By VICTORIA MURRAY BRAND

It is always an honor for Juilliard to be able to award a scholarship named in honor of one of its graduates. With the recently established Estonia Piano Scholarship, the School is able to grant an award named for a growing and successful company, revived by an alumnus who is as passionate about creating fine instruments as he is about music. The Estonia Piano Scholarship is named for the Estonia Piano Factory, which had its beginnings in 1893 under the piano maker Ernest Hiis, and was consolidated with craftsmen from other small factories in the mid-1900s. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the company declined rapidly until Indrek Laul (M.M. '93, D.M.A. '99, piano), then studying piano at Juilliard, took a keen interest. He eventually purchased the factory in Tallinn, and redesigned and improved the instruments. Now president of Estonia Pianos, Laul oversees distribution of his grand pianos in the U.S. and Canada. Laul (seen in photo by Toomas Volkmann, above) attended Juilliard as a scholarship student after graduating at the top of his class from the Conservatory of Music in Tallinn. He had additional study in Belgrade, and won many European piano awards. As a soloist with the Estonia National Symphony Orchestra, he has recorded for Consonant Works, including concertos by Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Grieg, and Rachmaninoff. Announcing the establishment of the Estonia Piano Scholarship, Laul said, "I have been so fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend Juilliard and study with such renowned pianists as Peter Serkin and Martin Canin that my family and I wanted other students, who might not be able to afford this privilege, to join me in this great experience." He added, "Our company has sold well over 2,500 grand pianos here in the United States and Canada during the past decade since I graduated, and this is the perfect way to show my thanks to this country and my American alma mater." — Victoria Murray Brand

In recent months, generous scholarship support has come from old and new friends of Juilliard, endowing awards that will benefit the School's actors, dancers, and musicians for years to come. The Irving Harris Foundation, through Juilliard trustee Joan Harris, made a major grant establishing the unrestricted Irving B. and Joan Harris Scholarship Fund. The Lola Maskiewitz Scholarship, a new endowed piano scholarship, came through a bequest from Ms. Maskiewitz, a California resident whose brother Michael was a concert pianist. The Joseph and Michael B. Kromelow Scholarship was begun by Hilary Josephs and her mother, Bernice Kromelow, with annual gifts. Upon the passing of Mrs. Kromelow, proceeds from three charitable gift annuities provided generous funding to endow the violin scholarship permanently. The Hanna Saxon Piano Scholarship Provided by the Chopin Council of Florida is another new endowed award, the result of generous fund-raising efforts by the Chopin Council. Younghee Kim-Wait, a member of the Juilliard Council, endowed the Soohee Kim Oh Memorial Scholarship for Leadership in Public Service, an award for Juilliard students who demonstrate leadership and commitment to community outreach and public service. Female cello students will benefit from the Thelma Altshuler Scholarship, endowed with a gift from the Estate of George Wachsteter.

For vocal arts students there is a new endowed award, the Michael L. Brunetti Scholarship in Voice, generously provided by Felix Calabrese, who also donated a Steinway Model M piano to Juilliard. Mel Silverman, who endowed a drama scholarship bearing his name several years ago, has now endowed a second award, the Mel Silverman Opera Scholarship. And like Mr. Silverman, Miriam Malach can often be found in Juilliard's audiences, which inspired her to endow the Miriam Malach Scholarship, an unrestricted award. The Dr. Edmond Lipton Memorial Scholarship, an award for music students, has been renewed by Mrs. Mildred Lipton, a longtime friend of Juilliard.

Juilliard alumni and faculty have also given generously to the scholarship fund, or have been honored by others with a scholarship in their names. Homer Mensch, a longtime Juilliard faculty member who died in 2005, made an extremely generous provision in his estate for an endowed scholarship, known as the Homer and Constance Mensch Scholarship in Double Bass. The Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences endowed the Jody and Gerard Schwarz Scholarship, honoring Jody, a flute alumna (B.M. '81, M.M. '82) and Gerard, a trumpet alumnus (B.M. '72, M.M. '90), music director and conductor of the Seattle Symphony. The Sylvia Koski Scholarship is an endowed music award in the name of Koski, who received her bachelor's degree in music education from Juilliard in 1940. David and Thomas Cooper established an award for singers, the Brenda Miller Cooper Scholarship, in honor of their mother, who also studied at Juilliard in the 1940s. The Edith and Gerda Kraft Piano Scholarship is a current award established by alumna and Juilliard faculty member Edith Kraft (B.M. '69, M.S. '70, piano) and her mother. Hiroyoshi Kita, who studied at Juilliard in the 1990s and created a percussion award in his own name, has also established the Roland Kohloff Scholarship, a memorial tribute to his teacher. The Estonia Piano Scholarship is named for the Estonia Piano Factory and honors Indrek Laul, the Estonian-born Juilliard piano alumnus who heads the company (see sidebar).

The Ferrari/Betlow Scholarship, an award for jazz students, was contributed by Mark Betlow, a colleague of Dr. Bernard Ferrari, a Juilliard trustee. The Joan S. Steinberg Dance Scholarship, honoring another Juilliard trustee, was generously provided by the Mary and James Wallach Foundation. The Bernard Bloom Scholarship in Cello Studies is a new award established as a surprise birthday gift from Rochelle Bloom to her husband. The American Society of the French Order of Merit Scholarship assists French students at Juilliard. The Harriet Aleshia Rogers Hebbard and Lester Stafford Hebbard Sr. Scholarship, a new award for pianists, stringed instrumentalists, or flutists, has been established by Lester Hebbard, in memory of his parents. Mr. Hebbard also serves as trustee of the Fima Fidelman Trust, which provides generous annual awards for violinists and pianists through the Fima and Joseph Fidelman Scholarships at Juilliard. And a Juilliard friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, established an award for keyboard students.

The Pre-College Division has three new scholarships. The Marilyn Murphy Rigg Memorial Scholarship in Piano was endowed by Chicago resident Michael Rigg, who had also created a piano scholarship in the College Division. Pre-College piano alumnus Sungjin Cho established three unrestricted scholarships, honoring his family: the Sung and Alicia Cho Scholarship, the Wayne and Joy Cho Scholarship, and the Floyd and Di-Chin Li Scholarship. The estate of Paul Dankwerth endowed the Frieda Dankwerth Scholarship for Pre-College Pianists.

The Juilliard School is very grateful for the scholarships and awards that alumni and friends have generously given this year. The School always welcomes the opportunity to discuss ways to support our educational and artistic activities through a variety of programs including unrestricted gifts, currently funded or endowed scholarships, special project support, bequests, and other planned gifts. For more information about contributing to Juilliard, please call the Office of Development and Public Affairs at (212) 799-5000, ext. 278, or visit our Web site at www.juilliard.edu/giving.

Victoria Murray Brand is manager of scholarship development.