September 26 at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass Week in Raleigh, North Carolina, the IBMA Foundation announced the launch of two exciting initiatives. The Terry Baucom Bluegrass Education Grant, created by Cindy Baucom, will help cover expenses of lessons, educational materials, instrument repair, workshops, and camps for bluegrass musicians of all ages. The Mike Auldridge Memorial Scholarship, created by Howard Parker, will benefit individuals studying the resophonic guitar, steel guitar, or acoustic guitar on the college level with a bluegrass or roots music focus. Baucom is pictured in the top left photo, and Auldridge is on the right.
The deadline to apply for Mike Auldridge Memorial Scholarship and the new Gloria Belle Memorial Scholarship announced last summer is June 1, 2025. Forms will be online at Bluegrassfoundation.org by March 1, 2025, and all seven scholarships plus the Rosenberg Bluegrass Scholar Award will be awarded for the fall semester of the 2025-26 school year. Applications for the Terry Baucom Bluegrass Education Grant may be submitted year round at Bluegrassfoundation.org, starting January 1, 2025.
“I can think of no better way to honor Terry’s memory than to help provide assistance to aspiring musicians,” Cindy Baucom said. “He was always an encourager to younger players. He touched the world with his gift and would want the music to continue to grow and thrive by helping up-and-coming players.” Cindy Baucom is the host of the Knee Deep in Bluegrass syndicated radio program that airs in 100 markets nationwide, the host of Stained Glass Bluegrass on Sunday mornings at bluegrasscountry.com, and a sought after festival emcee. Cindy was named the IBMA’s 2024 Broadcaster of the Year (her third time to win the award), and she was also recognized this year with the IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award for lifetime contributions to bluegrass music.
Terry Baucom (1952-2023), was a bluegrass musician known for his immediately recognizable, hard driving banjo style, as well as for his skills on fiddle and vocals. He led his own band, The Dukes of Drive, and he was a founding member of Boone Creek, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and IIIrd Tyme Out. He also performed with Charlie Moore, The New Quicksilver, BlueRidge, Lou Reid & Carolina, the Kenny & Amanda Smith Band, Dale Ann Bradley, the Mashville Brigade, and others. His wife Cindy managed the Dukes of Drive and sometimes joined them onstage on vocals and bass.
Mike Auldridge (1938-2012) was a legendary Dobro stylist whose music continues to influence the generations of resophonic guitarists who have followed him. A graphic design artist for a commercial art firm in Bethesda, Maryland, and then for the Washington Star-News, Mike was a founding member of the award-winning Seldom Scene. He designed several of the band’s early album covers, as well as the logo for Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. Mike is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame twice—in 2014 as a member of the Scene and again in 2019 as a solo artist. Auldridge also performed with Emerson and Waldron, Cliff Waldron and the New Shades of Grass, The Country Gentlemen, Chesapeake, The Good Deale Bluegrass Band, John Starling and Carolina Star, and Darren Beachley and the Legends of the Potomac. He also toured with Emmylou Harris and the Lyle Lovett Band. Auldridge received the IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award for lifetime contributions to bluegrass music in 2007 and the 2012 National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
“In addition to Mike’s legendary playing, he was known as the ultimate educator,” said Howard Parker, a Dobro and steel guitar player himself. “There were formal settings like ResoSummit. There were also the hundreds of players who made the pilgrimage to the Auldridge home to learn from the master, a gentle man full of grace and humor. In his memory we carry on.”
“The IBMA Foundation is focused on making the future of bluegrass music brighter,” said Executive Director Nancy Cardwell. “The addition of the Mike Auldridge and Gloria Belle scholarships and the Terry Baucom Bluegrass Education Grant in 2025 will help us encourage and support even more college students and bluegrass musicians of all ages to improve their skills and keep bluegrass music alive and thriving for generations to come.”
The IBMA Foundation awards the following college and technical training scholarships annually:
Mike Auldridge Memorial Scholarship
Gloria Belle Memorial Scholarship
J.D. Crowe Banjo Scholarship
Katy Daley Broadcast Media/ Sound Engineering Scholarship
Sally Ann Forrester Scholarship
IBMA Bluegrass College Scholarship
Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship.
IBMA Foundation grants include:
Terry Baucom Bluegrass Education Grant (year-round)
Fletcher Bright Memorial Grant for Young Musicians (year-round)
Bluegrass in the Schools Mini-grants (year-round)
IBMA Foundation Project Grants (annual)
Neil Rosenberg Bluegrass Scholar Award
Arnold Shultz Fund Grants (annual).
The IBMA Foundation supports programs fostering the growth of bluegrass music through charitable donations and planned giving. The Foundation supports individuals and initiatives in the areas of bluegrass-related education, arts and culture, literary work, academic programs, and historic preservation. For more information about the IBMA Foundation, please go to Bluegrassfoundation.org or email info@bluegrassfoundation.org. Your donation to the IBMA Foundation can change the world with bluegrass music!
RETURN to the October 2024 issue of The Cornerstone.
Apply for the Terry Baucom Bluegrass Education Grant here, starting January 1, 2025.
Apply for the Mike Auldridge Memorial Scholarship starting March 1, 2025 (deadline: June 1, 2025), at the “Scholarships & Grants” tab above.
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