T-TOWN PRODIGY RECEIVES AWARD FROM DICK VAN DYKE
LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD, AGAIN
Los Angeles, CA, (PRWEB) August 15, 2008 – The Malibu Music Awards, an innovative songwriter competition which is part of the Malibu Arts 
Festival has awarded singer-songwriter-rock violinist, Antonio Pontarelli the “Grand Prize”. A panel of industry professionals judged the event which drew a crowd of over 12,000 people over the weekend. Other notable awards given were ‘Breakout Artist of the Year’ which went to Colbie Caillat who was recently number one on Billboard and ‘Female Music Legend’ which went to Pat Benatar. The “Grand Prize” was presented by TV legend Dick Van Dyke. Winning awards is not new for Pontarelli who has won dozens of awards over the years as a songwriter as well as a performing artist. He won his first national championship at age 13 when he became the Grand Champion of “America’s Most Talented Kids” which included American Idol winner Jordan Sparks. In 2005 and 2007 he won the ASTA National Alternative Styles Competition for “Best Rock” and the Southern California Music Award for “Best Instrumentalist”. In January Pontarelli won the 2008 Inland Empire Music Awards for “Best Rock Band”. Earlier this year he was the ‘People’s Voice’ Winner of the International Songwriting Competition (ISC).
Pontarelli has been involved with numerous projects over the past year, including collaborating with Grammy award winners including Serj Tankian, the voice of “System of a Down” (SOAD) where he added rock violin madness to Tankian’s solo CD “Elect the Dead”. Tankian stated “Antonio Pontarelli is a great musician that brought ambiance to the music”. The album peaked at four on the US Billboard charts. Pontarelli’s passion as an artist extends beyond the concert stage. In 2002 he created a non- profit foundation to fund projects that put music into the lives of those who are less fortunate. He has done workshops at schools and universities throughout the US and has made Grammy Red Carpet appearances promoting Grammy Camp and music in the schools. On August 30th his band will take a break from their tour to be a special guest of NAMM’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, CA. Pontarelli will be giving an “Informance” that reveals some of his secrets to bringing the haunting timeless magic of the violin to popular music. Pontarelli will be playing some unique electric violins from his own collection and unveiling a few from the museum’s special exhibit. Advanced ticket purchase recommended at www.museumofmakingmusic.org or (760) 438-5996, ext. 212.
The band will be making other local appearances at Dos Logos Amphitheatre at the Promenade in Corona. CA on August 23rd from 7-9. The event is underwritten by a generous grant from Walkers Motors and is free to the public. On August 29 they will be playing with the English Beat at Wiens Winery in Temecula in a fundraiser that benefits the California Family Life Center. Tickets can be purchased at www.goldencrownproductions.com. September 13th at 6 PM. they will be headlining the Blue Jay Jazz musical scholarship fundraiser to be held at a prestigious estate in Lake Arrowhead. Ticket information can be found at www.bluejayjazz.com For more artist information on Antonio Pontarelli please visit www.antoniomusic.com or www.myspace.com/antoniopontarelli.