Louis R. DeVries Endowed Memorial Scholarship in Instrumental Music Performance

Patricia D. Gold established The Louis R. DeVries Endowed Memorial Scholarship in Instrumental Music Performance in 2022 to honor the memory of her brother. Patricia is a 1972 alumna of The University of Akron who earned a bachelor’s degree in French. Additionally, Patricia was a member of the UA Orchestra for two years. In 1979, she obtained her master’s in Library Science from Kent State University and worked at the Akron Public Library for several years prior to her marriage and subsequent move to Columbus, Ohio, in 1981.

Louis R. De Vries, an Akron native, developed an interest in music at an early age. A member of the band and orchestra at Akron’s John R. Buchtel High School, he went on to obtain his Bachelor of Science in Music Education from The University of Akron. While pursuing his degree, he was student director of the UA band. His years at the Conservatory of Music were some of his happiest. He made lifelong friends there. Louis went on to obtain a Master of Music Education degree from the University of Michigan. He taught instrumental music in Lorain, Ohio and was double bass instructor at both The University of Akron and Malone College in Canton, Ohio.

Louis played professionally with the Blossom Festival Band, the Akron Symphony, the Canton Symphony, the Youngstown Symphony, the Erie Philharmonic, the Tuscarawas Philharmonic,
the Orquestra Filarmonica de Caracas, the Mississippi Symphony, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, and the Rapides Symphony Orchestra. He was the former conductor of the Natchez (Miss.) Community Band and performed several double bass recitals in Natchez. He was a member of the Natchez Baroque Ensemble and the Natchez Opera Festival, and he was a conductor of the St. Joseph Community Orchestra and the Jazz Ensemble in St. Joseph, La., for nearly 10 years.

Recipients of The Louis R. De Vries Endowed Memorial Scholarship in Instrumental Music Performance shall be full- or part-time students enrolled in The University of Akron School of Music majoring in Instrumental Performance. Recipients must be in good standing at the University and carry a minimum 3.0 grade point average (GPA). Recipient selection will be made by the Director of the School of Music.