The gift of music

When Ineta Bebb showed up in March to help with a production of “Peter Pan,” at the Little Theatre in Muskogee, Oklahoma, she had no idea the rehearsal would be any different from the many, many other musicals, concerts, contests and recitals she has assisted with in her 50-year career as a local music director and accompanist.

More than 100 friends, choir members and former students were there to unveil a $50,000 surprise they’d been building and keeping secret for two months with the help of Curtis Marsh, j’92, associate development director for KU Endowment: The Ineta Williams Bebb Voice Scholarship to benefit School of Music students.

Bebb, d’65, f’68, g’68, declared herself both humbled and surprised—“and I don’t do surprises well,” she says with a laugh. “My gosh, it’s just amazing what they were able to do.”

Bebb hopes the scholarship inspires recipients to make the most of their college experience and all the opportunities that follow.

“The best years of my life were spent at KU,” she says. “When somebody loves a university and what it’s done for that person, you hope they would want to share their talent and what they’ve learned with the rest of the world as they go through life. I’ve totally appreciated every opportunity I had, from receiving wonderful scholarship help, to living in a scholarship hall, and having a teaching assistantship when I was working on my master’s. I would hope the students feel that way and communicate it to others—that it is such a gift.”