A bursary at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, providing financial assistance to students in need, has passed the $1-million mark in funding.
The Eric and Shirley Charman Bursary for Young Musicians, created in 2018 to mark the 85th birthday of Victoria philanthropist Eric Charman, now sits with the Victoria Foundation and is currently funded by $1,050,00 in contributions. That amount is expected to rise as the Canada Cultural Endowment Incentive Program has announced that all donations to the fund before Oct. 31 will be matched.
“Eric has said that he discovered when he was an orphan that music was the most effective remedy to loneliness,” said Jane Butler McGregor, CEO of the Victoria Conservatory of Music. “It has always been a passion of his to see if he could help young people who, because of financial circumstance, may think they could never study music.”
For more information on the bursary, geared to students in demonstrated financial need age 25 and under, visit vcm.bc.ca or phone 250-386-5311.
— Mike Devlin, Times Colonist
