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 recipients by June 1.  Prior to the distribution of funds, the District 7 Secretary/Treasurer may 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 posted in the fall 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 may also supply each District Festival host with a letter explaining the scholarship program to be included in the folders of all festival participants.  Prospective applicants will obtain the application form online.

The deadline for returning completed applications will be March 31, 2012.

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.
7. A digital picture of yourself for publicity purposes (such as a senior picture) to be used if you are selected for one of the scholarships. You may submit it on a CD with the rest of your application or upload a digital file below.


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 representatives

This committee will meet prior to the May Executive Board meeting at 12:15 p.m.

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.  The PMEA District 7 Scholarship Scoring Guide shall serve as an aid to reaching consensus.

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).