Community Support

Doris Preucil & Carol A. Bekker

2019 Carol A Bekker

 

With much gratitude, Preucil School of Music announces a private gift from a long-time admirer of the School, Carol A. Bekker, of Iowa City.

Ms. Bekker has donated $40,000 to the School’s Financial Aid Endowment which will now provide financial assistance to Preucil School families in perpetuity.

The Financial Aid Endowment provides financial assistance for families who have a strong desire to provide their children with a Preucil School education but have financial challenges with tuition costs.

Each year, the School is reminded how much hardship there is in our local community as families strive to provide for their children and give them a well-rounded education. We are always humbled to realize the financial sacrifices many parents make for their children to receive a music education from the School.

The School is equally humbled by the generosity of many donors throughout the years, most recently Ms. Bekker.  

Preucil School has been very fortunate in creating and growing the Financial Aid Endowment. This current year the School was able to award $32,000 in Financial Aid to 58 students.

Carol A. Bekker Bio:

Carol was raised on a farm northeast of Lone Tree. After graduation she moved to Iowa City in 1958 and worked at Owens Brush/Oral-B laboratories/proctor and Gamble for 43 years.

Carol is an avid lover of music beginning at a young age. She played the clarinet from 4th grade through high school. She played in clarinet trio, quartet and quintet, the high school band, German band and pep band. Her greatest honor was receiving a 1 rating for her clarinet solos at the State Music Contest.

Doris Preucil opened the Preucil School of Music in January 1975. That very first day drew more than 100 students. It also drew Carol’s attention.  She attended concerts, individual children’s performances and other events over the years. Carol enjoyed every performance and was impressed with how well the students progressed. Often times she brought her elderly mother with her who was also delighted with the music.

Carol wanted to give a living gift to the Preucil School of Music to be used as scholarships for incoming students. She feels this is one way she could express her gratitude to the School and its students for bringing much joy to her life through music.

Brian Cretzmeyer

2018 Brian Cretzmeyer Piano Fund

 

Preucil School of Music is excited to announce a new endowed financial aid fund: the Brian Cretzmeyer Piano Fund.  This fund was established in January 2017 by an initial contribution from the Brian Cretzmeyer Trust for Young Musicians, a 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to providing access to quality music instruction for children – especially those who might not otherwise have the opportunity.

At the age of four, Brian began formal piano lessons at the Preucil School of Music.  For the next 25 years, he entertained and inspired others with his music.  Brian was a talented musician and artist, but his greatest passion was playing the piano.  He was a co-founding member of his band, The Gglitch, with whom he played for ten years. 

The Cretzmeyer family started this fund from the memorials for Brian in 2009 when he passed away from cancer. Five years ago BrianFest, an annual musical event in Iowa City, was started as a celebration of his life and a fundraiser for the trust. 

The purpose of the Brian Cretzmeyer Piano Fund endowment at Preucil School is to provide financial assistance to children for piano lessons at the Preucil School of Music.

Financial Aid from this Endowment Fund is awarded through the School’s Financial Aid program on the basis of need each spring.  For more information on the Financial Aid program, go to www.preucil.org. For more information about the Brian Cretzmeyer Trust for Young Musicians, go to www.briancretzmeyertrust.org.

Janice and Herb Wilson

2017 Wilson Family Foundation

 

Twenty years from now a child will be born, like all children, with a love and innate talent for music – but to a family without the financial resources to make the most of those gifts. This child does not yet have a name, but his or her musical education is already assured.

Herb and Janice Wilson have supported the Preucil School of Music since its founding in 1975. Their most recent gift, through the Wilson Family Foundation, earmarks $15,000 per year for the next 25 years to help deserving students avail themselves of the outstanding opportunities at the school.

Think about what that means.

A 10-year-old child who started his or her lessons at the Preucil School in 1975 will be 76 when the final installment of this sustaining contribution will be paid.

The child slated to arrive 20 years from now could easily be a grandchild, or even great-grandchild, of that founding student, which means the Wilsons would have had a direct impact on three or four generations of Preucil students—and that’s just through 2041.

Combined with their generosity throughout the history of the School and volunteer service, the Wilsons’ impact to Preucil’s students will literally last as long as the school does.

Each year, a new group of children will pick up their instruments, an inflection point in their young lives. They may never meet Herb and Janice, but like the creations of our greatest composers, the music the Wilsons made possible will be played forever, lifting hearts and souls as long as we can imagine.

A child 20 years from being born isn’t able to thank the Wilsons, but we can do it on his or her behalf.

Thank you, Herb and Janice Wilson. From all of us.

 

 

Virginia Myers

2017 Virginia Myers Bequest

 

Virginia Myers, a friend of Preucil School of Music, passed away in 2015.  Virginia, a University of Iowa Post-Grad student in the 1950s, and a U of I faculty member in the 1960s, was an artist, a teacher, and an inventor.   To find out more about her interesting life, visit: https://art.uiowa.edu/people/virginia-myers

 This year and for years to come, Virginia will help provide Chamber Programs to Preucil students.  Thanks to Virginia’s bequest, the Preucil Chamber Program will be alive and robust for many years to come.

 

 

If you would like to discuss a gift to Preucil School of Music for Financial Aid or other purposes, please contact Director Sonja Zeithamel at (319) 337-4156 x103 or szeithamel@preucil.org for confidential assistance in planning your gift.

 

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