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Helping young musicians
attend college
Applications for the 2010 scholarship are due
April 15, 2010
The 2109 scholarship will be awarded at the
Mother's Day Concert on
Sunday, May 9, 2010
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Download the scholarship application form
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Tax-deductible contributions to
the Jon Madsen
Memorial Scholarship Fund may be sent to:
Symphony in the Valley
P.O. Box 1831
Glenwood Springs, Colo.
81602
Or make a donation online using our safe PayPal account |
The Jon Madsen
Memorial Scholarship
Jon Madsen was a co-founder of Symphony in the Valley and served as its first primary conductor. After his death in 1998, the orchestra board of directors created the Jon Madsen Memorial Scholarship, to be awarded to young musicians who are members of Symphony in the Valley.
Scholarship winners
2009: no applicants
2008: Nuala Del Piccolo, Basalt, horn, Johns Hopkins University, and Annie Tempest, Carbondale, violin, Grinnell College
2007: Kory Riskey, Eagle, violin, Colorado School of Mines
2006: Lindsay Dudycha, Carbondale, clarinet, University of Northern Colorado
2005: Connor O'Meara, Glenwood Springs, clarinet, University of Northern Colorado
2004: Mary Anne Pulver, Carbondale, violin, University of Denver
2003: Sara Stotts, Aspen, cello, University of Colorado
2001: Hillary Klug, Aspen, oboe, Colby College
2000: Monique Merritt, Glenwood Springs, bassoon, Whitworth College (Spokane, Wash.); Malinda Schierkolk, Eagle, violin; Katie Satterstrom, Vail, violin
A special tribute to Jon Madsen
This tribute first appeared in the orchestra's concert program for December 1997, just a few months before Mr. Madsen's death.
When Jon Madsen lifted his baton for Symphony in the Valley's first concert on Dec. 8, 1993, he was not quite sure the volunteer community orchestra would get through the program.
"The beginning was pretty tough, and it took a lot of fortitude. But we lucked out. We pulled it off. Since then, the orchestra has grown so quickly, and musically, that our last several concerts were very successful," Mr. Madsen said.
Now, five years later, Mr. Madsen is absent from our conductor's podium. He is suffering from cancer and can no longer perform. "I'm sad that I have to leave it so soon," he said last month.
"He is one of the founding fathers of Symphony in the Valley, and that makes him a very important figure to everyone in the orchestra," said John Bokram, principal trumpet.
On the conductor's podium, Mr. Madsen was confident and relaxed with a solid foundation built on a lifetime of music.
Mr. Madsen grew up in Denver ina musical family. His father was an amateur violinist and his mother played professionally in an all-woman jazz band.
He liked the sound and tone of the flute from hearing it on records and took it up for a successful musical career. Playing came easily, and by the age of 12 he was playing difficult solo works by Bach and Mozart. He played in school bands through high school.
Upon graduation, Mr. Madsen joined the Air Force. At boot camp, he auditioned for the Air Force Band at Ellsworth Air Base in South Dakota. His talent was obvious, and Mr. Madsen soon got orders to report to the U.S. Air Force Band in Europe. It was a plum Cold War assignment to one of the Air Force's most prestigious bands.
"We worked directly for the commanding general in Europe, and we had a very big budget. Foreign governments would request us, and we'd just make our arrangements and go. We traveled from Turkey to Norway. I was in 26 different contries in two and a half years. I met all kinds of people and had a variety of colorful experiences," he recalled.
After the service, Mr. Madsen earned a bachelor's degree in music from the University of Southern Mississippi. He worked as a school band and orchestra conductor before joining the staff of Mesa Music in Grand Junction, where he manages the school music program.
In addition to conducting Symphony in the Valley from its infancy, he has performed with the Colorado Festival Orchestra, the Western Colorado Flute Choir and the Roaring Fork Chamber Players.
Music has been the continuous theme of Mr. Madsen's life.
"I've never done anything else," he said. "When I was young, I was very gung-ho. Music was the most important thing in the world. But if you don't become big and famous by the time you are 25 or 30, you have to alter your focus."
Mr. Madsen turned his attention to young people, through teaching, performing and conducting.
"In our society, we don't expose our kids to music anymore unless the parents make an effort to do it. That's one reason why I got involved in the orchestra. It's become a lost art that very few people can experience. The idea that music is just for professionals is very abhorrent to me. The little community orchestras, like Symphony in the Valley, are really important nowadays. For a lot of people, that's all they can experience."
The musicians in Symphony in the Valley have recaptured that lost art under the baton of Jon Madsen. His presence is greatly missed.
© 2009 Symphony in the Valley
P.O. Box 1831, Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81602
www.sitv.org
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