Woodbine Productions: Scholarships Take Center Stage

What began as an anonymous donor’s idea 19 years ago has led to over 50 shows featuring globally recognized performers, countless opportunities for students, and over $1 million in scholarships.

With the donor’s generosity underwriting the cost of each show, the full proceeds of ticket sales fuel music scholarships for Jackrabbits. Visiting artists engage with SDSU students, offering master classes and lectures. On some occasions, students might even join the performers onstage.  

Woodbine Productions is known for transforming lives: Jackrabbits uplifted with scholarships, budding musicians inspired by top-notch talent, and a community drawn together by unforgettable performances. 

Marian Beck, a Woodbine Scholarship recipient, describes the arrangement as a wheel that keeps on turning, self-perpetuating impact for both campus and community. Students of all ages can attend a Woodbine show, exposing them to opportunity in the fine arts and sparking a lasting impression. Inspired, those students go on to enroll at SDSU, benefit from scholarship support, and interact with world-renowned performers, all with the eyes of the next generation taking in the show. As scholarship dollars grow, premier acts make Brookings a priority, and college students learn to picture themselves in the spotlight, the wheel of Woodbine Productions never stops turning.  

Micah Perry 

Micah Perry has grown from every Woodbine Productions show he’s attended. He was starstruck watching Pentatonix’s a capella wow the audience during his high school years. He never forgot a moving speech he witnessed from Leslie Odom, Jr., stressing the importance of persistence in pursuing a dream. He counts Post-Modern Jukebox as his favorite show, feeling floored at their ability to rouse a crowd. As a rising opera musician himself, Micah clearly learned from the best. 

A native of Brookings, Micah was ready to be part of the magic he’d witnessed at SDSU when it came time to choose a college. Woodbine Productions enriched his Jackrabbit experience with scholarship support, allowing him to dive into extracurriculars and easing his financial burdens.  

Following graduation in 2021, Micah earned his master’s at Baylor University. Since then, his life has been a frenzy of freelance performances across Texas, as well as gigs in Pensacola, where he’ll be performing in Oklahoma! next spring.  

Micah looks back on Woodbine Scholarships as a key factor in his recruitment to State, lauding the program as a brilliant and unique approach to funding scholarships while keeping the arts alive. 

“It’s incredible that students benefit from financial support while the community benefits from exposure to these amazing performers,” he says. “These are opportunities that change lives.” 

Marian Beck 

Woodbine Productions empowered Marian Beck to become the educator she was always meant to be. Hailing from a farm near Sioux Falls, Marian knew from a young age that she wanted to be involved with music. Receiving the Woodbine Scholarship sealed the deal for her to become a Jackrabbit, positioning her to explore interests outside the classroom and even study abroad.  

“Having that scholarship opened so many doors for me. It took away extra hurdles and allowed me to focus on music and prepare to be a teacher.”  

After graduation in 2013, she began her career at the Mobridge-Pollock School District, where she’d teach for four years. Today, Marian is a musician on the move, acting as band director for McGovern Middle School, Garfield Elementary, and Lowell Elementary. She hopes that her students have the chance to see Woodbine Productions shows someday just as she did, noting how performances of that caliber help musicians, especially Jackrabbits, envision a similar path for themselves. Because of one donor’s dream, the spotlight is within reach.  

“Even though I may never know who the donor is, their kindness and generosity has greatly impacted my life,” says Marian. “You never know what’s going to inspire a student to keep making music.” 

Halle Mallard

Halle Mallard believes that music is medicine. Thanks to Woodbine Productions, she was able to pursue both music and a career in the medical field during her time at SDSU, made possible by scholarship support. Intent on a future in health care, her career path entailed rigorous study and an immersion in all things science. Still, Halle harbored a lifelong love of music, having played the trumpet and violin since elementary school. Though she didn’t plan on a musical career, Woodbine Productions provided her a much-needed creative outlet.

“Having the financial support to do music in college made me realize it was important to be involved in things unrelated to my major,” says Halle. “Woodbine showed me the arts matter, too.” 

Scholarship support allowed Halle to keep music in her life, offering financial resources that ensured she could join the Pride of the Dakotas. Despite an ambitious academic schedule, the Woodbine Scholarship paved the way for invaluable experiences outside the classroom.

Today, Halle teaches anatomy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where she earned her Ph.D. in 2023. She’s also a violinist for the Nebraska Medical Orchestra. Halle and the ensemble often perform in the hospital lobby, brightening patients’ days and proving that music, too, is medicine. The group embodies Woodbine Productions' core message: regardless of career paths or circumstances, the arts are for all. 

Written by the SDSU Alumni & Foundation