Music Scholarships 2010

Whether you are a ten-year-old whose family struggles to pay your bus fares to weekly piano lessons, a 15-year-old composer in need of greater stimulation than your mainstream school can provide, a student organist or a graduate singer embarking on a career in a poorly-paid profession, there is probably a pot of money somewhere that will help you to surmount the financial challenges of your situation. Rhinegold’s 2010 guide to Music Scholarships highlights some of the options available.

Bank account
Most independent schools are keen to woo talented musicians by offering them scholarships and bursaries. But how are these awards funded, and what do the schools expect of the recipients in return?

More than the money
For ten years Awards for Young Musicians have been helping families to bear the ancillary costs of learning an instrument; now the charity is broadening its reach into the primary sector  

What’s in a nutshell?
Members of the European String Teachers Association may apply for bursaries from the Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Fund in order to help them attend workshops, conferences and teaching courses – and students are eligible too

The Aldeburgh effect
The spirit of Benjamin Britten lives on in the work of the east of England’s new Centre for Advanced Training, established as part of the government’s Music and Dance Scheme to broaden opportunities for young musicians

All that jazz
Yamaha’s scholarships for young jazz musicians are helping to keep a great tradition alive and kicking

Open sesame
Every year Cambridge University lifts the lid on its choral and organ scholarships, offering specialist open days to help prospective candidates find their way through the complex admission process

Ancient and modern
One of the oldest colleges of Oxford University, 13th-century Merton, has just established the newest collegiate choir, offering 16 choral scholarships for sopranos, altos, tenors and basses

French accent
The legacy of a great exponent of French repertoire lives on in the Maggie Teyte Awards for female singers

·         Read about the Royal Philharmonic Society's Barbirolli Foundation, which helps students to purchase quality instruments

·         PLUS, we give you advice on the funding available for instrumental lessons at universities that don't offer music degrees