Fredric and Janice Youra Piano Performance Scholarship
This endowed scholarship was established in 2010 by Fredric and Janice Youra to provide financial assistance to college students pursuing a career in piano performance.Janice had a love for the piano beginning in early childhood. She had piano lessons as a child and played for school and church functions as well as on the radio. She taught piano in Oshkosh for many years during the 1960’s and 70’s. She served on the state board of Wisconsin Music Teachers Association for 8 years. After moving to Alaska she continued teaching piano and playing for many functions. Her motto is “Enjoyment for Life – Piano” and many of her former piano students still enjoy playing the piano.
Janice is a 1970 graduate of University of Wisconsin Oshkosh with additional music studies at University of Alaska – Anchorage and Pacific Lutheran University. She used her skills as accompanist for community chorus, church musician, ballet class accompanist, public school music teacher, university instrumental and vocal accompanist and soloist.
She is married to Fredric (Fritz) Youra, a Lutheran minister. He has always been encouraging and supportive of her musical endeavors. They now live in Northwestern Oregon.
Criteria:
- Applicants must be full-time undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
- Applicants must have sophomore status or higher at the time the scholarship is awarded, but may apply as a first-year student if they will have sophomore status when the award is given. Recipients will be chosen during the spring semester and the scholarship will be awarded the following fall.
- Applicants must be students within the College of Letters and Science with a declared Bachelor of Music in Performance major, with primary applied instrument as piano. If no qualified applicants apply that meet the Bachelor of Music in Performance requirement, consideration will be given to other applicants with a declared Music major (for example, Bachelor of Music Education or Bachelor of Music in Music Industry).
- Applicant must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or greater both at the time of application and awarding of the scholarship.
- In any given year, if two or more applicants are equal in piano performance, potential, and ability, and meet the other requirements, financial need may be considered.
Past Recipients
Past Recipients
2013 Recipient: Tanya Paulson
Tanya Paulson is a native of Oshkosh, WI, and is in her third year as a piano performance major at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She began studying piano at age seven. While living in Scotland, she worked with Peter Evans in Edinburgh. Since returning home in 2008, she has been studying with Dr. Eli Kalman at UW-Oshkosh. After attending the Young Artist Seminar at Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, CO in 2009, she decided to pursue a career in music. For the past four summers, she has continued to attend Rocky Ridge. Two years ago she fulfilled a long-time dream by participating in her first concerto competition. She has since participated in concerto competitions in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Illinois, and this year was named Alternate in the UW-Oshkosh Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition.
2012 Recipient: Rebecca Ottman
Rebecca Ottman graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 2013. While at Oshkosh, she was the two-time winner of the Daniel Raaf scholarship and UWO Honors Recital Competition along with the UWO Lifelong Learner, Roger Dennis, PEO International, and Fredric and JaniceYoura Piano Performance scholarships. Rebecca also dedicated herself to the advancement of music and educational standards as past President of the University’s WMTA chapter, OCMTA, and as aprofessional piano teacher in the Oshkosh community. Rebecca is currently a Masters of Music candidate at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee for a degree in Collaborative Performance. Rebecca earned a full tuition scholarship and project assistantship with her advanced degree. In addition to her studies in music, Rebecca previously earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing, and has held director and managerial level positions in event planning to retail marketing to custom book publishing at both corporations and non-profit organizations, including: Rocky Ridge Music Center (Estes Park, CO), EMI Music, Domino Records, and Simon & Schuster Inc.
If you have any questions regarding this scholarship, please contact Piano Professor Dr. Eli Kalman.