Roe Van Boskirk Memorial Scholarship Fund
Established by Dr. and Mrs. Van Boskirk in 1996, this scholarship honors the memory of their son Roe Van Boskirk, a talented educator, musician, and performer. Roe Van Boskirk received his master's and doctorate degrees in piano performance (1973, 1983) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he served as teaching assistant to his renowned mentor, Menahem Pressler.
For nine years Mr. Van Boskirk was an associate professor of piano at Eastern Kentucky University until he became ill with AIDS in 1986. He also taught at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, and at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. At the end of his life, he taught privately in Washington, D.C.
A winner of the Robert Casadesus and Johann Sebastian Bach International Piano Competitions, Mr. Van Boskirk appeared regularly in recital with orchestras from the age of 12. His illustrious career included performances with orchestras in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Washington, D.C., as well as recitals at New York's Town Hall, Guild Hall, and the Phillips Collection of Washington, D.C. He also appeared as featured soloist with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra while a student at IU.
The Roe Van Boskirk Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to undergraduate piano students at the IU Jacobs School of Music.