In December, the Northport Community Band gave 17 Leelanau County students scholarships to further their music education, totaling more than $5,000 toward music lessons, summer music camp and new instruments.
In 2017, the band established the Don Wilcox Music Education Fund, named after their longtime director, to honor his legacy as a director and teacher. The first funds were raised at an informal gathering at the Martinson home in Suttons Bay, donations collected in an evening of music performed by local music students and adult musicians.
There were refreshments and camaraderie — and several hundred dollars in a basket, at the end of the evening.
The Northport Band board set up some parameters for a scholarship fund: applicants needed to be K-12 students in Leelanau County, studying instrumental or vocal music, and be endorsed by their local music teachers.
Since the first scholarships were given, in 2018, nearly $12,000 has been distributed for lessons, instruments, camps and music-related travel. The fund has been continuously replenished by annual “Don Wilcox musicales,” which have been held at Trinity Church in Northport for the last three years, as the crowds grew larger.
The Northport Band, which plays a series of annual concerts, sees building support for music education across Leelanau County as part of its mission. Some of the earliest scholarship winners now play in the band, and band members are thrilled that three schools— Glen Lake, Suttons Bay and Northport—now have thriving band programs.
Scholarship winners in December 2023 were:
• Minnie Bardenhagen, Mike Rokita, Lillian McCormick, Ty Bunek, AJ Myers and Pearla Underhill of Suttons Bay Public School.
• Elizabeth Steinhaus and Sylas Peacock of Glen Lake Community School.
• Clara and Eliza Aldridge, Andrew Valdez-Newman and Lennon Peluso of Leland Public School.
• Jack and Nicol Scripps, Desi and Hazel Wetherbee of Northport and Sena Penninga, homeschooled.
