The Karl B. Wenninger Memorial Scholarship

About

When he was in his early 20s, Karl left California for New York City, to attend The New School and study jazz. New York became his home and the guitar was his thing. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1994.

Being accepted to The New School was one of the most important accomplishments that Karl ever had – he was the fuck-up kid, he had been getting in trouble since he was like 12, he had dropped out of high school and was kicked out of the house, things were not going well during those teen years. Music saved him, that’s not an exaggeration, it gave him something to work for, something to finally be good at and not constantly be criticized as a failure by a world he wanted no part of. Moving to New York was a monumental big deal for him, he went by himself with really no one to support him, and finishing his degree was massive. It was a struggle. He did it all by himself.

In honor of Karl and his love for music, and in recognition of how significant his music degree was in changing the direction of his life, the Karl B. Wenninger Memorial Scholarship Fund was founded.

The Fund will award scholarships every year to two up-and-coming musicians pursuing formal education in jazz guitar. We’re hoping to raise at least $10,000 in this launch phase in order to make this Fund sustainable and ongoing. Interested in supporting this initiative?

Applications

We hope to open our first scholarship award cycle in Fall 2025.

Please check this page again in the summer for more details, including application criteria and deadlines..