TIGER LEGACIES is published quarterly by the Gift Planning Department of the Fort Hays State University Foundation.

GIFT PLANNING http://foundation.fhsu.edu

http://fhsugift.org

FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION

PO Box 1060 – Hays, KS 67601785-628-5620

A scholarship fund has been established at Fort Hays State University to preserve memory of the Impromptwos, a singing and instrumental group with early history at the university.

In the summer of 1959 music instructor Mary Maude Moore accepted a position at FHSU. This acceptance was to enhance the lives of many people including students at the college, Kansans, and several countries abroad for the following seven years.

In 1960, the first auditions were held for the group and a beginning skeletal chorus group was formed at the direction of Moore. The group consisted of a men’s quartet and a lady’s sextet.

“One day,” begins Moore in a 1965 news article, “they were in a practice room at the same time and they started singing together. They sounded pretty good and I joined in and then someone said something about us forming a group. But we’re not a group of professional musicians as such. We’re just out here to sing and have fun.”

They coined a name for themselves—the Impromptwos—and demand for the 14-member troupe quickly grew.

Carried by two station wagons, the Impromptwos averaged one performance a week, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles by night, but always returning to campus in time for early morning classes. Requests for the Impromptwos continued to pour into Moore’s office, and in the summer of 1962 came the group’s big break: a USO tour of Greenland and Iceland, spending six weeks singing for servicemen.

Vacancies in the group, resulting from graduations, were filled solely by non-music majors, and Moore saw to it that their repertoire of songs was kept fresh and exciting. In the spring of 1965, the Impromptwos were again requested for a USO tour, this time a three month adventure to the Far East. Eighty-five shows, in all, were played in venues across Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Guam and the Philippines. Upon returning, the group was honored with a three-week spot at Disneyland, there enjoying the distinction of being the only non-professional group to receive an extended contract.

“I look back on the tour many times, and feel very fortunate to have been able to go,” recalls Gloria (McFarland) Battin. “At that time, I was only 21. But now that I’m older I appreciate the effort Mary Maude Moore must have made to coordinate such a task.”

The first recorded album, Impromptwos on Campus, was a sellout on both the first and second order. Songs performed on the Far East tour were featured on “The Impromptwos Hit the Road,” their second album. Additionally, the troupe was filmed and featured on the nationally-running Campus Talent ’66, an hour-long television special showcasing the best of university talent.

Following the Far East and Disneyland performances, the group continued for another year before all members went their separate ways. However, every few years since, the group gets together for reunions across the country.

“The seven years that I spent in Hays was the highlight of my life,” says Mary Maude Moore. “The people of Kansas have a special place in my heart. Even though I currently live in California and I’m from Oklahoma, I will always consider Hays as my home.”

The Impromptwos: a celebrated gem of Tiger history.TM

Fort Hays State UniversitySpring 2013 Gift Planning NewsletterTIGER LEGACIES

The purpose of this scholarship is to honor the memory of service to the university by Mary Maude Moore and the Fort Hays State Impromptwos and to provide financial assistance to students properly enrolled in any curriculum at Fort Hays State University.

The fund is established by friends of Mary Maude Moore and the Impromptwos, and past members of Impromptwos.

This fund is established with $10,000 by donations in memory of deceased Impromptwos and as a memorial to the group whose performances across many states and countries enhanced the status of the university they loved.

The recipient of this scholarship shall be a student from Kansas who has completed their college freshman year with a 2.0 GPA who: shows financial need, has demonstrated concern for

their community and is an inspiration for others to succeed.

As a point of understanding, while the Impromptwos were a musical group the scope of the scholarship will include all academic fields of study and shall not be specific as a music scholarship.

In all other aspects, these funds will be awarded without restriction to race, gender, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability.

Mary Maude Moore Impromptwo Scholarship Fund

The final choice of the recipient of this scholarship shall be made by the University Scholarship Committee of Fort Hays State University or its successor. Selection shall be made in the spring of each year funds are available for awarding to begin the following Fall.

Friends and former members can honor the Impromptwos by contributing to the Impromptwos Scholarship Fund. Your contribution would not only recognize a gem of Tiger history, but would also provide financial assistance to FHSU students for years to come.

To support this fund, please visit https://secure.fhsu.edu/foundation and enter "Impromptwo Scholarship" as area of designation.

S C H O L A R S H I PI N F O R M A T I O N

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Establishing a Scholarship Fund at Fort Hays State University:

The following information outlines the basic steps

necessary to establish a scholarship through your FHSU

Foundation. Please contact us for more information.

Scholarships at Fort Hays State are established through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with your FHSU Foundation. Answers to the following questions will help the Foundation prepare an MOU that would meet you (as the donor)'s philanthropic goals.

Criteria for awards are guidelines applicants must meet to be considered for the award. Criteria may include a preference for students of a certain classification (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, graduate student), grade point average, area of study, athletic program or come from a specific geographic area.

Reason for the gift must be provided. If this scholarship is in memory or honor of an individual/s, please provide information on their relationship with Fort Hays State University.

There are two scholarship types: annual and endowed. With an annual scholarship, a minimum annual contribution of $1000 is required each year by January 31 in order for the funds to be distributed that upcoming Fall semester. All of the money may be used for a scholarship award.

With endowed, a minimum gift of $10,000 is required to establish an endowed fund. The principle is invested. The allocated earnings per the payout policy are used for the scholarship award. Any earning above the payout poilcy are rolled into the principle to ensure long term growth. The donor has three years to reach the $10,000 gift level.

PO Box 1060Hays, KS 67601foundation.fhsu.edu

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(Please complete, cut out and return to the FHSU Foundation at PO Box 1060, Hays, KS 67601.All inquiries are treated with confidentiality.)

For More Information:

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