Tag: scholarship

Making a $ Difference

paulkfoxLeave a comment

Putting Your Money Where You Mouth Is… Today and Tomorrow!

This article was submitted for publication in a future PMEA News – the official state journal of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association. It is mostly targeting school music educators in the Commonwealth – current and retired – but may be appropriate for all advocates who are willing to “roll up their sleeves” to help the profession and associations who support music education.

This article succeeds PMEA Pride… posted on July 1, 2026.

NOW: Opportunities to Support the Mission of PMEA and School Music Programs

The moniker and stated focus of the PMEA Council for Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention –  “the life cycle of a music educator” – nurtures present and future TTRR stakeholders and supports a broad timeline of numerous transitions, beginning with the Future Maestros Gold Star Awards Program (grades 3-6), then progressing to the TRI-M Music Honor Society (grades 6-12), Future Music Educators Honors Symposium (high school seniors accepted at a college or university to major in music education), PA Collegiate Music Educators Association and pre-service training, rookie to veteran years of professional development and participation in PMEA festivals, conferences, workshops, advocacy initiatives, and research programs, and finally self-reinvention and “keeping our hands in it” involvement during retirement.

With the goal of “promoting the musical development of all Pennsylvanians,” TEAM PMEA embraces hands-on volunteerism and the value of our collective aspirations to foster the highest standards of collaboration in music education. Throughout our years, our organization offers many meaningful opportunities of giving, becoming eleemosynary (I love this word – look it up!) throughout its members’ upward career trajectory.

I have heard from a former foundation director and school board member that there are two categories of  “volunteers” who make major contributions to the vision and everyday fabric of community outreach groups:

  • “Busy Bees” or “Worker Bees” (Time & Labor): Active, hands-on volunteers who give their time and physical effort to complete tasks.
  • “Money Bees” (Funding & Resources): Donors, sponsors, or fundraisers who support the cause financially rather than with manual labor.

Which one of these roles do you model for PMEA? Both? Obviously, there are countless opportunities for you to serve our PMEA governance, programs, and music education throughout the Commonwealth. I know most of you are already “hands-on” as “busy bees,” fulfilling these essential jobs (just to name a quick dozen):

  • Adjudicators and Auditioners (Festivals, Performances, Scholarships, etc.)
  • Advocates and Booster Representatives
  • Authors (PMEA News) and Arrangers/Composers
  • Committee/Council Members
  • Conference/Workshop Speakers
  • Conference Planners/Screeners and Session Presiders
  • Cooperating/Supervising Teachers
  • Curriculum Writers
  • Festival Hosts
  • Guest Conductors
  • Mentors
  • PMEA Elected Officers

However, for many retired and active members alike, the “money bee” option is also readily available. Depending on your stage in life (and financial resources), you may consider donating a little (or a lot) to these worthwhile PMEA projects:

  • Irene R. Christman Scholarship, named after our late PMEA Executive Director who served from 1955 to 1996, is a $1000 award presented to an outstanding PMEA All-State Ensemble participant who will be attending college to major in music education.
  • Margaret S. Bauer Grant, in honor of our PMEA Executive Director Emerita, is a program for qualifying PMEA members to help fund professional development, resources, equipment, or creative projects which will enhance music instruction, student learning and forward the mission of PMEA.
  • All-State Program Patrons, listed in the printed PMEA All-State Concert Program, are donations that keep costs down for students participating in PMEA’s All-State Festivals.
  • Send a Collegiate to the Conference is available to sponsor needy college students to register for their participation in the PMEA Annual Conference.

It is now easier than ever to direct your charitable wishes. Make your selection on the PMEA website: https://www.pmea.net/give/.

PMEA is classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization.

LATER: The Legacy of Individual Giving

The legacy of individual giving — often called planned or legacy philanthropy — is the practice of making significant charitable contributions through an estate plan or will to support nonprofits beyond a donor’s lifetime. It anchors community institutions, shapes cultural futures, and transforms personal values into enduring generational impact.

Legacy giving provides profound personal fulfillment, expands life meaning, and offers powerful tax advantages  — such as reduced estate taxes and avoided capital gains.

Legacy giving is not reserved exclusively for the super-wealthy. It functions through flexible financial instruments accessible at many economic levels. Key concepts and vehicles:

  • Bequests: Designating a specific dollar amount, a percentage of an estate, or remaining assets to a charity via a will.
  • Retirement Funds: Naming a nonprofit as the beneficiary of an IRA or 401(k) to bypass heavy income and estate taxes.
  • Life Insurance: Assigning a portion or all of a policy’s benefit to an organization.
  • Charitable Gift Annuities: Providing upfront capital to a nonprofit in exchange for fixed annual income payments during the donor’s life.

One of the most satisfying moments for my wife and I as retired educators was the establishment of a Donor-Advised Fund as well as funneling “required minimum distributions” from our IRAs to support recognition awards for PA music education majors as well as STEM majors participating in their collegiate music ensembles. As a memorial tribute to our parents who were educators, engineers, and musicians, we set-up a reliable and perpetual funding source to reimburse stellar college students with their educational expenses. For more information about the two separate Stark-Fox Family Fund Awards (PMEA Council for TTRR and PMEA Music-for-Lifelong-Learning Scholarships), visit https://www.pmea.net/scholarships-and-awards/. Past recipients are archived at https://www.pmea.net/scholarships-and-awards/stark-fox-funded-pmea-scholarships/.

No matter the amount, strategy, or pipeline, your “donations to the cause” will make a difference! Thank you in advance for serving as “busy bees” and whenever possible, “money bees,” to assist PMEA and build on and sustain quality music education programs throughout our state.

Credits and Additional Resources

PKF

© 2026 Paul K. Fox

Two New PMEA Scholarships

paulkfoxLeave a comment

This message goes out to all of my Pennsylvania music education colleagues and especially any currently enrolled Freshman through Graduate college students in the Commonwealth.

My wife and I are proud to announce the launch of two new scholarships for the 2023-24 school year, financed by the Stark-Fox Family Fund, and managed by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA). Official applications will be available soon (spring semester 2023) on the PMEA website here. All materials are due on or before June 1, 2023.

Do you know someone who is currently attending a PA university, college, or conservatory? Is he or she majoring in music education AND is a member of Pennsylvania Collegiate Music Educators Association (PCMEA) OR majoring in a science-technology-engineering-mathematics (or related) field of study AND participating in their collegiate music ensemble for credit?

Then… SPREAD THE WORD!

Here is a general summary of the eligibility requirements and expectations for application approval, subject to change by the PMEA EXCOM and staff. A performance video (or submission of an original composition) is required for either scholarship, and interested candidates could begin now (during the semester break) to prepare their piece(s), update their resume, assemble a digital portfolio, and write the essay.

PMEA Council TTRR Continuing Music Education Award

  • Amount and number of scholarships may vary from year-to-year
  • Full-time enrollment of at least one year (two complete semesters) as an undergraduate or graduate music education major in an accredited PA institution
  • Nonrenewable (selection of a different candidate each year)
  • Paid directly to candidate as reimbursement for college tuition, dorm/apartment rent, meals on campus, textbook purchases, and/or the purchase of a new instrument (must provide receipts)
  • Blind judging by PMEA members with at least one member from the PMEA Council of Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention, PMEA EXCOM, and/or PMEA staff
  • Criteria for selection
    • A minimum of at least one year as PCMEA member in good standing with letter of affirmation from the PCMEA sponsor
    • Submission of college transcript reflecting 3.5 GPA or higher
    • Demonstration of solo performance skills (recorded video) or submission of composition(s)
    • Presentation of a music education portfolio with sample lesson plans, philosophy, and development of creative instructional activities with a focus on the arts at the center of STEAM
    • Participation in at least one PMEA-sponsored professional development program e.g., the Annual Conference, Summer Conference, Webinar, or Regional Workshop
    • Completion of essay in response to the question “Why have you chosen a career in music education?” and portrayal of leadership and well-defined goals and aspirations towards a career in music education.
    • Letter of recommendation from at least one music education professor
https://www.pmea.net/council-for-ttrr/

PMEA Music-for-Lifelong-Learning Award

  • Amount of scholarship may vary from year-to-year
  • Full-time enrollment of at least one year (two complete semesters) as an undergraduate or graduate science-technology-engineering-mathematics major in an accredited PA institution
  • Enrollment for at least one semester in a music performance course e.g., band, chamber music, chorus, jazz, or orchestra earning the letter grade of an “A” or equivalent with submission of letter of recommendation (and transcript) from ensemble director
  • Nonrenewable (selection of a different candidate each year)
  • Paid directly to candidate as reimbursement for college tuition, dorm/apartment rent, meals on campus, textbook purchases, and/or the purchase of a new instrument (must provide receipts)
  • Blind judging by PMEA members with at least one member from the PMEA Council of Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention, PMEA EXCOM, and/or PMEA staff
  • Criteria for selection
    • 3.5 GPA or higher on college transcripts
    • Demonstration of solo performance skills (recorded video)
    • Presentation of a music portfolio with high school and college history of participation in music ensembles and pursuits in creative self-expression, concert programs, and/or evidence of the development of creative activities or projects with a focus on the arts at the center of STEAM
    • Completion of essay that reflects musical leadership, community service, and/or the ccandidate’s rationale and aspirations for the continuation of “music study as a life-skill”
    • Response to the question, “How does the study of music enhance your knowledge, skills, and depth of understanding for a career in science-technology-engineering-mathematics?”

We are hopeful that these will become annual awards of substantial amounts (with a goal of at least $5K to $15K per person based on market conditions), provided as reimbursement of the scholarship recipient’s higher education expenses. If you are a potentially eligible candidate, get to work on the selection process and documentation NOW and… good luck!

PKF

stark-fox-family-fund-scholarships-010923Download

The Stark-Fox Family Fund supports PMEA and PCMEA.

© 2022 Paul K. Fox

Reference Letters: What To Do?

paulkfoxLeave a comment

Reprinted from “A View from the Podium” (Upper St. Clair High School, 2015) for current South Hills Junior Orchestra members and other students seeking recommendation letters from their music teachers.

foxsfiresides

If you are requesting a letter of recommendation from any teaching staff member, administrator, minister, coach, or activity sponsor for college entrance, scholarships, awards, or job placement, please follow the instructions of your school counselor AND review/complete the steps below.

Do you have an updated “me-file” on your computer’s desktop? Maintain a bulleted list of accomplishments with dates. Scan archives of awards, programs, commendations, special honors, and significant assessments. This will become the basis for the creation of résumés or portfolios, and background for your college or employment essays.

In person, ask the teacher from whom you want the letter if he/she is willing to do this. This should be an adult in whom you have a great deal of trust and with whom you have had frequent contact. If you have any doubt or misgivings like “Does this professional like me?” or “Will he/she give me a fair rating?” – then you should ask someone else. If you are a current member of SHJO, anyone asking Mr. Fox should have no fear. He will tell you immediately if there is any problem in writing a positive letter.

In my opinion, if you choose the right person to do your letter, you can sign-off your rights to see it before submission to the institution. A student checking “yes” to waiving his/her access to/examination of the reference may look better to the evaluator. Although not required, some may send you a copy of it for your files. That is my standard practice.

Know your deadlines. BY WHEN do you need the reference letters or common app teacher recommendations?

seriestoshare-logo-01As a courtesy to the writer (and modeling good preparation on your part), give at least two to three weeks’ notice (more is better). Remember: “Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on the teacher’s part.” It would also be polite to “gently remind” the staff member about the final deadline of the recommendation (at least one weekend’s notice). For SHJO, one Saturday ahead of the final deadline would be ideal.

Unless it is an online application or digital reference, the individual requesting the recommendation should provide in advance a pre-stamped self-addressed envelope to be signed, sealed, and mailed directly to any school or organization.

To facilitate “anecdotal references” and confirm accurate data/details, email a mini-résumé of your achievements, particularly those things that can be mentioned in the letter. Try to complete as many of these as possible:

  1. When did you first begin your musical (or other academic specialty) study? When did you join SHJO or other music group?
  2. What classes, ensembles, and/or productions have you participated at school?
  3. What music or academic leadership positions have you served (give specific dates)?
  4. What are your outside activities?
  5. What have you done as community service?
  6. How are you unique? Describe yourself in three to five words.
  7. What qualities or strengths have you exhibited that the staff member, from working with you, could corroborate in the letter?
  8. Can you remember any funny or significant class or rehearsal anecdote that demonstrated growth in your musical technique, expressiveness, student leadership, “team” or ensemble building, or the 21st Century learning skills of creativity, communications, critical thinking, collaboration, and global understanding?
  9. What is your planned major or minor in college, and how did your association with the staff member (his/her classes or activities) help you gain the experience, insight, or confidence to go into this field?

Good luck! PKF  Revised 3/18/19

hi-res logo 2018

The mission of South Hills Junior Orchestra, which rehearses and performs at the Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh, PA, is to support and nurture local school band and orchestra programs, to develop knowledge, understanding, performance skills, and an appreciation of music, to increase an individual member’s self-esteem and self-motivation, and to continue to advance a life-long study of music. Members of the Orchestra learn, grow, and achieve positions of leadership to serve their fellow members.

(For more information about SHJO, please visit www.shjo.org.)

This and all Fox’s Fireside blog-posts are free and available to share with other music students, parents, directors, and supporters of the arts.

Click here for a printable copy of Reference Letters: What to Do?

Other “Fox Firesides” are available at https://paulfox.blog/foxs-firesides/.

 

© 2019 Paul K. Fox

 

Photo credit from Pixabay.com: “Fireside” by pixeldust