Last week during the IBMA Industry Awards luncheon, the IBMA Foundation announced two new educational initiatives for promising bluegrass students to help cover the costs of instruction and schooling. Both have been created in honor of iconic instrumental performers who have died in recent years, Terry Baucom and Mike Auldridge.
Like the several other similar scholarships created within the IBMA Foundation, these two have been launched through the efforts of individual members of the bluegrass community with an initial founding donation, with hopes that additional ongoing donations will not only keep the awards going in perpetuity, but even allow the amount of funds to be distributed to grow over time.
The Terry Baucom Education Grant has been established by his widow, Cindy Baucom, who is also a prominent member of the professional bluegrass world through her syndicated radio program, Knee Deep in Bluegrass. Grants will be provided year round for such expenses as lessons, educational materials, instrument repair, workshops and camps, and such other items as the Foundation may deem appropriate, for players of all ages on any instruments. Applications for assistance will be provided at the IBMA Foundation web site starting January 1, 2025.
Baucom, of course, is among the few most influential banjo players in bluegrass history, known for his impeccable timing, powerful, driving style, and his synthesis of the approaches of artists like Earl Scruggs, Bill Emerson, and J.D. Crowe. Terry first appeared on the national scene as a member of Boone Creek in 1976, and later also served as a founding member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, IIIrd Tyme Out, and BlueRidge, and played with Lou Reid in Carolina before forming his own band, The Dukes of Drive, with whom he performed until his passing in December of 2023.
Terry is also fondly remembered for his biting sense of humor, and his enduring love for the key of B.
Cindy says that she feels this grant is a perfect way to honor Bauc going forward.
“I can think of no better way to honor Terry’s memory than to help provide assistance to aspiring musicians. 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.”
Also coming in 2025 is the Mike Auldridge Memorial Scholarship, established by Maryland reso-guitarist Howard Parker, which will offer tuition assistance for anyone studying resophonic guitar, steel guitar, or acoustic guitar on the college level, with a bluegrass or roots music focus. Parker is not only a professional player himself, he worked for many years at Beard Guitars who have made a signature Mike Auldridge model for some years now.
While most of us think of Mike from his time with The Seldom Scene, of which he was a founding member, he had a long career in the DC-region before that. Having recorded and toured with Emerson and Waldron, Cliff Waldron & the New Shades of Grass, and The Country Gentlemen, he was already cemented into the consciousness of slide players worldwide by the time he launched the Scene with John Duffey, Ben Eldridge, Tom Gray, and John Starling in 1971. After a quarter century, Mike left the band but continued to perform and record, both under his own name and with others, until his passing in 2012.
He is universally regarded as the “next step” in reso-guitar following the pioneering efforts of early grassers like Josh Graves, Pete Kirby (Brother Oswald), and Tut Taylor.
A long time student and friend of Mike’s, Parker sees this scholarship as continuing Auldridge’s own passion for teaching.
“In addition to Mike’s legendary playing, he was known as the ultimate educator. 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.”
Like the Baucom grant, application forms for the Mike Auldridge Memorial Scholarship will be provided online in the new year.
The entry of these two new awards brings the educational offerings of the IBMA Foundation to include:
Annual scholarships
- Mike Auldridge Memorial Scholarship
- Gloria Belle Memorial Scholarship
- J. D. Crowe Banjo Scholarship
- Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sount Engineering Scholarship
- Sally Ann Forrester Scholarship
- IBMA Bluegrass College Scholarship
- Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship.
Educational grants
- Terry Baucom Bluegrass Education Grant (year-round)
- Fletcher Bright Memorial Grant for Young Musicians (year-round)
- Bluegrass in the Schools Mini-grants (year-round)
- Neil Rosenberg Bluegrass Scholar Award (annual)
- IBMA Foundation Project Grants (annual)
- Arnold Shultz Fund Grants (annual).
More information about all of these programs can be found online.
The IBMA Foundation is dependent on donations from the public, where contributions are tax-deductible in most cases. They have many programs that make it easy to give, with one-time donations, ongoing gifts, bequests, or donations of property.
