Since its formation in 1941, the committee has established 25 endowed scholarships and two planned gift scholarships, with a value of nearly $2 million. The membership has six meetings each year plus a Fall Fundraiser and Scholarship Benefit Luncheon in April.  At each meeting there is a performance by one or more students; many times it is a student who has a Women’s Committee scholarship.

Marylou Turner, scholarship funding chairman, said the committee provides more than just financial support.

The committee established an Advocate Program in the late 1990s; each scholarship recipient has an advocate from the Women’s Committee, providing guidance, social opportunities and a friendly ear.

Turner said the best thing about the advocate program, from the committee members’ perspective, is the social aspect.

“Just visiting with them or taking them out to eat,” she said. “Talking with them about their hopes and dreams. I’ve learned a lot from these students.” Many members form long-lasting relationships with students that endure well past graduation.

“When you’re paired with the same student for four or five years, you get to experience them as an incoming freshman to a graduating senior—to attend their concerts and their recitals, to take them to lunch or dinner, and finally, attend their graduations and then see them go out into the real world to pursue their dreams,” she said.

Two annual lunch events for scholarship recipients and their advocates provide opportunities for students enrolled in different Conservatory programs to meet and socialize.

Turner has been a member of the Committee since 1993; she served as president from 1997 to 2003. 

“I am so pleased and happy with our accomplishments,” she said. “Music is the universal language; we all need music in our lives. Our members love music and believe in its importance in the lives of others.”