Music Major Scholarship Auditions
Incoming students who intend to major in music are eligible for the Amelia B. Walford Music Scholarship and the Henry and Grace Spicer Music Scholarship.
This year there are two ways to audition: a live audition and interview on campus on Saturday, February 24, 2024 (deadline to schedule an audition: Feb. 20, 2024); or submission of audition recordings by Feb. 20, 2024, followed by a Zoom interview on Saturday, Feb. 24.
Audition recordings can be submitted either as links (youtube, dropbox, etc.) or as e-mail attachments. If we have any trouble accessing your recordings, we will respond. See below for details of the application process.
Aurelia B. Walford Scholarship in Music
This scholarship is awarded to music majors or to students who intend to major in music. Entering freshmen must audition since performance skills are a major factor in determining the award. Advanced students, sophomores and above, must have an overall 3.0 GPA and an average 3.2 GPA in their major. It was established in 1976 by the estate of Aurelia B. Walford.
Henry and Grace Spicer Philharmonic Scholarship
The scholarship is awarded annually to a student with a major in music or to a student who is a member of the UMW Philharmonic Orchestra. It was established in 2007 through a bequest from the estate of Henry Spicer.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applicants need not specify the scholarship you are applying for—although to receive the Spicer scholarship you must enroll in the Philharmonic. Both the Walford and the Spicer scholarships are renewable three times (for four years of the award), although the award amount may very a bit year to year. Other music scholarships are available as well, but the Walford and Spicer scholarships are awarded prior to matriculation.
First, please e-mail music@umw.edu to indicate your interest in applying. In the body of the e-mail, please include
- Complete contact information (your name, mailing address, telephone number and preferred e-mail).
- A brief description detailing your musical study up to this point (school/church/community ensembles, private lessons, competitions/certifications, school courses, etc).
- Contact information (e-mail and/or telephone) for at least one musical reference (for example, your teacher or ensemble director), with an indication of how they have worked with you.
- RECORDED AUDITIONS: For students intending to matriculate in the 2024-25 academic year, the due date for recorded audition materials is February 20, 20234by e-mail to music@umw.edu. On or by that date, please submit two recorded selections—either as files attached to the e-mail, links for access through a cloud storage service (dropbox, googledrive, etc), youtube links, or the like. We ask that you choose contrasting pieces that demonstrate the breadth of your performing abilities. (The pieces may represent different musical styles, or pose different technical or interpretive challenges.) For singers, it is recommended that at least one of the songs be in a language other than English. For singers and pianists, memorized repertoire is preferred (but not required). If your music requires accompaniment, we would prefer to have you perform with an accompanist. You may audition in more than one medium (instrument/voice), but provide two selections for each medium in which you apply. We will contact you to schedule a Zoom follow-up interview to be held on February 24, 2024.
- LIVE AUDITIONS: After we have received your e-mail, we will schedule an audition slot for you on February 24, 2024. We ask that you choose contrasting pieces that demonstrate the breadth of your performing abilities. (The pieces may represent different musical styles, or pose different technical or interpretive challenges.) For singers, it is recommended that at least one of the songs be in a language other than English. For singers and pianists, memorized repertoire is preferred (but not required). If your music requires accompaniment, we would prefer to have you perform with an accompanist. You may audition in more than one medium (instrument/voice), but provide two selections for each medium in which you apply.
If you have questions, please contact the Music Department Office Manager, Maxxx Dennis (mdennis3@umw.edu)
Note: in order to receive UMW Scholarship funding, you will also need to apply through the Scholarship portal (https://umw.scholarships.ngwebsolutions.com/), although you do not need to complete that prior to your audition.