Norman Wong Scholarship Fund
Purpose
The Norman Wong Scholarship was established to provide annual financial tuition and camp assistance for boys who are enrolled in the San Francisco Boys Chorus and to memorialize Norman Kim Wong, a devoted alumnus of the Boys Chorus, who died July 31, 1989. The fund is under the management of the San Francisco Foundation.
Background
The Norman Wong Scholarship Fund was established to honor the memory of an alumnus and long-time devoted friend of the San Francisco Boys Chorus. A San Francisco native, Norman served on the musical and camp staff of the Chorus, working under Artistic Director William Ballard. He conducted the staged operetta on the program of the Boys Chorus’ 1975 tour to Romania and was conductor of the summer opera program at City College of San Francisco. Norman was a much-loved teacher at the Cleveland Elementary School in Oakland and in his “spare time” a fixture of theater and concert life in San Francisco serving as a house manager for the Marines Memorial Theater and a head usher for innumerable performances throughout the City. As Co-Music Director of City Summer Opera at City College, his credits include Candide (1982), Mahagonny (1987), Mother of Us All (1988) , and Paul Bunyan (1989).
Boys who apply for assistance annually at the San Francisco Boys Chorus and demonstrate the need for assistance are eligible to receive the Norman Wong Scholarship. Preference is given on the basis of ethnicity in order to advance diversity at the San Francisco Boys Chorus.
Alan W. Buch of Pennsylvania and Donald E. Osborne of California currently serve as overseers of the Norman Wong Scholarship Fund, providing guidance and support for the San Francisco Boys Chorus Board of Directors.
