly environment.”

 

Phil Swasey had this to say when he heard the news. “Congratulations to Elijah on this amazing honor, I’m very proud! It was my pleasure to work with him for three years at Bedichek Middle School, and watching his musical development in that short span of time was inspiring. Every morning as a 6th grader he was in my room practicing with the 8th graders to learn their music, and every year after seemed to develop exponentially motivated by his thirst for music. I’m confident that Elijah will flourish with the resources granted to him through the Javier Niño Scholarship and conduct himself in the spirit of this generous opportunity.”

As for the future, Elijah had this to say. “My goal for my 6th year playing guitar is to try my best to perfect my technique, learn more challenging music, compete in more competitions, and build my auditioning repertoire for colleges. My dream with guitar is to create my own music and be able to record and edit it. This applies to any instrument; I want to learn it all.

Classical guitar has changed my life and will always be valuable to me. It takes a lot more effort and commitment to learn such a beautiful style of guitar than to just strum chords of play riffs, and I’m proud to call myself a classical guitarist.”