Twelve Scioto County and Greenup County graduates received 2023 Dorothy Knost Music Scholarships totaling $34,000, Kay Bouyack, chairperson of the Knost Scholarship Committee, has announced.
Awards ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 went to five freshmen, four sophomores and three juniors who are majoring in music performance, music education or music technology at a various colleges and universities in Ohio and Kentucky.
Freshman Joanna Angus, a 2023 graduate of South Webster High School, will major in music education at Cedarville University. She hopes to become a secondary school music teacher and a mentor to kids. Her goal in life is helping others along the way to reaching their goals, she says.
Micah Bradshaw, who graduated from Valley High School in this spring, will attend Ohio State University to pursue a music education degree. Bradshaw will be in the ROTC program at OSU and an army officer when he graduates. Then his goal is to be a music teacher in Scioto County.
Connor Gray, a graduate of Portsmouth West High School in 2023, is an incoming freshman at Ohio University where he will study music education with an instrumental emphasis. He aims to graduate Magna Cum Laude in 1 – 12 K music education and then go back to school to earn a Master’s Degree and possibly a Doctorate Degree in Education.
Harper Grizzle, a 2023 graduate of Russell High School in Kentucky, will major in music education at Eastern Kentucky University. She will work toward a Bachelor’s Degree in Choral Music Education at EKU with plans to become a high school choir director and eventually get a doctorate degree to become a collegiate voice professor and choral director.
Portsmouth West High School 2023 graduate Abigail Hazelbaker will work toward a degree in voice performance at Baldwin Wallace University. Abigail’s goal is to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in voice performance and possibly earn a Master’s Degree. She hopes to perform in operas and musical theatre venues throughout the world.
Bryson Hunt, a 2022 graduate of Russell High School, is a sophomore in the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, earning a degree in music. Bryson’s goal is to teach music professionally for the rest of his life and to use his passion for music to teach students in less priviledged areas and countries.
Sophomore Tyler Leadingham is pursuing a degree in music performance at the University of Kentucky. Leadingham is a 2022 graduate of Russell High School and hopes to have his own percussion studio after graduating from college. Another option, he says, is to move to Nashville, Tennesee and gig as a drummer for any band that needs him.
Racheal Ray, a 2022 Minford High School graduate, is working toward a degree in music education at Morehead State University in Kentucky. She also wants to earn Master’s and Doctorate Degrees in a specific field of music and “change lives for the better as she can.”
Taran Willis, a graduate of Portsmouth West High School in 2022, is now a sophomore at Capital University studying for a degree in Music Technology. After graduating from college, he
plans to start working in music production by getting a job in a recording studio. Long term, he wants to open his own recording studio.
Joel Caniff, a 2021 graduate of Minford High School, is a junior at The Ohio State University where he is a music education major. His ultimate goal is to teach music at the collegiate level while maintaining a performance schedule and doing community outreach work.
Emily Clausing, who graduated from Clay High School in 2021, wants to work in music education and from there go into educational reform. She wants to be part of reforming educational systems and setting curricular standards for future generations.
William Gilbert, also a 2021 Minford High School graduate, is a junior music education major at Ohio University. His goal is to earn a Master’s Degree in either music education or in performance which will give him aspects in musical training from professors at different colleges. He also hopes to be the director of a community band.
Students can apply for a Knost Music Scholarship through the Scioto Foundation’s regular on-line process; the 2024 application deadline will be announced in the fall.
Criteria for Knost Scholarship consideration include musical ability, high scholastic
achievement, good moral character, school and community activities and evidence of financial need. Knost Scholarship applicants should be at least a junior in a Scioto County or Greenup County high school. The scholarships can be awarded to juniors to help fund attendance at a summer music camp at least six weeks in length or to seniors to assist with undergraduate college
studies in music education or music performance.
In addition to filling out the application form and providing necessary documents, applicants for the Knost Scholarship must be available for a brief performance audition at a time to
be scheduled in late spring. If a video audition is absolutely necessary instead of a live one, it must be solo only plus an accompanist if needed; no ensemble or full production videos will be accepted. If there is no accompanist, applicants must submit a musical score to the committee.
Further information regarding the Dorothy Knost Music Scholarships may be obtained by contacting Kay Bouyack, chairperson of the Knost Music Scholarship Committee, at (740) 353-8292 or Ginnie Moore, Grants and Coordinator for the Scioto Foundation at (740) 354-4612.
