Alberto La Rocca
was born in Sora, Italy on January 30, 1924. He sacrificed his life to save the lives of ten of Fiesole's citizens on August 12, 1944. La Rocca lived a short, but principled, life. As a Carabiniere, his duty was to his country and to its residents. It was a duty from which he never flagged, overcoming the brutality of the Second World War to provide aid to the Italian populace.

The power of La Rocca's sacrifice cannot be overstated. In a difficult epoch, the Carabiniere was faced with a choice few would accept. The supreme altruism of his act serves as a model for a new generation of adults. The youth of Vaughan are honoured by the opportunity to pay tribute to La Rocca by accepting the bursary which bears his name.

As Vaughan and Sora are cities linked by a twinning agreement forged in 1992, it is imperative that they share a common legacy. The celebration of Sora's heroes is the celebration of the heroic people within our own city. The recognition of La Rocca's actions allows Vaughan's youth to replicate his pattern of altruism, and from this, the elevation of selfless acts comes to the fore in their civic life. The youth who receive this award carry with them the hopes of the two cities for a better world and embody the courage of certainty; allowing them to give of themselves without question.

Alberto La Rocca was honoured by the City of Vaughan in 2001 with the dedication of a park and statue to his memory. In 2002, recognizing the ability of La Rocca's story to inspire Vaughan's youth, Mario Ferri and a committed group of citizens founded the La Rocca Bursary. This bursary is awarded annually to youth who lead their lives by the principles of altruism, service and life.

Carlo Lazari
Born in Venice in 1962, he began studying the violin at a very young age with Emilio Cristinelli and, after graduating from high school, he obtained his diploma in violin in 1984 with top marks at the Conservatory of Venice under the guidance of Renato Zanettovich. He then continued his study of the violin repertoire at the Stauffer Academy in Cremona with Salvatore Accardo and at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole with Stefan Gheorghiu.

He also took part in master classes held by Franco Gulli and Henryk Szering at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena and Nathan Milstein at the Muraltengut in Zurich.

He was awarded first prize at the 9th 'A.Curci' International Violin Competition.

He has been playing regularly for more than 25 years with the Ex Novo Ensemble of Venice, with whom he has made numerous recordings with monographic programmes by E. Wolf-Ferrari, F. Busoni, G. Donizetti, G. Rossini, G. Sgambati, G. F. Malipiero, G. Martucci, O. Respighi, A. Schoenberg, B. Maderna, Luciano Berio as well as works by A. Casella, I. Pizzetti and N. Rota. He is a member of the ensemble "I Solisti Filarmonici Italiani" with whom he records for Denon and tours all over the world. On the philological side, as a baroque violinist he is engaged with the ensemble "L'Arte dell'Arco" in the complete recording of Giuseppe Tartini's violin concertos.