2021 Takamine Acoustic Guitar Scholarship at Musicians Institute Winner: Varad Sahasrabudhe

Varad Sahasrabudhe

Musicians Institute and The Musicians Foundation are pleased to announce that MI Bachelor’s Program student Varad Sahasrabudhe is the recipient of the 2021 Takamine Acoustic Guitar Scholarship.  Varad comes to MI’s Guitar Program from Pune, India with seven years of guitar playing and performing experience in multiple genres including Jazz, R&B, Blues, Rock, and Indie music.

Varad shared that his primary areas of focus during his studies include: “Musicianship skills, theory, arranging, technique in order to become a well-educated musician.”

When asked what does winning this scholarship award mean to you?  Varad shared “This scholarship is a sort of milestone to me in this period of my music career. This is definitely a help financially and for me to gauge my level of understanding of things. I am stoked to win this and now on to next thing.”

He sees his MI education as an important key to achieving his dream of one day being able to “…find my own sound, as well as performing live, teaching, and becoming a session player. If I can inspire people by my own music, that would be the ultimate accolade.”

Everyone at MI congratulates Varad on winning this prestigious scholarship award, as he continues his studies at MI!

Special thanks to our longtime industry partner, ESP and Takamine Guitars for generously sponsoring this scholarship, which helps to provide talented students like Varad with the support, tools and recognition they need to launch successful careers in the music industry.

Be sure to visit Takamine Guitars  to learn more their full line of guitar products, and their exciting partnership with ESP Electric Guitars.

The Musicians Foundation
2020-2021

2020 TAKAMINE ACOUSTIC GUITAR SCHOLARSHIP WINNER at MUSICIANS INSTITUTE: Akshay Dakhane

Akshay Dakhane

Musicians Institute and The Musicians Foundation are pleased to announce that current MI student Akshay Dakhane is the recipient of the 2020 Takamine Acoustic Guitar Scholarship.  Akshay comes to MI’s Guitar Program from Mumbai, India with several years of guitar playing and performing experience in multiple genres including Blues, Jazz, R&B, Country, Rock, and Indie music.

Akshay shared that his primary areas of focus during his MI Guitar Program studies include: “expediting my songwriting process, guitar playing, theory, ear training, keyboard playing, songwriting, music business, marketing, Photoshop and production (Ableton).  He also added that “I am currently enrolled in the Guitar AA Degree Program with an emphasis on Independent Artist Program. MI has been a plethora of information so far! There is so much to learn.”

He sees his MI education as an important key to achieving his dream of one day being able to “entertain people and make them smile. I want to write controversial songs, bringing attention to charities I believe are doing something noble like feeding the underprivileged and educating them to change their circumstances. I aspire to write music that is thought provoking, something I feel is lacking in music produced today.”

When asked what does winning this scholarship award  mean to you?  Akshay shared “I’m going to be honest, I really really wanted this scholarship! I don’t have an acoustic guitar and I really wanted a Takamine guitar. Every time I used to practice in school, I used to borrow the Takamine acoustic guitar from the MI library. I can’t wait to play the new guitar!”

He added, “on a serious note, due to COVID-19, every industry has suffered economically, including my father’s. My parents are supporting me financially to go to MI and I’m deeply grateful to them. Just to have a little burden taken off their shoulders helps immensely. Thank you Takamine!”

Everyone at MI congratulates Akshay on winning this prestigious scholarship award, as he continues his studies at MI!

Special thanks to our longtime industry partner, ESP and Takamine Guitars for generously sponsoring this scholarship, which helps to provide talented students like Akshay with the support, tools and recognition they need to launch successful careers in the music industry.

Be sure to visit Takamine Guitars  to learn more their full line of guitar products, and their exciting partnership with ESP Electric Guitars.

2019-2020 GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency