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Tuesday, 21 June 2016

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  • WAAPA Bequest Donor, Wendy Court

    WAAPA Bequest Donor, Wendy Court

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Wendy Court has been attending concerts and performances at WAAPA for more than 15 years and joined the Friends of the Academy over a decade ago.  An avid arts lover, she enjoys supporting the students shows and appreciates the vibrant atmosphere of the campus.

“The students are absolutely marvellous and extremely talented,” Ms Court says. “They have a fantastic work ethic and wonderful energy which is most stimulating for the audience. The artistic backdrops, scenery and lighting are amazing.”

“WAAPA produces wonderful entertainment at very reasonable prices.”

In late 2013, Ms Court took her commitment to WAAPA even further by becoming a donor and arranging a bequest in her Will to provide a scholarship for a rural Classical music student.

“I believe in philanthropy and the whole idea of giving back to the community if one is able,” she says. “I have always been an advocate of education, training the mind and the learning of strong values.”

Ms Court grew up on a wheatbelt farm in a small town in rural WA.  As a small child during World War ll, she recalls the hardships of food rationing, limited water supplies, petrol shortages and no fresh vegetables.

“How brave were my parents,” says Ms Court.  “Somehow they cleared the land and created a farm.  I will never forget the huge debt I owe them.”

Given the difficulties of life on the land, Ms Court considers herself lucky to have come from a musical family. Ms Court received ‘spasmodic’ violin lessons from a farmer friend of her father’s before, at the age of 12, she was sent to Perth at Methodist Ladies’ College.  Here her musical interests were encouraged: she became a dedicated violinist and, through the initiatives of a progressive Headmaster, developed a passion for orchestral music.

It is this early love of music that underpins Ms Courts philanthropic spirit.  She happily admits to having a favourite quote. ‘Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life’.

WAAPA is extremely grateful to generous donors such as Ms Court for helping WAAPA retain its position as one of the world’s top performing arts academies.

Specialist performing arts courses are too expensive to teach so the support and involvement of the wider community is crucial to bolster Government funding.
Whether you are a graduate, a friend, family or a supporter, by giving to WAAPA, you too have the opportunity to help WAAPA students achieve their artistic dreams.

You can give to WAAPA in a number of ways: as a one-off gift, a regular gift, a pledge or by making a bequest in you Will.  Making a bequest is an uncomplicated way to help underpin the future growth and development of WAAPA and is a gift that will live on, providing long-term benefits for future generations.

For further information, please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Relations on 6304 2761 or email supportingwaapa@ecu.edu.au

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