Areas to Support

The Society of the Friends of Music

The mission of the Society of the Friends of Music is to create and sustain scholarships for promising and talented Jacobs School of Music students. For sixty years, the relationship between the Society of the Friends of Music and the IU Jacobs School of Music has been one of support. Through Friends of Music scholarships, we have made possible an IU Jacobs School of Music education for thousands of deserving students from around the globe. Our scholarships provide necessary financial aid, allowing the Jacobs School to attract and maintain its growing and diverse student body. Together, members of our vital giving society ensure that the rapidly evolving world students enter will continue to benefit from the unparalleled musical heritage of the IU Jacobs School of Music.  

We invite you to make an investment in the Friends of Music today. Together, we will bring the most promising emerging musicians to the Jacobs School, and sustain them as they forge new pathways for musical excellence.

Give now

Friends of Music 60th Anniversary

In 1964, IU Chancellor Herman B Wells and Dean Wilfred C. Bain, together with some dedicated music lovers in the Bloomington community, were collaborating to create an organization that would benefit music students studying at IU.

Read more about the impact of the Friends of Music

Members-only benefits

Guarantor Scholarship Circle

(Annual gifts of $5,000 and up)
Hoagy Carmichael ($10,000 and up) | Cole Porter ($5,000–$9,999)

  • Invitations to special events and behind-the-scenes tours
  • Parking reservations at the MAC for operas & ballets
  • Recognition in every IU Opera & Ballet Theater program
  • Invitation to the annual Friends of Music membership event

Herman B Wells Circle

(Annual gifts of $1,000 to $4,999)
Gold ($2,500–$4,999) | Silver ($1,000–$2,499)

  • Parking reservations at the MAC for operas & ballets
  • Recognition in every IU Opera & Ballet Theater program
  • Invitation to the annual Friends of Music membership event

Dean Wilfred C. Bain Circle

(Annual gifts of $100 to $999)
Patron ($500–$999) | Sustainer ($300–$499) | Donor ($100–$299)

  • Recognition in every IU Opera & Ballet Theater program
  • Invitation to the annual Friends of Music membership event

Dean’s Fund and Dean’s Circle

Members of the Dean’s Fund make possible unrestricted gifts for the IU Jacobs School of Music.

Donors to the Dean’s Fund gifting more than $1,000 annually are recognized as members of the IU Jacobs School of Music Dean’s Circle. As a partner in the Dean’s Circle, you inspire the growth of an environment that combines intellectual rigor and entrepreneurial innovation.

Your investment allows our students to travel to competitions and conferences, as well as experience master classes and on-campus performances featuring world-renowned artists and music educators. It also ensures that the Jacobs School can engage with world-class composers, librettists, and artistic teams - producing superb operatic performances. Your partnership also supports our live-streaming initiative, so that many of these performances can be enjoyed around the globe. These are just a few of the many ways our Dean’s Circle partners make a meaningful impact on both our students and faculty.

Give now

Become a partner

Visionary Partners: Annual Gift of $10,000 and up

Strategic Partners: Annual Gift of $5,000–$9,999

Supporting Partners: Annual Gift of $2,500–$4,999

Contributing Partners: Annual Gift of $1,000–$2,499

All partners in the Dean's Circle receive:

  • Parking Reservations at the MAC for operas & ballets
  • Invitation to the annual membership appreciation event
  • Invitations to special events and performances
  • Recognition in every IU Opera & Ballet Theater program

Scholarships and fellowships

For a student, it is a powerful vote of confidence to receive a scholarship from the Jacobs School of Music. Their hopes and dreams are confirmed, and a career path in music is made tangible by your generous support. 

Your gift endowing a scholarship for an undergraduate or a fellowship for a graduate student puts to rest every doubt that threatened to hold back that most promising artist. Your endowment, which continues in perpetuity, goes on year after year to transform lives. Not only are your recipients able to explore and master their craft within the world-class academic environment of Indiana University, but your gift also reaches these musicians' countless audiences who are immeasurably nourished by your dedication to keeping music alive.

For more information, please contact us.

Endowed faculty positions

Endowed faculty positions, which bear the name of the donor or another individual or family that the donor has designated, support the work of the world's preeminent performers and teachers. Considered the most prestigious of all appointments, endowed faculty positions have the power to attract and retain the most coveted and acclaimed talent. For many professors, these titles are even more important than salary, because they convey such distinction and esteem.

These positions can take the form of chairs, which support faculty salaries, or professorships that support the professor's studio, research, travel, or other critical needs. Donors may create endowed positions for a particular instrument or area, or may leave positions open to support the most deserving candidate.

Because endowments create their own funding streams, these positions are not affected by the uncertainties of budget cuts and state appropriations. There is no surer way to continue to attract faculty of the highest caliber to the Jacobs School than with an endowed faculty position.

For more information, please contact us.