Description of Scholarship Competition Awards

Mary McShane Barker Scholarship for Best Performer Grades 10 through 12

In our world of teaching the best and perhaps the only way to ensure one of our own special members will never be forgotten is to present a scholarship in that person’s name. Mary McShane was certainly one of these special people.

Mary joined the Eastside Chapter of the W.S.M.T.A. approximately 35 years ago and immediately became an active member. She gave pedagogy classes for credit in her home, and there are many teachers who attended and learned their teaching skills from Mary. Mary was on almost every committee during her membership, then served as president for two terms.

Mary was instrumental in establishing our scholarship competition, our scholarship benefit concert, the honors recitals, and encouraged master classes and workshops for our chapter students. She taught her students to love music and stressed that it would make their lives more fulfilling by bringing joy and contentment no matter where life would lead them. Mary was blessed with much wisdom and had a common sense approach to help guide her students and the teachers within our chapter.  Mary McShane helped to make our chapter truly great!        

As of 2004, a scholarship was initiated in Mary’s name. It will be given annually to high school students, grade 10, 11, and 12.  $500 will be awarded to one, two, or three students, with $300 maximum to any one winner

Ida Zelikovsky Green Scholarship for outstanding Talent Grades 5 through 11

Ida Zelikovsky Green was born in Tomsk, Siberia and emigrated to China where she graduated from the Glazunoff Conservatory in Harbin, Manchuria.  She was a student of Madame Levinson, one of the six students of Anton Rubenstein.  She settled in Seattle after moving from New York City to Vancouver B.C.  Her teaching career covered sixty-five years.  Her family chose to continue her encouragement to young students with this scholarship for the most outstanding talent in grade 5 through 11.

Betty Lou Barton Scholarship for Furthering Musical Studies in College

Betty Lou Barton was born in Edmonton, Alberta and graduated as an Associate of Music from the Royal Conservatory.  She later received a degree in communications from the University of Washington and a teaching degree from Seattle Pacific University. She taught piano on Mercer Island for over twenty years.  This award was established by her husband, Robert, from funds donated in her memory to help talented students who have also been musically involved with the community with a $500 scholarship to further their musical studies in college.