Paul Buttemer Scholarship Fund | Brooke Valley Bassoon Days

The Paul Buttemer Scholarship Fund

“Summer opportunities like the Brooke Valley Bassoon Days open an entire world of possibilities to our students. Not only do they form lifelong relationships with other bassoonists from around the world, but they come home committed to being the best musician possible.”

–Stanford Thompson
Former Executive Director, Play On, Philly!
Chairman – El Sistema USA

Testimonials

Paul Buttemer Scholarship Fund Sponsors

We gratefully acknowledge our sponsors, featuring Shane Wieler and Jim Ewen

All Sponsors

"a highlight of my musical journey..."

I would like to give a very special thank you to Shane Wieler of Marcus Wieler Inc for his generosity in sponsoring me as a Paul Buttemer Scholar. Without his gift I would not have been able to participate in this fantastic program at Brooke Valley Bassoon Days. This has not only been a highlight of my summer, but has been a highlight of my musical journey thus far. I made a lot of amazing friends, and met a lot of fantastic people and players. It’s my hope that many other young players get to experience the awesome things happening at Brooke Valley Bassoon Days! Thank you very much Mr. Wieler!

Samuel Fraser, age 24, Toronto

Adopt-a-Bassoonist

The Paul Buttemer Scholarship Fund was started in the first year of Brooke Valley Bassoon Days thanks to a small gift from the estate of Paul Buttemer, given to us by his widow Amalia Schelhorn (Molly Buttemer). Paul Buttemer, a wonderful bassoonist, was also an innovator in bassoon reed-making. His sudden death in 2008, at the age of 52, was a tragedy not only for his family and friends but also for bassoonists everywhere, as his work in the field of computer-driven reed making devices remained unfinished. Paul was extremely generous of spirit and considered his research into improving the lives of bassoonists–through improving the art and the science of reed making–more of a “calling” than a business. In this spirit of giving back to the bassoon world, the Paul Buttemer Scholarship Fund was established.

The Paul Buttemer Scholarship Fund makes it possible for young bassoonists in urban music programs to attend Brooke Valley Bassoon Days. To qualify for assistance from the Paul Buttemer Scholarship Fund, the applicant must be part of an “El Sistema” inspired program anywhere in the world.

Since its creation in 2012, the Paul Buttemer Scholarship Fund has made it possible for young bassoonists from Moncton, New Brunswick www.sistemanb.ca, Ottawa, Ontario www.leadingnotefoundation.org, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania www.playonphilly.org, and elsewhere, to attend Brooke Valley Bassoon Days. The fund has stayed afloat thanks to the generosity of bassoonist and reed maker, Jim Ewen of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Jim, a close friend of Paul Buttemer, donates reed cane to Brooke Valley Bassoon Days every year. This cane is then sold to participants with 100% of the proceeds going to the Paul Buttemer Scholarship Fund.

Richard Hoenich and Jo Ann Simpson, the directors of Brooke Valley Bassoon Days, believe strongly in the mission to make music education, and specifically the bassoon, accessible to those who otherwise could not afford it. For this reason, we are working towards growing the Paul Buttemer Scholarship Fund. Donations, no matter how small, are appreciated and can be made via Paypal using the button below:

Donate via Paypal

Brooke Valley Bassoon Days is not a registered charity and therefore cannot issue tax receipts for your donations.