Thriving on Community Involvement and Giving: State College of Florida’s Performing Arts

By Tom Reese | Photos Courtesy of SCF | September 2024

It’s no secret that the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) is an integral part of the Sarasota-Manatee community. Originally established in 1957, SCF proudly serves as the region’s premier public college. Annually, SCF caters to over 10,000 college credit students across its Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, and Venice campuses, as well as through a wide range of online courses.

However, many people don’t realize that SCF is the only higher education institution in the area with undergraduate programs in music and theater. In addition, 99% of those students enrolled in performing arts programs live in Sarasota and Manatee counties, making it an intimate and local environment for everyone involved. 

Currently, SCF offers three programs in the Performing Arts Department: Music, Music Production, and Theatre. Students enrolled in these programs get the opportunity to learn from distinguished faculty, use state of the art facilities, perform live, and complete internships with world class performing arts professionals.

The college has several cutting-edge venues for the performing arts where students can complete their studies. The SCF Neel Performing Arts Center has served as a community hub for Sarasota and Manatee Counties since 1966. This venue hosts both college and community-sponsored events, and the main performance hall was beautifully remodeled in 1999.Third party events include concerts, ballets, and other world class performances from the likes of Floyd Nation and an upcoming Fleetwood Mac Experience in January 2025. 

The David S. and Anne V. Howard Studio Theatre serves as home for the SCF Theatre Program, which hosts 4-5 performances throughout the year as students progress through their studies. In 2021, the Studio for the Performing Arts Recital Hall opened its doors, providing a 150-seat, acoustically designed, state-of-the-art performance space for smaller recitals, lectures and more.

For students studying music production, the 26 West Creative Studio boasts a cutting-edge media production studio, equipped to professional standards. The studio features a stage set, cameras, control room, audience seating, and additional amenities. 

Many students involved in SCF’s Performing Arts Department heavily rely on scholarships and other opportunities available through the SCF Foundation to pursue their dreams and passions. While there is a comprehensive list of many different scholarships, the need for more community support, giving, and sponsorships is real. 

There are already several scholarships that are funded each year by people and/or organizations in our community. Any person or organization could donate to these existing scholarships, or create their own scholarship. Creating an annual named scholarship requires a minimum contribution of $4,500 and may be paid over three consecutive years. The scholarship will be awarded on an annual basis per selection criteria.

One example of a scholarship like this is the Music Excellence Scholarship. Every year, generous community members contribute to this fund to support a student selected by the faculty to join the SCF Presidential String Quartet and SCF Presidential Jazz Combo. These talented students are awarded $1,500 per semester to rehearse and showcase their musical abilities, essentially serving as the college’s outreach arm for the SCF Music Program. The groups’ performances play a crucial role in various college fundraising events, community outreach initiatives, local organizations’ luncheons and dinners, as well as corporate sponsor business gatherings.

Donors of the Music Excellence Scholarship are paired with a student from the SCF Presidential String Quartet or SCF Presidential Jazz Combo, whom they can mentor, attend performances of, and support. The $5,000 sponsorship fee covers the student’s tuition, as well as administrative costs like purchasing music, repairing instruments, marketing, uniforms, faculty stipends, and other program expenses.

Carol Beeler, a local resident, has been sponsoring two students a year for the past 9 years with her late husband as part of the Music Excellence Program. She is very passionate about being heavily involved in each student’s lives, serving as both a role model and a mentor as they complete their studies. She keeps in contact with each student and has seen several of them go on to begin successful careers and even pursue doctorate degrees. As this year’s fall school season begins, she will have sponsored over 20 students across SCF and the Asolo Repertory Theatre. 

“A lot of the students I sponsor have unfortunately lacked prominent role models in their lives. I do my best to get to know them and help them on their journey,” explained Carol. “One of the lessons that I always give my students is paying it forward and helping others around you.” 

Another example of a recurring scholarship is the Cascades Community Scholarship. Each year, the SCF Symphonic Band performs a concert at the Cascades Community in Sarasota on a Sunday afternoon. The residents of the Cascades buy tickets and make donations to support two $1,500 scholarships each year. Cascades resident Stu Krams started this scholarship program and organizes these performances every year. 

“This past year was the 12th year we’ve gathered as a community for this performance and scholarship. It’s really taken on a life of its own,” explains Stu. “The first year we raised around $700, and it has grown to where last year we raised over $3,800. The students benefit directly from the scholarship money and we help pay for the coaches of these groups.”

The Cascades Community Scholarship is a wonderful example of how a tight knit community can make a difference without one single large donation. Every year, a resident and neighbor of Stu donates over $1,000 of his own money to help produce the concert and add to the overall contributions of their community. We could all stand to benefit if more residential communities did more acts of kindness like this. 

Another wonderful way to help SCF’s Performing Arts programs is through a legacy endowment or legacy gift. The gains from these funds are then distributed to SCF Music students. Establishing an endowed scholarship is a meaningful way to support the arts in perpetuity. Donors with a passion for music and/or theater can create a named, endowed scholarship by contributing a minimum of $25,000, which can be paid over five years. Once the scholarship is fully funded, it will be awarded annually based on the donor’s specified selection criteria.

Examples of this in action are the following: The Koenig Endowed Fund, a scholarship that is used to offset the cost of tuition for private lesson classes all music majors are required to take and to help pay for any equipment the student may need. The Max Corzillius Endowed Music Scholarship, where SCF Music faculty choose between 6 and 12 students to receive $1,000 to $1,500 a year. The Eaton Fund, used for facilitating additional funding needs of the SCF Music Program such paying for guest solo artists, masterclasses, and more. 

The SCF Foundation also offers a variety of music and theater funds that community members can support through regular donations. Donors can choose to contribute to the funds that align with their specific interests and priorities. There are no restrictions on the donation amount for these funds.

Outside of scholarship and endowment funds, general philanthropy is a primary reason these programs at SCF exist today. A fundraiser resulted in over $7 million for SCF to create an addition to the SCF Music and Theatre Building that contains 12 practice rooms, music faculty offices, instrument storage rooms, choral rehearsal room, percussion Studio, choral music library, and a 150-seat recital hall. 

“Most of our students are overcoming many barriers to their education like financial constraints and geography. Some of them are first generation college students where completing FAFSA forms for financial aid can be tough to navigate. It’s the donors that are really helping these students complete their degrees and achieve the American dream of making a career in performing arts or becoming a music educator,” said Cassandra Holmes, Executive Director of the SCF Foundation. 

There are several options to make a lasting impact, such as establishing an endowed scholarship, creating a named scholarship, contributing to an existing scholarship fund, supporting a specific program or ensemble, donating or purchasing an instrument, or even endowing a faculty chair. Even just attending performances at the SCF Neel Performing Arts Center can be beneficial by giving the students an audience and supporting the programs through ticket costs. 

“If you want to get involved, but you’re not sure how, start small. If you have particular interests in either mentoring, financing, coaching, or simply attending performances, figure out how to dip your toes into the water and help these students. You could even go in with other friends or family to help sponsor a student,” said Carol Beeler.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on the SCF Foundation or getting involved, visit scf-foundation.org/donate2arts or call 941-752-5390.