Jerold and Lee Dougherty Ross Award
With leadership gifts from the founders of the Artist Series Concerts and funding by others, the Jerold and Lee Dougherty Ross was begun in 2002 and is designated as the first prize in the Senior Division. Jerold and Lee Dougherty Ross remain highly involved in all aspects of the Artists Series Concerts and continually share with the community their love and appreciation of music and those who perform.
The Virginnia B. Toulmin Performance Award
Philanthropist and humanitarian Virginia Toulmin was a longtime friend of the Artist Series of Sarasota. She served on the Board of Trustees and as chair of the Scholarship Program. Until her passing in June 2010 she continued her involvement with the Artist Series as a founding member of its Emeritus Council and Honorary Chair of the Artist Series Scholarship Program.
In addition to her service and commitment to the Artist Series, Mrs. Toulmin was active in and provided financial support to many other non-profit organizations in Sarasota, in other parts of the country, and inother countries of the world.
Her leadership gifts along with those of others first established the Artist Series of Sarasota Scholarship Fund in 2002, and her ongoing gifts have helped to transform the Program into an annual statewide competition that assists career-potential young musicians in their education and in launching their careers in music. The Virginia B Toulmin Award goes to the first prize winner in the Junior Division.
Mary Thienes Schunemann Award
Music is defined as the art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, rhythm, and timbre. Mary’s life (1960-2007), as stated by a friend was, “…a wellspring of song, she gave her music with ceaseless generosity to all who wished for it. We think of her outpouring radiant joy, sunlight, color, beauty, humor, outrageousness; trying to make the world more beautiful…spontaneous…seeking on earth what was a true reflection of the spirit. She had depth of soul, and appreciated inner and outer beautyequally.”
It is both joyful and appropriate that Mary Thienes Schunemann’s life be remembered annually with the giving of a gift that will assist a musically talented young person in his or her discovery of what is “…continuous, unified, and evocative” – to explore that which we call music. Initiated in 2007 by Mary’s father, Dr. R. Lawrence Thienes, the Scholarship fund continues to receive gifts from those whose lives Marytouched. With each award the Artist Series Concerts is pleased to provide a brief history of Mary’s life in music in the hope that it will serve as inspiration for the recipient.
Gary Rideout Memorial Fund
The Sarasota arts community and the music community around the world was saddened by the early passing of tenor Gary Rideout in 2007. The Canadian-bornsinger had resided in Sarasota for four years and served as a judge for theArtist Series of Sarasota’s 2007 Scholarship Program.
The Artist Series of Sarasota is honored that Gary’s family and friends have selected our organization to administer a memorial scholarship fund in GaryRideout’s name. Funds will be used to assist young artists who have completed graduate and apprentice work in transitioning into the professional world.
The Donald Britt Award
As part of the Artist Series Scholarship Program, each year 12 semi-finalists come to Sarasota to participate in a live competition in which six receive awards. Arts advocate and activist, Donald Britt, has provided a fund through 2013 which will give cash awards to the additional six that will defray their out-of-pocket costs of participating in the competition.
