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There are several scholarships that have begun since many of you attended Murray State University.
To honor the 28 years of distinguished service by Kay Gardner Bates an endowed scholarship in her
name has been established in the MSU Foundation. Preference will be given to mezzo-sopranos. It
is the hope of Mrs. Bates' vocal colleagues that the minimum principle amount can be in place to
award the first Kay Gardner Bates Scholarship in two years. We
are sure that all of Mrs. Bates' studio alumni and friends will want to honor Mrs. Bates by
contributing to that scholarship fund.
The Robert K. Baar Honorary Scholarship, Director of Choral
Activities at MSU from 1951-1982 is awarded to an upper-level singer who has demonstrated an
advanced level of competency in vocal study and has significantly contributed to the
vocal/choral program at MSU. This scholarship is a wonderful way to remember a man who has
given so much of himself to Murray State University and choral music throughout the south.
Those students who have received the scholarship also appreciate the tradition of excellence
that Mr. Baar established with the MSU choirs. This legacy continues through this scholarship.
Another scholarship has been started in memory of Sharilyn D. Almquist, the sister of Dr. Bradley
Almquist, MSU Director of Choral Activities. Sharilyn was injured in an automobile accident and
lived as a quadriplegic for several years with her parents in North Dakota. She loved to sing
and studied voice as part of her physical and personal therapy. A challenge to any teacher of
singing, Sharilyn, as a quadriplegic voice student taught her teacher much about the human body
and spirit. As a continuing reminder of her sheer joy in and love of music, the
Sharilyn D. Almquist Memorial Scholarship has been established
in her name with a preference for sopranos. It is the family's hope to have the scholarship fully
funded within a few years.
The Murray State University Department of Music and the Vocal/Choral area are pleased to announce
that the Erin Conn Memorial Scholarship will be awarded this coming
spring to an incoming freshman singer for the fall 2005 semester. This wonderful memorial is a
continuous tribute and remembrance of a light that shined so brightly in this department, Erin Conn.
The final scholarship exclusively for voice majors is the Clarence D. Walker
Memorial Basso Scholarship The scholarship is awarded to bass singers who are voice majors at MSU.
Several scholarships are awarded from this fund each year.
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