Keegan Kaiser Selected as 2025 Presser Scholar at the University of Kansas
LAWRENCE, KS — The KU School of Music is proud to announce that Keegan Kaiser is the recipient of The Presser Foundation’s 2024-25 Undergraduate Scholar Award. The Award is designed to encourage and support the education of a music student who has achieved a high level of musical and academic excellence, demonstrated leadership and service, and contributed to an inclusive community.
Keegan is a talented composer and arranger, with multiple works written for large and small ensembles within the KU Jazz Studies Program. Director Dan Gailey notes that Keegan also oversees many audio recording sessions for students at the KU School of Music, and volunteers at Olathe Northwest High School, assisting band directors with rehearsals in multiple ensembles.
“Keegan has been the lead alto saxophonist in KU Jazz Ensemble I since the beginning of his freshman year,” says Gailey. “During that time, the band has won three consecutive DownBeat Student Music Awards in the category of best college jazz ensemble in the United States and also was selected as a finalist at Wynton Marsalis’ Rudin Jazz Championship at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where Keegan was also recognized as the most outstanding musician on any instrument at the event.”
“Keegan Kaiser, whom I consider to be among my very best students, is a talented jazz improviser with a natural ability, musicality and strong intuition,” says Matt Otto, Associate Professor of Jazz Studies. “He is an accomplished alto saxophone player with a beautiful sound and a lyrical and mature style that is reminiscent of a much older musician. He is also a compelling composer and arranger and has produced many original works during the last four years studying with me at Kansas University. Keegan is also an intelligent, kind and thoughtful person which comes through very clearly in his playing, writing and communication.”
About The Presser Foundation:
The Presser Foundation was established in 1939 under the will of the late Theodore Presser. It is one of the few private foundations in the United States dedicated solely to music education and music philanthropy. Mr. Presser taught at many undergraduate and graduate music institutions. To honor his commitment to music education, undergraduate music programs at selected colleges, universities and independent institutions of higher education are given the opportunity to present the Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award, which recognizes the accomplishments and contribution of a music major in their final year of undergraduate study. The Foundation is committed to equitable, transparent, and forward-thinking philanthropy. For more information, please visit www.presserfoundation.org.