Waco Symphony Scholarship Benefits Baylor Students

by Richard Veit

For the second year in a row, the Waco Symphony Council has presented a generous gift to the Baylor University School of Music to provide music students with vital scholarship assistance.
On Jan. 12, three representatives of the Symphony Council -- Joy Walters, Susan Silver and Martha Bauer -- presented a check for $5,000 to Dr. William V. May, dean of the School of Music. The funds were raised through ticket sales for the 58th annual Children's Concert, performed by the Baylor Symphony Orchestra last October. Each year, about 6,000 fourth- and fifth-graders from approximately 70 public, private, parochial and home schools in the Waco area are invited to attend one of the three concert performances in Waco Hall.
"We at Baylor University value our association with the Waco Symphony Orchestra," May said, "and we are also mindful of the significant role this annual concert plays in the music education of students throughout Central Texas."
A support arm of the Waco Symphony Association, the Symphony Council is responsible for handling reservations and seating charts for the popular concert. With the expertise of Stephen Heyde, conductor of both the Baylor Symphony Orchestra and the Waco Symphony Orchestra, the council also chooses the actual musical content for the concerts. In addition, Paula Hoover, WISD Coordinator for the Children's Concert Committee, prepares an educational packet for each student that includes basic information about the composers, concert etiquette, descriptions of orchestral instruments and any "storylines" that the various selections may depict.
"For many of these students, this is the first and possibly only opportunity they will have to learn about the orchestra and symphonic music," Walters said. "Music is an important aspect of a child's education, and the Symphony Council is proud to be able to provide this concert for the children of our community."