District 7 Scholarship Program

The Scholarship

Five $750 scholarships based upon academic and musical excellence will be awarded to the five most deserving high school musicians, as selected by the District 7 Scholarship Committee. There will be one scholarship for each annual festival –Band, Orchestra, Chorus and Jazz/Vocal Jazz – and a General Music Scholarship for which participation in a District Festival is not a requirement.

The money will be sent to the parents of the recipients by June 1. The check will be made payable to the student and the designated university. Prior to the distribution of funds, the District 7 Secretary/Treasurer will contact the appropriate university and confirm the student's enrollment for the following year.

The scholarship will be presented to the winner(s) at their home school during an appropriate ceremony, if possible.

 

Candidates

Applicant must be a senior currently enrolled at a high school in District 7 and must be planning a career in music education.

Applicant should indicate participation in PMEA Festivals as applicable. Students who have not participated in a District Festival may apply for consideration for the General Music Scholarship. Applicants will be considered in all scholarship areas for which they qualify, although they may be eligible to receive a maximum of one scholarship.

The applicant's director must be a current member of PMEA-MENC.

 

Application Process

Applications will be included in the fall newsletter and will be available online for all prospective applicants.

Completed applications will be returned to the Vice President who will serve as chairperson of the Scholarship Committee.

The Vice President will be responsible for supplying each District Festival host with a letter explaining the scholarship program to be included in the folders of all festival participants. Prospective applicants may obtain an application form online.

The deadline for returning completed applications will be April 8, 2009.

Applications consist of:

  1. Completed application
  2. Recommendation of high school music director
  3. Recommendation of high school principal
  4. High school transcript
  5. Verification of college application and acceptance for the study of music education at an accredited university.
  6. An essay on why music education is important and why the student wants to pursue a career in this field

 

Selection process

The scholarship committee will consist of the

  1. District 7 Vice President - Committee Chairperson
  2. District 7 Secretary/Treasurer
  3. District 7 President
  4. Hosts of respective district festivals 
  5. Curriculum/Instruction representative

This committee will meet prior to the May Executive Board meeting at 11:00 am.

Selection for each scholarship will be based on musical excellence, participation in school and community music groups, academic achievement, and application preparation and completeness. For the General Music Scholarship, special consideration shall be given to students who demonstrate a great passion for teaching music, regardless of festival participation. Each committee member will rank the applicants, and an average will be taken to decide the winners.

The winners should be announced at the May Executive Meeting.

A scholarship may be transferred to another area if no student meets the criteria (ie. if no student from the orchestra festival meets the criteria, the scholarship may be transferred to the Band or Chorus area).

 

PRINTABLE APPLICATION (PDF)