[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
![\"Ashni](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/adv\/alumni-news-media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/EndowmentWebBanner3-resized-300x180.png\")
Budge is the recipient of multiple scholarships, including significant support from the Joyce Osborn Violin Scholarship, made possible through the generosity of Joyce Osborn and the Wegman Family Scholarship Challenge.<\/p><\/div>\n
By the time Ashni Budge arrived at the Eastman School of Music<\/a>, she\u2019d already dedicated most of her life to music. She started playing the violin at just three years old. When she was five, she added the piano to her repertoire.<\/p>\n At about that same time, Budge\u2019s family discovered that she had perfect pitch. Budge attributes that to her grandmother, a professional Chinese opera singer. \u201cShe taught my younger brother and me to sing,\u201d says Budge, who grew up outside of Los Angeles. \u201cI have vivid memories of the two of us performing and of me putting on operas for our family.\u201d<\/p>\n In middle school, Budge joined the band and, even though it didn\u2019t have a string section, she wasn\u2019t deterred. That\u2019s when she picked up the clarinet, which she continued playing throughout high school. She joined the choir, too.<\/p>\n When it came time to decide on a college, Budge knew Eastman was for her. She was drawn to its renowned reputation and that it is part of the URochester, a leading private research university with a flexible undergraduate curriculum. She was also excited to travel and live on the other side of the country.<\/p>\n Being a scholarship recipient has made it all possible for Budge. \u201cWithout the generosity of others, I couldn\u2019t afford to be here,\u201d she adds. \u201cI can\u2019t believe that people who don\u2019t even know me have provided me with scholarships. Someday, I hope to help others in a similar way.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”] Budge and Nicholas Garcia-Hettinger \u201924E, a Hamlin Family Scholarship Fund recipient, in the Wolk Atrium, Eastman School of Music<\/p><\/div>\n In the meantime, Budge is taking advantage of every opportunity. Not only is she an applied music major studying violin at Eastman, she is also a psychology major and brain and cognitive sciences minor at the University\u2019s School of Arts & Sciences. Along the way, she\u2019s performed in live-to-picture renditions of Danny Elfman\u2019s Batman<\/em>, cofounded a string quartet with friends, called the Avant Quartet, and earned the prestigious position of concertmaster for the Eastman Philharmonia. Budge has been recognized for her academic achievements, too. She\u2019s on the dean\u2019s list and was inducted into Psi Chi, the International Honor Society for psychology students, as a sophomore.<\/p>\n In 2022, Budge and her quartet participated in what\u2019s become a life-changing experience for her: Eastman-to-Go. This one-semester chamber music course provides select ensembles opportunities to bring music into the Greater Rochester community, with a focus on presenting classical music to new, young audiences. Budge loved it, and so did the people with whom she interacted.<\/p>\n For instance, at the Dr. Charles T. Lunsford School No. 19, one of the schools they visited, Budge\u2019s influence was so significant that she was invited back for the 2023\u201324 academic year to give violin lessons to fifth graders. \u201cWorking with them has been among the best experiences of my life,\u201d says Budge. \u201cWe even played a few pieces with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra over the winter holidays, which was a thrill for us all.\u201d<\/p>\n Next up for Budge? In the short term, she\u2019s practicing for a Sibelius violin concerto and a performance of Schubert\u2019s Cello Quintet in C Major<\/em>. Long term, she hopes to go to graduate school for music. She\u2019s even considering law school someday.<\/p>\n Whatever Budge does, she knows music will always play a part.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column width=”2\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1711740190771{padding-right: 40px !important;}”][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” background_color=”#00205b” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Nicole, Danny, and Colleen Wegman of the Wegman Family Charitable Foundation<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n In recognition of the Eastman School of Music\u2019s commitment to the next generation of leaders in music and the performing arts, the Wegmans Family Foundation established a $2 million scholarship challenge to encourage the creation of new endowed scholarships. Since 2021, nearly $6 million has been raised through the 46 scholarships established during the Wegman Family Scholarship Challenge, including the Joyce Osborn Violin Scholarship.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThank you to the Wegmans and the many donors who joined the Wegman Family Scholarship Challenge. Together, they are supporting the next generation of artists and leaders who will inspire audiences and transform lives through music.\u201d\u2014Jamal Rossi, Joan and Martin Messinger Dean, Eastman School of Music<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner css=”.vc_custom_1711740241394{background-color: #e9e5d7 !important;}”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Joyce Osburn \u201954E<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cWithout scholarship support, I probably never could have attended Eastman. Thus, the thought of giving someone else the opportunities I had rose in my mind. That\u2019s why I set up this scholarship, to help wonderful young musicians like Ashni get an Eastman education. I\u2019m so impressed by her and am overjoyed that I can help.\u201d\u2014Joyce Osburn \u201954E[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” background_color=”#e7e7e7″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Learn<\/a> how you can support students like Ashni Budge and make a gift today<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1711721534166{border-top-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;border-top-color: #999999 !important;border-top-style: solid !important;}”]<\/p>\n \u2014 Kristine Kappel Thompson, 2024<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By the time Ashni Budge arrived at the Eastman School of Music, she\u2019d already dedicated most of her life to music. She started playing the violin at just three years old. When she was five, she added the piano to her repertoire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":83422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,142],"tags":[272,112,632,1252,1112,1102,652],"class_list":["post-81642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-profiles","category-stories","tag-alumni","tag-arts-and-humanities","tag-eastman-school-of-music","tag-la","tag-scholarships","tag-students","tag-women-who-roc"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/i><\/span>
Music has always given me an outlet, a way to express my feelings. As long as my life has music in it and involves some performing and watching people grow and develop, I\u2019ll be happy. Thank you to all of the people who have supported me along the way\u2014I\u2019m forever grateful.`` \u2013 Ashni Budge<\/span><\/h6><\/blockquote>[vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
![\"Budge](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/adv\/alumni-news-media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/MW013024UR_0195_resize-300x200.png\")
![\"Nicole,](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/adv\/alumni-news-media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/WegmansFamily2013-300x207.jpg\")
The Wegman Family Scholarship Challenge<\/h3>\n
![\"Joyce](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/adv\/alumni-news-media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Joyce-Osborn-225x300.jpg\")
Join us<\/h3>\n