Bill Cash
Memorial Music Scholarship
About Bill
Bill Cash’s musical passions spanned many styles, careers, and decades. Although trained
classically in the Crane School of Music’s Master of Music program, he developed a passion
for jazz music that he honed throughout his college years playing in “Earth Wind and Fire”
cover bands on nights and weekends.
After graduation, he was accepted into the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra where he performed
until he discovered his next musical passion; teaching. His instrumental music career spanned
33 years, during which he grew the Catskill High School instrumental music program into an award-winning
program, achieving a rating of gold with distinction at the NYSMMA Festival at Shaker High School
with the 1998 symphonic band.
In addition to competitive honors, he fostered a strong sense of community within the Catskill
Central School District’s instrumental music program. He developed children’s concerts for elementary
school students, crafting fully staged performances of “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” as well
as “Peter and the Wolf”. He mentored students through their individual interests, establishing
small performance ensembles such as Jazz, Blues, and Dixieland bands.
After decades as a professional trumpet performer, he began to seriously study solo guitar in
2006 and perform publicly in 2009. His talents as a guitarist blossomed upon his retirement from
teaching in 2014. He enjoyed performing both as a soloist and in ensembles such as the Take Two
Trio and as part of the duo Hudson River Jazz with Ellie Fordyce.
Throughout his long and varied career, his greatest joy was mentoring students. The Bill Cash
Memorial Music Scholarship continues the mission to which he dedicated so many years of his life,
the support of Catskill High School music students.
About the Scholarship
The Bill Cash Memorial Music Scholarship is a $1000 scholarship available annually to
Catskill High School students in their senior year who plan to enroll in full-time or
half-time undergraduate study at an accredited two-year or four-year college in the United
States majoring in a music discipline (instrumental music majors will be prioritized).
Applications are reviewed once a year with a deadline of 12am on April 1st. The scholarship will
be awarded to a single applicant who meets the following criteria and has submitted all required
application materials outlined below by the deadline.
The award will be sent directly to the college or university and applied directly to the accepted
student's account.