College vocal scholarships/competitions

Date: January 5, 2010

First of all, I have become a "choral net" fan. This is a tremendous resource to the choral music community world-wide and I personally want to thank all the people "behind the net" that bring this information to our fingertips each and every morning!

I serve a large church on the east coast....Wilmington, North Carolina....and find the choral resources to be very helpful (I'm really a DMA pianist with a full-time position directing a choir from the organ console!!!!). So I need all the help I can get! Before Chirstmas, choral net answered my question about convincing an "All-American" choir to sing Latin to an "All-American" congregation. Rutter's magnificent "Magnificat" gently lifted all those language concerns and gave us a glimpse into that moment in scripture. Thanks to you and your professional input, I survived the battle!

My question to the forum has to do with scholarship resources. I have looked into the past threads and haven't found anything on scholarship offers for high school seniors pursuing a double major in vocal performance/music ed.

My daughter just recieved the four-year renewable Dean's Scholarship to Westminster Choir College. While we are truly amazed at this offer (she's a soprano) we are still "behind the eight-ball" when it comes to funding a private school education. We're looking into all the scholarship offers we can, so I thought I'd ask the choral net community if there are any additional foundations/philanthopists that you may know of for entering vocal majors.

She's got the repertoire and we can travel (I'm her accompanist :) ) so if you know of any auditions/competitions she is ready to enter them.

Thanks,

Dr. Curtis

Reply >>

John Howell on January 5, 2010 5:22pm

Hi, Bettsy. I don't have the answer, but the two sources for finding it are probably your high school guidance counselor (who may not be specifically knowledgeable about music scholarships) and the Financial Aid Office at Westminster (or any other ccllege that accepts her).

Private school tuition (isn't Westminster private?) is always extremely high, but that doesn't mean that you end up paying the retail price. That's what Financial Aid Offices do--help families build a collection of financial aid, including loans, to allow the students to attend. Generally a particular Department may also have a certain amount of scholarship aid available, in addition to the institutional aid, but of course that gets folded into the overall Financial Aid package.

Some schools try to cover all the costs for graduate students--I happen to know that Peabody is one of them because we had a student, a soprano, accepted there--but it would be very unusual for an undergrad to get that kind of financial aid. However, it's obvious that someone at Westminster thinks highly of your daughter's potential, and that's worth even more than the scholarship offer!

Have you investigated local or regional service organizations that have supporting students in the arts as one of their missions? Or local or regional competitions with scholarships for the winners? Here in Virginia we have the Bland Scholarship comptetiion (named for James Bland, composer of "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny") aimed at high school students. I think there are also NATS competitions, although I'm more aware of college students entering them than high school students. The Met National Competition is probably more suitable for college students, and grad students at that.

And don't forget that Work-Study can be an excellent source for additional funds, for students who qualify. Departments love to use that program because they can hire help very inexpensively, and while the work may not be inspiring, it probably beats flipping burgers! My late wife worked in the Music Library when she was an undergrad at Indiana. It just takes good time management skills.

All the best to you and your family. It's a confusing time, but also a very exciting one.

John

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