E. Thayne Tolle was a founding member and past president of the Texas Private School Music Educators Association, past president of the Kansas Music Educators Association, and had been active in Texas Music Educators Association and Texas Bandmasters Association.
Mr. Tolle was born and raised in Roxbury, Kansas. After serving with the U.S. Navy, as a Communications Officer, he attended Betheny College (A.B. in Business and Economics, Bachelor of Music Education), Wichita State Univ. (Master of Music Education), and Kansas University. His teaching assignments included Langdon Rural HS, Lindsborg Rural HS, Wichita Southeast HS, National Field Director of the MENC/Ford Foundation Music Project, Southern Methodist University, and Jesuit College Preparatory School. Mr. Tolle is survived by his wife Doris, two grown sons, one granddaughter and one grandson.
Several years ago, TPSMEA created a music scholarship to honor him and his achievements. Graduating seniors who are planning to major in music and have been a member of a TPSMEA All State Ensemble are encouraged to apply.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Graduating senior from a Texas private school who is entering an accredited college or university in the fall, 2024, taking a minimum of 12 college hours and has been a member of a TPSMEA All State Ensemble for at least one year during his/her high school career.
- Must have declared music as a major
- Possess Outstanding Musical Ability
- Be of Superior Moral Character
Applicants are asked to submit a competed application by 11:59 PM on January 13, 2024. The application will be reviewed by the scholarship committee of TPSMEA and the winner will be notified during the All State weekend and will be presented at the All State Concert on January 27, 2024.
Only complete applications will be considered.
The completed application consists of:
- Completed TPSMEA E. Thayne Tolle Scholarship Application (all required fields must be answered)
- 3-5 evaluations (One evaluation must be from your primary High School Ensemble Director and one must be from your High School Principal. Other evaluations need to be from individuals who have knowledge of your skills as a musician and your potential success as a music educator. Please send the email addresses of your evaluators to ron@tpsmea.org. An email will be sent to each of them with a link to the online evaluation form.)
- An original essay on the topic: “The Importance of Music.”
The Texas Private School Music Educators Association will award the selected recipient(s) with a scholarship of $1,000 for one year only.
The completed TPSMEA E. Thayne Tolle Scholarship application and supporting evaluations should be completed below. The scholarship application, essay and supporting evaluations must be received no later than 11:59 PM on January 13, 2024. This is not a postmark date but an actual “in hand” date. Late applications and evaluations will not be considered. All information should be provided TPSMEA via the online form below except your essay. You will need to upload your essay to this application using the button provided at the bottom of the form. The uploaded essay should be in either a Microsoft Word or pdf file.
Since you can not save, retrieve, or modify information once you submit your application, we suggest you review the questions and are prepared to answer all of them prior to beginning the application. Before you submit the application, please review it for correctness, grammar and spelling.
We will send you an email confirmation of receipt of your scholarship application within 3 days after the closing date.
(Please note: By submitting this scholarship application, you are waiving your right of access to any evaluations submitted on your behalf.)