Scholarships & Fellowships
Music scholarships and fellowships are awarded on the basis of performance ability and musical promise and are competitive across the applicant pool. Each student is considered for talent-based scholarship, and audition for admission to the School of Music constitutes audition for all talent-based monies, except for the Presidential Music Scholarship Competition. Types of awards include:
- The Presidential Scholarship
- Bain Vocal Fellowships – renewable annually based on maintenance of appropriate criteria. Growing from a generous bequest of Wilfred Bain, founder of the Houghton College Choir and pre-eminent American music educator, the Bain Fellowships are awarded annually to the outstanding soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and baritone/bass entering first-year student. Recipients will be music majors, though in cases of exceptional merit an award may be made to a non-major. Fellowship holders will participate in choral and chamber ensembles as well as Houghton Opera Players. Consideration for these fellowships is concurrent with entrance auditions to the School of Music.
- Instrumental Ensemble Fellowships – renewable annually based on maintenance of appropriate criteria. Houghton Ensemble and Keyboard Fellowships are awarded for excellence in musical achievement and for participation in chamber, collaborative, and large ensemble music-making while at Houghton College. Recipients will have opportunities for solo, chamber, collaborative, and large-ensemble performances, both on-campus and in the greater Buffalo and Rochester areas. Fellowship recipients may also be eligible for other merit-based awards. Audition for these fellowships is concurrent with entrance auditions to the School of Music, or by special audition for those not intending a music major. These fellowships are open to all talented musicians. For Keyboard Fellowships, excellent sight-reading skills are required in addition to other audition criteria.
- Performance Grants – renewable annually based on maintenance of appropriate criteria. The typical holder of a performance grant will be a talented student (any instrument or voice part) choosing a bachelor of music curriculum or - in some cases- possessing solid skills on an instrument of particular need to our major ensembles or programs.
Music scholarship/fellowship determination will be made by March 18, 2012.
Audition requirements (PDF) and application forms (PDF) will be sent upon request, or can be downloaded from the website. You may also apply online. Write, call, or e-mail the Greatbatch School of Music, Houghton College, for more information.
For information on general financial aid and financial aid packages, please contact
Student Financial Services, Houghton College.
Click here for information on visiting Houghton College.
Presidential Scholarship
A $50,000 award ($12,500 per year, renewable annually) to the outstanding First-Year Student majoring in music at Houghton College. Audition is by invitation only.
A $20,000 award ($5,000 renewable annually)
Download the Presidential scholarship application (PDF), or read further:
Competition Information for the Presidential Scholarship
1. Competition: Saturday, February 4, and
Saturday, February 18, 2012
2. To apply: submit an audition recording (CD,DVD,
or VHS) and schedule an entrance audition. Music for the
recording should consist of two selections (may be from the
guidelines below, or two other selections). Include your name,
repertoire titles, and composers on your recording. (It is
especially important to put your name on the CD,DVD, or VHS.)
This audition recording does not take the place of your entrance
audition.
3. Recordings must be submitted by December 2, 2011.
4. Applicants will be invited to compete by December
16, 2011.
5. The winner will be notified by mail by March 16,
2012.
6. Application and recommendation forms for the
Greatbatch School of Music will be sent upon receipt of the
audition recording.
7. The competition will be video-taped. The decision
of the Presidential committee is final.
ELIGIBILITY:
1. The scholarship will be awarded only to an
entering first-year student pursuing a bachelor of music degree.
2. All entrants must have completed application
procedures to Houghton College and the Greatbatch School of
Music, including entrance audition, prior to their competition
date.
3. High-quality academic work is expected, as
evidenced by high school record and SAT test scores.
4. Entrants shall exhibit evidence of outstanding
talent, potential, and solid preparation.
5. Entrants must affirm a personal Christian
commitment, undertaking to live this commitment in their daily
lives and through their musical calling.
CONDITIONS:
1. The scholarship may be held for a maximum of four
years, and will be forfeited if the recipient changes to a
curriculum other than bachelor of music.
2. A minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 in
college work is required to retain the scholarship.
PROCESS:
The Presidential Scholarship process will consist of two parts:
1. an audition/interview with faculty in specialty,
which will also serve as an entrance audition
2. a performance of 10-15 minutes of music
(composition applicants will perform at least one original piece
live, and may also play recordings of other pieces, as
appropriate)
Repertoire Guidelines for the Competition
Composition: Written scores (and recordings, if available) of
two or three original compositions must be submitted. If invited
for an audition, applicants will perform at least oneoriginal
piece live, and may also play recordings of other pieces, as
appropriate.
Instrumental: Three solo pieces or movements demonstrating both
technical ability and legato technique. One piece should be from
either the Baroque or the Classical era. At least one piece should
be performed from memory.
Piano: Three selections from different style periods (Baroque,
Classical, Romantic, Modern) to be performed from memory.
Organ: Two selections from different style periods (one by Bach,
if possible) on the organ, and one or two selections on the
piano. Music may be used for the organ pieces, but the piano
compositions should be performed from memory.
Voice: Four or five selections, demonstrating both legato
singing and technical ability. The selections should be made
from the standard repertoire of art song and easier operatic
arias, and all should be performed from memory. At least one
song in Italian from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
and at least one German Lied (sung in either German or English)
must be performed.
