Susan Panciera Memorial Scholarship

The Selection Committee of the Susan Panciera Memorial Scholarship Fund is pleased to announce their first class of scholarship winners. They are Jennifer Shin (Rochester, NY), Grace Jackson (Edmond, OK), Patricia Wang (Los Angeles, CA), and Agnes Barthel (Duluth, MN). According to Joel Panciera, “after taking the necessary time for the fund to grow and to build contacts with university sacred music departments around the country, we were ready to launch the program. It is really exciting!” The Selection Committee received student applications representing many of the most distinguished church music programs in our country including Notre Dame, USC, the Universities of Michigan, Oklahoma, & West Virginia, the Eastman School of Music, St. Olaf College, Baylor University, and the University of St. Thomas. In addition to a resume and references, all applicants submitted a brief essay plus videos of their work.

The fund is designed to honor Susan Panciera’s ministry by supporting the education and training of musicians seeking a career in church music. To learn more about the fund, visit: spancierascholarship.org.

The selection process focused on two main factors: excellent musicians who demonstrate significant skill and a commitment to their craft, plus young people who show leadership potential as future professionals. “While musical skill is important, we were also looking for people who view music ministry primarily as a means to serve God and God’s people. This was Susan’s passion and I’m so grateful to the members of the committee, Ginny LeDoux, Graham Brannin, and Evan Anderson – as well as the many folks at Boston Avenue United Methodist Church who shared generous gifts to support the Scholarship Fund to honor Susan. We feel confident that this fund will significantly help many young church musicians become excellent leaders in the church, plus greatly enrich the spiritual life of congregations,” says Panciera.

If you would like to enhance and strengthen the reach of this project while also honoring Susan’s legacy, you can: 1) send a check to the Finance Office made out to Boston Avenue Church with a memo-Panciera Music Endowment, or 2) select the GIVING button on the www.bostonavenue.org website and designate your gift to the Panciera Music Endowment Fund.