Mayor Charlie Hales and The Kingsmen amongst a sea of Lincoln, Wilson and David Douglas High School students on Louie Louie Day in 2013Although the Oregon Music Hall of Fame may be most known for its namesake induction ceremony, the organization is "far more than a musty hall of fame," as Vortex's Don Campbell wrote in our history of the nonprofit.
“Today, most of our efforts are music education,” says board president and Music Millennium owner Terry Currier, and that includes a profound statewide reach.
Two programs—a volunteer-run music in the schools offering and educational scholarships—are the thrust of OMHOF’s efforts. Janeen Rundle, co-founder and director of music education programs, spearheads workshops and assemblies alongside rock violinist Aaron Meyer, who, since 2009, has performed some 80 school assemblies to some 35,000 young people, many of whom lost music education due to school budget cuts.
In its first year of operation, the group scraped together a single $500 scholarship. By the second year, OMHOF was cutting checks for four to five $1,000 scholarships.
Now in 2015, four deserving recipients will each receive $2,500 scholarships. Limited to Oregon high school students graduating this spring, “each applicant should be a student studying music”—whether vocal or instrumental—with plans to continue his or her “collegiate academics as a major or minor in music at any college or university in the country,” OMHOF states.
Since 2007 and some 26 scholarships awarded totaling $35,500, “We strive to inspire continuation of higher musical education by offering assistance with college expenses so that musical students may aspire to the level of those that have musically made an impact before.”
Click to see a whole gallery of photos from the 2014 induction ceremony by John AlcalaSuch an impact is seen every year at the annual OMHOF induction ceremony, with this year’s class including Pink Martini, The Dandy Warhols, Jay "Bird" Koder, Dr. Demento and many other notable artists, side players and industry influencers.
Applications will not be accepted via email, and completed applications must be postmarked by February 14 and mailed to:
Oregon Music Hall of Fame
c/o Scholarship Committee
P.O. Box 82173
Portland, OR 97282
Download an application here, or for more information on scholarships or assemblies, please visit OMHOF’s website or contact Janeen Rundle, Sr. Loan Officer at Eagle Home Mortgage: janeen [at] omhof.org.
