Scholarships Matter: For the Love of Music

Lindsey South
Lindsey South

From the August 2016 Desktop News |Scholarships Matter is a series of stories highlighting students in the College of Arts and Sciences who have received and been impacted by scholarships. The student featured in this story is the recipient of one College-wide scholarship, The Camilla and Steve Johnson Endowed Support Fund for The Huxford Symphony Orchestra. Scholarships like these are made possible by generous support from our alumni and friends.

Lindsey South was homeschooled her whole life.

“I never had a locker; I never sat in a classroom with desks; and I never had such a rigid time schedule,” South said. “But that meant I had the freedom to practice my violin whenever I wanted.”

For 15 years, beginning when she was 3 years old, South practiced almost every day, and by the time she came to the University as a violin performance major, her technique was honed and well developed, but her confidence needed a little polishing.

“I used to get anxiety before I would go out on stage,” South said. “But through the many opportunities I’ve had to perform at UA, I now have more confidence than ever.”

It is through her experiences at UA that she has been able to develop as a performer and as an educator, which is what she aspires to become after graduation. But she says that without the help of generous donors, she wouldn’t have had those opportunities.

“I have a future in music because of Stephen and Camilla Johnson,” South said. “Their generosity has paid off because they gave me the freedom to pursue my dream without the worry of debt.”

South is especially interested in helping people expand their musical interests. She says she fell in love with the Baroque style of music at a young age because she was surrounded by it. On the way to music lessons, her mother would play Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, and in the mornings as a teenager her mother would use Baroque music as her alarm clock. But most people didn’t grow up with Baroque music in their everyday life, so they don’t know realize how interesting it can be. South says that she wants to teach people what to listen for so that they can relate to it as well.

“I just love music, and I want to change people’s lives with it,” South said.

The Camilla and Steve Johnson Endowed Support Fund for The Huxford Symphony Orchestra was established in 2001 from gifts given by Camilla Huxford to honor her late parents, Camilla C. “Skeeter” Huxford Jr. and Jean Miller Huxford. Earnings from this fund are used to support the Huxford Symphony Orchestra.