The Jon Douglas Rake & Jeffrey Stvrtecky Scholarship Endowment offers scholarships for  High School students from Tacoma or Pierce County pursuing a college degree in the Performing Arts.

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The Endowment was established in 2024 in recognition of the 30th anniversary season of Tacoma Musical Playhouse, by its co-founders Jon Douglas Rake & Jeffrey Stvrtecky, to recognize the value of their training and education in Musical Theater, Music, Vocal Pedagogy, Conducting, Piano, and Dance.

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The scholarship is a one-time assistance to High School seniors only and is not renewable. 

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Founder & Managing Artistic Director

Jon Douglas Rake

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Jon has spent nearly all his adult life devoted to musical theater. He began his career as a professional dancer and soon discovered his unique talents for choreography and directing. Educated at the University of California, San Diego, Jon has produced, directed, choreographed or acted in well over hundreds of musical theater productions at the professional or community theater level on the West Coast. He founded Tacoma Musical Playhouse in 1994 to fill a gap in the Tacoma theater scene. TMP is the only South Sound theater company devoted to producing musicals exclusively. His creative energy is the driving force behind the company. Jon’s other interests include historic architecture, travel and gourmet dining.

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Founder, Music Director, & Business Manager

Jeffrey Stvrtecky

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Jeffrey earned his B.M. degree in Piano from Wheaton College and his M.M. and D.M.A. degrees in Choral Music from University of Southern California. He has conducted and studied at numerous workshops and festivals including the Dale Warland Master Class, the Oregon Bach Festival and the Aspen Music Festival Choral Institute. He served as Director of Music at the First United Methodist Church of North Hollywood for 11 years and as Music Director of the Burbank Chorale, where he conducted concerts of major works such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Duruflé’s Requiem and Mozart’s Coronation Mass. In 1994, he founded Tacoma Master Chorale, founded in 1994. Under his direction, TMC performed many concerts of major works including Handel’s Messiah, Cherubini's Requiem, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and many others. Jeff served as Director of Music at First Christian Church, Tacoma. He has also maintained a studio of private voice and piano students. He was an Instructor of Music at Tacoma Community College. Jeff has music directed countless musical theater productions including Jersey Boys, Beautiful, The Carole King Musical, Ragtime, West Side Story and many others. Jeff loves travel and restoring a ‘big, ole’ Victorian house.

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Qualifications:

• Applicant must document residency in Tacoma/Pierce County.

• Applicant must document acceptance to an accredited college or university in pursuit of a degree in the Performing Arts.

• Applicant will provide transcripts of their high school education.

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Notifications:

• Applicants will be notified by May 31st, 2025 of the disposition of their application. 

• Scholarship funds will be paid directly to the financial aid office of the educational institution listed in the application. 

• The scholarship may be used for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and related educational expenses as deemed appropriate by the institution's financial aid office.

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Questions? Email TMP Director of Education, Kayla Littleton at kayla@tmp.org - Subject: Jon & Jeff Scholarship.

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