Last modified: Friday, March 27, 2009
Georgina Joshi fellowships announced in the IU Jacobs School of Music
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music has received a gift of $1 million from The Georgina Joshi Foundation, Inc.
The gift establishes two major fellowships as a tribute to the memory of Georgina Joshi, a graduate student at the Jacobs School and an alumna of the Royal College of Music, London. Both fellowships will serve to celebrate Georgina's life as a singer and her affiliation with both institutions.
The Georgina Joshi International Fellowship, awarded to a graduating Jacobs School voice student with U.S. residency, will fund two years of study in the Artist Diploma program at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School at the Royal College of Music.
The Georgina Joshi Fellowship will be awarded to a graduate student to assist with full-time study in the Jacobs School of Music.
"All of us at Indiana University are extremely grateful for this wonderfully generous gift from the Joshi family to the Jacobs School of Music," said IU President Michael A. McRobbie. "I can think of no better way to celebrate the life and spirit of such a talented and graceful singer, who touched the lives of so many and will always be in our hearts. May the students who are chosen for these new scholarships carry on Georgina's spirit and find inspiration in her appreciation and passion for beautiful music."
"Georgina's mother, Louise Addicott, created the vision for these fellowships over two years ago," said Glenda Lamont, treasurer for The Georgina Joshi Foundation. "The Georgina Joshi Foundation is grateful to all who worked so diligently to see Louise's vision carried out. I know she would be pleased with the results.
"I have been impressed with the Jacobs School faculty, students and graduates I have met and am confident that the high personal and professional standards set by Georgina will be met by Georgina Joshi Fellowship recipients," Lamont said. "We can expect great things from them in the future."
"With this gift, the Joshi family will simultaneously create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for one of our students to study at the Royal College and place an Indiana education within the reach of an incoming graduate student," said Jacobs Dean Gwyn Richards. "These defining opportunities were the inspiration of Louise, who saw how similar experiences had shaped the musical essence of Georgina. Now, in celebration of the lives of those two extraordinary women, Yatish Joshi has brought into reality Louise's initial idea, for which we are enormously grateful."
In addition to the fellowships, The Georgina Joshi Foundation provided underwriting for IU Opera Theater's recent production of Giulio Cesare. In 2008, the Addicott/Joshi family donated two Hamburg Steinway concert grand pianos to the Jacobs School, which are used primarily in Auer Concert Hall.
About Georgina Joshi
A native of Indiana, Georgina Joshi received her bachelor's degree in music (with honors) from the Royal College of Music, London, where she studied with Eiddwen Harrhy. At the time of her death, she was pursuing a master's degree in music in voice at the IU Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with Alan Bennett. While at IU, Joshi appeared as a soloist in Haydn's Creation, Handel's Solomon, Bach's B-Minor Mass, the Mozart Requiem and the Brahms Deutsches Requiem. She also appeared in IU Opera Theater productions as Clorinda in LaCenerentola and Despina in Cosi fan Tutte. An enthusiastic performer, she collaborated with other musicians such as the Catacoustic Consort and The Bath Street Studio and was a member of the Jacobs School's ProArte Choir and the Carmel Bach Festival Chorale. Outside the U.S., she appeared as a soloist in England, Wales, Romania and Greece.
