Yesse Kim (BM ’15, Piano), 22, knows how fortunate she is to be able to concentrate on her musical studies while at Peabody and not have to hold down a job. Currently a graduate student, she is a recipient of the Lillian Freundlich Endowed Scholarship. Ms. Kim’s tuition was covered by the Ruth J. Brouse Bauer Endowed Scholarship in Piano as she completed her bachelor’s degree in piano performance.

“It has really helped a lot because it has allowed me to focus on my studies,” says Ms. Kim. “It gives me a lot of time to work for myself, instead of having to work at a job to earn money to help pay my tuition.

“I was lucky,” she says, referring to her financial aid package. “We’ve got a very amazing dean who has worked hard to make scholarship funds available to students.”

The native Korean, who began playing the piano at age 6, says she hopes to combine a career in piano performance with some aspect of music education. “I love working with kids, and I would love to teach young kids,” says Ms. Kim.

She moved to Baltimore from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to do her undergraduate work at Peabody. A fan of Bach and an admirer of Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida, Ms. Kim studies with faculty artist and fellow Korean native Yong Hi Moon. “She has taught me so much, and she is such a significant part of my life,” says Ms. Kim.

The Bauer scholarship was originally established in 1999 and augmented in 2011 by the Ruth and Ted Bauer Family Foundation. It supports piano students in honor of Mrs. Bauer, who graduated from Peabody in 1968. Her late husband, Ted, who started the foundation, was a World War II veteran and alumnus of Harvard and New York University who chaired the Houston-based AIM Management Group.

— Christine Stutz