(Updated, October 2026)
The Northeast Ohio Chapter of the American Guild of Organists is pleased to offer two types of scholarships.
Application form can be downloaded from here. Completed applications should be sent to Tom Curry, Scholarship Chair, at [email protected]
1. Eligibility: the applicant either lives, works, or studies in one of these Ohio counties: Erie, Huron, Lorain, Ashland, Cuyahoga, Medina, Wayne, Summit, Stark, Lake, Geauga, Portage, or Ashtabula.
2. Two scholarships are available:
a. Robert Quade and Karel Paukert Scholarship for High School and College students. Ex: lessons, music, shoes, etc. (N. B. This scholarship cannot be used by collegiate organ majors to pay for primary lessons. Secondary students are welcome to apply to cover the costs of their instruction.)
b. Karen Holtkamp Memorial Professional Development Fund. Ex: funding support for recital travel, research projects, and other professional development opportunities. Awardees will be asked to present either a recital or the findings of their research free of charge to the chapter as part of an upcoming program.
3. Students who have received scholarships in the past are encouraged to re-apply but preference is given to first-time applicants.
4. There is no deadline for applications. As applications are received, they will be reviewed and presented to the Executive Committee on a rolling basis. The number of applications received and funds available will determine how many scholarships are given in any given year.
5. Executive Committee Members who have current or former students applying must recuse themselves from voting to approve funding.
Dedicatee Biographies
Robert Quade devoted his life to sharing his gifts through liturgical music. For 33 years he served as Organist-Choirmaster at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Akron where he took the choirs on several overseas tours. He instituted the first RSCM Ohio Course for boys and adults held at the Diocese of Ohio’s conference center.
Karel Paukert was known through his work at the Cleveland Museum of Art where he played over 800 recitals as well as his avant-garde music programming. He taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) and served as Organist and Choirmaster at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights for 46 years.
Karen Holtkamp was head of Karen McFarlane Artists from from 1976 to 2000 where she represented some of the world’s finest concert organists from the U.S. and abroad, along with choirs in the English choral tradition. She was a devoted church musician throughout her life, serving as organist and conductor at multiple churches including St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Marcos, TX, The Riverside Church and Park Avenue Christian Church in New York City, and Church of the Covenant in Cleveland.