Inspiring the Next Generation of Music Educators

Inspiring the Next Generation of Music Educators

By Amy Karagiannakis

After 50 years away from central IL, it was the music that brought Ron and Linda Roaks back to Urbana-Champaign. Both alums of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, Ron (MUP ’70) and Linda (BME ’70) met in the Illini Union lounge while Linda was playing DJ with some classical music LPs as a requirement for a course she was taking. Ron was “pseudo studying” and eventually convinced Linda to join him for a cup of coffee. A little less than a year later, they were married in 1967.

Having lived in New York and California for 40 plus years, the couple moved to southern Indiana for retirement. After one of their many trips to Urbana-Champaign to visit friends and fellow alums and attend concerts at Krannert Center, Linda asked, “we love Krannert, why don’t we just move there and save the driving back and forth?” They moved back to Champaign in 2022 and have become avid Krannert Center patrons and sponsors. Along with hearing local, world-class artists like the Jupiter String Quartet at Krannert Center, the Roaks also enjoy attending School of Music performances at Smith Memorial Hall. For Linda, “it’s a bit of nostalgia, and it’s also great to see the students perform.”

The Roaks became interested in including the Illinois School of Music in their estate plans so that their gift could continue to grow and help those in need of financial assistance to attend the University of Illinois. Through conversations with the Office of Advancement they discovered that there was not enough scholarship support for students in need of the help. Most scholarships were awarded based on musicianship alone. “Because you want to have the next Yo-Yo Ma come from U of I. I get it. But without music educators like Linda, we don’t have Yo-Yo Mas,” explained Ron. The couple recently established the Linda Lambert Roaks and Ronald Roaks Music Education Scholarship through a generous planned gift that will provide scholarship support to Music Education majors based on financial need.

The Roaks recently made an additional gift so that the scholarship can begin making an impact now. The first Roaks Scholarship will be awarded in 2025.