06/01/2026
Alina Tahir is the first recipient of the George F. Baumgardt Memorial Music Scholarship at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. She was awarded a $500 scholarship in her junior year and a $1,000 scholarship in her senior year. The scholarship was created by Spirit of Racine Music Makers in honor of George F. Baumgardt, one of the founders and first director of the community musical group.
At 3 p.m. Sunday, June 7, you can hear Alina's talent during Spirit's Spring Dreaming Concert at First Presbyterian Church, 716 College Ave. The concert is free and is a benefit to raise money and awareness of the music scholarship. A free-will offering during the concert will go to the scholarship fund.
Enjoy the concert with us on Sunday, and learn a little more about Alina:
Alina Tahir is a fourth-year student from University of Wisconsin-Parkside with a double major in Music Education and Classical Vocal Performance. She has recently performed a full Senior Recital with a program spanning a wide range of genres and languages.
As a student, Alina developed extensive choral experience, performing major works, such as G. F. Handel’s Messiah to Wynton Marsalis’s Abyssinian Mass. Her interests reached beyond classical music. In a student-led concert Alina and her colleagues performed a repertoire of contemporary music from famous video games. Other accomplishments include being a 2025 ICCA (International Championship of Collegiate A Capella) soloist in Madison, WI, with her collegiate acapella group: Parkside’s “Range.” She also became a third-place finalist at the state level in 2026 N.A.T.S (National Association of Teachers of Singing) vocal competition in her category.
Alina is very grateful to have received the George F. Baumgardt Memorial Music Scholarship that was made possible by Spirit of Racine Music Makers. She is looking forward to using all the skills and continued passion for education that the scholarship enabled her to cultivate, especially in her impending student teaching and her summer job as a music specialist at a summer camp.
