Fluteland.com Flute Message Board

Hello, everyone!

I've been browsing through countless scholarships, and I can't seem to find any flute scholarships I could obtain here in Pennsylvania. I'm not really sure how it works, but I'm assuming there are organizations that give out money I could use for any school.

I have been playing the flute for about 8 years. I'm fairly decent at playing, but not exceedingly fantastic. I was just wondering if anyone knows of any scholarships I might be able to apply for.

In essence, here are my questions:
-Are there any scholarships for just playing the flute (without actually auditioning)?
-What scholarships are out there that you have to audition for?
-Are there scholarships for being in a wind ensemble, marching band, or concert band?


Please keep in mind that I'm basically average when it comes to grades.

Thanks!

-Are there any scholarships for just playing the flute (without actually auditioning)?

No. If there are, I seriously doubt it. The only music type scholarships that I am aware of that don't require auditions are generally through music fraternities. However, your competency as a player and a student are proven through your essays, resumé, and GPA. Furthermore they look into your membership records. Seeing as how you are not yet in a college fraternity, these are not feasible.

-What scholarships are out there that you have to audition for?
All of them require auditions (or at least 99.99999% of them, and are very competitive). Most scholarships are through the school. You have to contact the schools you are interested in about scholarship opportunities.

-Are there scholarships for being in a wind ensemble, marching band, or concert band?

Generally no. It's not that easy in music, and especially for flute. Involvement in University ensembles is usually a requirement to keep scholarship money (if any is awarded to you). Most schools of music require you to be in University ensembles anyway, and scholarships might require you to be in more than the minimum amount required.

Here's the deal with flute and schools and scholarships. There are very few opportunities for scholarship money that is specifically dedicated to flutists that is not tied to a school. Those opportunities are generally rare and require a high GPA, high test scores, and phenomenal musicianship. We're talking about things like Fulbright Scholarships (although Fulbright covers large arrays of scholarship programs), where it is a cultural exchange internationally (study abroad). Even when auditioning for local schools flute scholarships are competitive because flute is a popular instrument. Depending on the school, competition for admittance is insanely competitive. Just this past weekend I took an audition for a school where one of the other applicants was a Finalist for the Pacific Symphony and a Semi Finalist for the Boston Symphony flute jobs. Schools like Juilliard for example get hundreds of applicants and only accept 2-3 students. The school I auditioned at this past weekend had over 100 applicants and he only had ONE (1) spot open. From what I know immediately I'm at least on the waiting list there.

It's tough. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it, but rather that it's really hard. I'm probably going to end up pursuing other interests for a full time career and be a part time Pro-level flutist.

Good Luck.

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“A painter paints his pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. We provide the music, and you provide the silence.” - Leopold Stokowski

Thank you very much, Flute guy! That was very insightful.

What scholarship should I enter my research project in? I am a high school senior in Michigan. I have done a research project about the relationship between blood type and the age of diagnosis of Leukemia. I was supposed to enter it in the YES Competition (Young Epidemiologist Scholarship Competition) but I missed the deadline. I don't want to throw this research project to the side, and I want to enter it in another scholarship. Are there any out there?

You might want to ask a different forum for advice on that. We're flute players, not biologists.

Ask an athlete.

_________________
“A painter paints his pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. We provide the music, and you provide the silence.” - Leopold Stokowski