Scholarship Fund

CONGRATULATIONS KEVIN NEEL!

We are proud to announce that Kevin Neel is the 2010 M. Louise Miller Scholarship $2,000 Award winner. 

Kevin Neel is a junior organ performance major studying at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music studying with Janette Fishell and is Associate Director of Music at Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis.  He is a recipient of the “Jacobs Scholar” Award in the Jacobs School of Music, the highest honor given to an undergraduate in the school.  From Fort Mill, SC, Kevin studied organ with Shirley Fishburne and David Lowry and has given recitals throughout the Charlotte, NC area.  Most recently, he performed in Lincoln, Nebraska as one of three guest recitalists.  He won first prize in the 2009 Winston-Salem Regional Competition for Young Organists and competed at the Regional Level for American Guild of Organists (AGO) Region IV in Bradenton, FL.  He has also attended seven Pipe Organ Encounters (POEs), having served on the planning committee for two. Kevin served as the sub-dean of the Bloomington, Indiana chapter of the AGO for the 2009-2010 year.

 About the M. Louise Miller Scholarship $2,000 Award

Independent of our POE event, the Greater Bridgeport AGO Chapter is proud to strongly support the Dr. M. Louise Miller Scholarship Fund. It was  established in 1998 to honour the life and work of Dr. M. Louise Miller, a founding member (1948) of The Greater Bridgeport AGO, and to recognize her great achievements in the fields of church music, organ playing and teaching.

A $2,000 scholarship will be awarded in July, 2011 to an undergraduate student pursuing study next autumn in an American college, conservatory or university, leading toward a career in organ performance and church music.  The winner will also be invited to play a recital in Connecticut for the AGO.

The Application Process

The application process includes writing a short essay, submitting a recording of two standard organ pieces (Bach and Romantic), and a DVD of the candidate performing (with or without an audience).  Application deadline is June 15, 2011. Click here for an application form and detail instructions. For questions regarding the application process, please contact: Jeffrey Wood.

Previous Winners

Frederick Teardo – Associate Organist, St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, NYC
Scott Montgomery - now under Concert Management
Christopher Howerter
Amanda Mole
Susan Beisner Powell
Kevin Neel  

Our Review Committee

Jeffrey Wood, Chair
Dr. Alice M. Caldwell
Dr. Elina N. Christova
Dr. John T. Michniewicz 
John J. Polo, Scholarship Treasurer