One of the saddest parts of remembering my brother when he passed is knowing he never broke through with his music.
He was SO GOOD at guitar! And his music!!! His compositions are complex, emotional, evocative, witty, sophisticated. He had so much fun through his music.
It was unquestioned that his music would be played at his memorial.
And, the more it was revealed of Karl the person, that he had created a life of selfless service in so many ways through all of his acts of volunteering, the more I knew that we had to honor his talents more, and use his love for music to spread more joy through helping others. We will do this by supporting other young artists financially, to hopefully give them a boost in pursuing their dreams and practicing their art, to honor Karl’s love of jazz and of helping his community simultaneously.
Here is a snippet from Karl’s memorial service on April 28, 2024, where the idea for the scholarship was announced.
The name of the scholarship fund was actually changed to honor Karl more directly and publicly, albeit in a version that’s a bit more stiff and formal: In its founding, the scholarship has been named The Karl B. Wenninger Memorial Scholarship Fund, Inc.
But yeah, Karl W. is a legend. (Thanks Drew!!! You’ve honored him in so many ways too.)
The longing for his music to be heard is still present with me today. I would love for his original album to be produced. He wrote other music too, he was writing music his whole life.
So we want Karl’s music to be heard, and even more important, we are now embarking on these exciting efforts in his name and to honor his legacy, to support the next generation f jazz guitarists financially in their pursuit of the music he loved.