CTBA-Willa Beach-Porter Scholarship

Willa Beach-Porter CTBA Music Scholarship Fund

Bluegrass will survive and thrive only if talented young musicians carry it forward into the future. The Central Texas Bluegrass Association has established the Willa Beach-Porter CTBA Scholarship Fund, with income used to pay for scholarship awards to students who have demonstrated a serious interest and performance talent in bluegrass music, and who show a need for financial assistance to support their musical studies.

This scholarship is named after Willa Beach-Porter, a long-time supporter of bluegrass music and of the Central Texas Bluegrass Association. Willa was a wonderful fiddler and a great person. She will be missed by all who were lucky enough to know her.

We were very happy to hear that our small gesture to honor Willa touched the hearts of Willa's family. The CTBA gratefully acknowledges very generous contributions from Renfroe Ross Beach, Willa's Dad, and from other members of Willa's family in support of this scholarship.

The amount of the scholarship is set by the directors of the Central Texas Bluegrass Association and is to assist the recipient in covering the tuition and room and board at any bluegrass camp that he or she may want to attend.

Your donation will help us continue this great program. Please click donate at top right, and contact us to assure your contribution goes to the scholarship fund. Our email and address for correspondance can be found here.

You can download an Application (.doc) for the scholarship. Please note that you must be a Texas resident in order to qualify.

Past Recipients

John Peyton Shafer "JP", Devin Paynkewicz & Adam Greer

2010 Scholarship Recipients

Adam Greer, a 16-year-old banjo player from Burton, Texas, John Peyton Shafer "JP", a 15-year-old mandolin player from Woodway, Texas, and Devin Paynkewicz, a 12 year old mandolin player from Baytown, Texas were are the winners for the 2010 Willa Beach-Porter Scholarship. Adam has been playing the banjo for 8 years, and he became the youngest ever to win the Texas State Banjo Championship at the age of 14 in 2008. JP came highly recommended as a very disciplined musician who has already been involved with three bands including Blackland Prairie, Highlands Crossing, and more recently, Dueling Hearts. He is also a regular performer and jammer at the monthly bluegrass shows in Pearl, Texas. Devin, the youngest scholarship recipient, set out for camp with a mandolin in his hands, but developed a serious interest in banjo while at camp. He is currently saving his money in hopes of being able to go back to the camp next year. For more, see: Vol 32, No. 9

Bethany Rankin &
Brett Hawthorne

2009 Scholarship Recipients

Bethany Rankin and Brett Hawthorne are the winners of the 2009 Willa Beach-Porter Scholarship Award. Bethany is from Robinson, Texas (near Waco), and Brett is from Abernathy, north of Lubbock. Both players were highly recommended by their local area mentors, and each carries on a family tradition of bluegrass from previous generations. For more on Bethany and Brett, see our September 2009 Newsletter feature: Vol 31, No. 9

Backstage and
Janice Rogers

2007 Scholarship Recipients

The 2007 Willa Beach-Porter Scholarship was awarded to a group of young musicians from Clay County this year. The name of their Band is "Backstage," with member Riley Mathews, Jill Corley, Tyler Colley and Erika Richardson. Three of them were thirteen year olds and one was twelve years old. They took classes related to their instruments but also took private lessons. They sent us very nice emails thanking us for helping them participate in Camp Bluegrass this year. They were overjoyed at the fact that they were permitted to participate as a band rather than as individuals; individually they might not have all been able to attend. Janice Rogers, a friend of Willa Porter, joined the group with their certificates in the picture above.

Amy Bell

2006 Scholarship Recipient

Here's what Amy said about her experience:

I want to express my deepest appreciation to the Central Texas Bluegrass Association for awarding me a scholarship to Camp Bluegrass at South Plains College in Levelland. It was truly a wonderful experience! I made many new friends and brought home lots of new material with which to keep me busy learning for a l ong time to come.You helped make this experience possible for me and I will forever be indebted to you for your generosity.

I am planning on pursuing a commercial music degree at South Plains College and I know that my week at Camp Bluegrass helped me in getting one step closer to my educational goals. Thank you again for all you did for me!

Amy Bell

Christopher Quinters

2005 Scholarship Recipient

Christopher Quinters of Magnolia, Texas was the recipient of the 2005 CTBA Willa Porter Music Scholarship. Here's what Christopher said about his experience:

Thank you for choosing me to be this year's scholarship recipient. My trip to Camp Bluegrass was a truly wonderful experience. It's hard to decide which part was my favorite. It was good to learn from so many banjo teachers, and to have had private lessons. It has helped me work toward picking a tune out by ear. It has also made me understand the banjo better.

The concerts every night were awesome. I enjoyed hearing all the talent the instructors had to offer. While I was there, I met a lot of great people. I am trying to work towards coming back next year. This was a very valuable experience. Thank you again.

Christopher Quinters

Finn Lynch

2004 Scholarship Recipient

Finn Lynch, a 12-year-old banjo player, was our 2004 Scholarship recipient. Here is what Finn had to say about his experience:

Dear Board and Members of the CTBA,

Thank you for the scholarship to Camp Bluegrass. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and learned quite a bit even in the relaxed atmosphere. The classes were especially helpful and gave me a view towards banjo playing that is hard to get when you have had the same teacher for three years. After classes I had no trouble finding the right organized jam for me. Even after that I had the concert to look forward to, my favorite being the all-banjo special. I appreciated being able to jam as much as I wanted afterwards in the lobby. This camp really impacted my playing and my attitude towards bluegrass. I look forward to coming back next year!

Your scholarship recipient,

Finn Lynch