Brenda Bailey and G. Wililam Little, Jr. Voice Scholarship
Bill and Brenda Little, regulars at the IU Opera Theater, love music and attend many concerts in the area. Bill, a MS '66 graduate of IU, has even appeared in Donizetti's Elixir of Love as he made the winning bid in the IU Alumni Association's "Ultimate Bid". Of the experience he says, "From the moment I walked in, I was treated like royalty. The only rule was that I couldn't sing, 'Don't even think about it. Don't even hum!' When a prop went missing during a performance, the leading soprano clasped my elbow, looked at me wide-eyed and whispered, 'Fetch it for us, quick!' In full costume and at top speed, I felt so very important."
Aside from their love of music, Bill and Brenda are involved in many activities and hobbies. Bill is past president of the local Audubon Chapter, the Kentucky Audubon Council, and serves on the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund Board. Brenda tends a tree nursery, organic vegetable and native plants gardens at the local elementary school, and volunteers at the Senior Center as a Master Gardener.
The Little's sold their Owensboro cemetary business in 1996, and established a Charitable Remainder Unitrust to support their favorite organizations, the Jacobs School of Music being one of them with two scholarships.
The Brenda Bailey and G. William Little, Jr. Voice Scholarship is awarded to incoming first-year students who are majoring in Voice at the Jacobs School.