$2,500 Award for 2021 – M. Louise Miller – Paul E. Knox Scholarship
A scholarship fund was established in 1998 to honor the life and work of Dr. M. Louise Miller (1914 – 2008), a founding member (1948) of the Greater Bridgeport chapter, and to recognize her great achievements in the fields of church music, organ playing and teaching. In 2015, through a generous gift from the estate of Dr. Paul E. Knox (1930-2015), an esteemed colleague of Dr. Miller and outstanding church musician and teacher, the Greater Bridgeport Chapter of the AGO renamed the scholarship and increased the award amount. A $2,500 scholarship will be awarded in June 2021 to an undergraduate student pursuing study in fall 2021 at an American college, conservatory, or university, leading toward a career in organ performance and church music. The winner will also be invited to play a recital in Connecticut for the AGO.
The application process includes writing a short essay and submitting a recording of two standard organ pieces (Bach and Romantic). Application deadline is June 1, 2021. MLMillerPEKnoxScholarship2021v1 for the .pdf version of the application form and detail instructions (check you Download area for the .pdf). Please email John Polo for a Microsoft Word version of the application form for completion or any other questions at LMillerPKnoxScholarship@gmail.com
Galen Tate
Chair, M. Louise Miller-Paul E. Knox Scholarship
Judges – Galen Tate, Dr. Alice Caldwell, Dr. Stephen Rapp, Dr. Heitor Caballero
Scholarship Treasurer/Program/Technical Support – John J. Polo
Greater Bridgeport AGO
Former Judges – K. Bryan Kirk, Paul Knox, Dr. John Michniewicz, Dr. Paul Jacobson
Previous Winners
Nathan Pennington
Elena Baquerizo
Jeremy Paul Jelinek
Alden Wright
David von Behren
Colin MacKnight
Katelyn Emerson
Amanda Mole
Mary Pan
Kevin Neel
Nicholas Capozzoli
Christopher Howerter
Scott Montgomery
Susan Beisner Powell
Frederick Teardo
Congratulations Hannah Engwall – 2020 Winner!
Hannah Engwall is a senior at Concordia University Wisconsin and will be graduating in May 2021 with a major in Parish Music and a minor in Christian Thought. She currently studies organ with Dr. James Freese and also participates in the university’s touring choir as alto section leader. A life-long Floridian, Hannah began playing regularly at churches in the Tampa Bay area when she was sixteen and is currently the organist at Bethel Lutheran Church, Clearwater, FL. She attended organist workshops taught by Kantor Kevin Hildebrand and Kantor Matthew Machemer at Concordia Theological Seminary—Fort Wayne for four summers during high school, gaining a better understanding of hymnody and service playing. For the 2019 National Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod held in Tampa, she was the assistant organist and choir accompanist for the opening service, with approximately 3,000 people in attendance. After graduation, her goal is to be called to an LCMS congregation as an organist and music director.