Scholarships & Competitions
Scholarships
Paul J. and Charlotta Ross Scholarship Application
The Paul J. and Charlotta Ross Young Musician’s Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation was created to provide educational assistance to students who are pursuing their interests in music through enrollment in either the Three Rivers Young People’s Orchestra or the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony
Deadline: Application is open from May 1 to July 30.
For more information and applications visit The Pittsburgh Foundation
PYSO Membership Dues Scholarship Fund
In memory of Marie Maazel | In honor of Lawrence Loh | In memory of Lucio Rossetti
Scholarship assistance, based on financial need or merit, is available for membership dues. If you wish to apply, please download the PYSO Membership Dues Scholarship Application form and submit it to the PYSO office no later than Wednesday, August 15th.
2018-2019 PYSO Concerto and Solo Competition
For PYSO Members Only:
The date for this year’s PYSO Concerto Competition has not been set. Please check back in September for more information.
The first place winner of PYSO’s Concerto Competition traditionally performs with PYSO in its Spring Heinz Hall concert.
2018 United States Marine Band High School Concerto Competition
“The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, in conjunction with the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, is pleased to announce its annual concerto competition for high school woodwind, brass, or percussion musicians. The winner will appear as a guest soloist with the U.S. Marine Band and receive a $2,500 scholarship from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. The runner up will receive a $500 scholarship.
Application packets must be postmarked or time stamped by Nov. 15, 2018. To submit an electronic/online application click here:
For more information about the United States Marine Band Educational Programs visit their website,
The Pittsburgh Philharmonic Young Artist Concerto Competition 2018
The Pittsburgh Philharmonic invites applications from high school musicians performing on harp, strings, brass or woodwinds.
Applicants must be residents of Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Washington or Westmoreland Counties.
The Young Artist Competition Winner will be invited to perform with The Pittsburgh Philharmonic’s March 9th and 10th 2018 Concerts and will receive a $250 scholarship.
The Pittsburgh Foundation
There are a number of student scholarships that are available through designated funds at The Pittsburgh Foundation. Many have very specific restrictions, others do not. Here is a link where you can find more information including deadlines.
Keynotes Music Scholarship Competition
Up to $10,000 can be awarded at Keynotes Music Scholarship Competition in the spring. Applicants must be full-time music majors currently enrolled at a music school or in the music department of a college or university – OR – graduating high school students that have been accepted for admission and will enroll as full-time music students.
Tuesday Musical Club Scholarships
Auditions for Tuesday Musical Club Scholarships will take place in May, 2018. High school seniors and college students could apply.
Blackwood Music Scholarships
Blackwood Music Scholarships are available to high school seniors intending to pursue a career in instrumental music performance. Scholarships and grants totaling $25,000, in varying amounts from $2,000 to $5,000 were available for the year 2016.
Applications must be postmarked by: February 1, 2018
Markus and Esther Klein Scholarship Fund - for String Players
Violin, viola, cello, or bass players in the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra may be eligible to apply to the Markus and Esther Klein Scholarship Fund, which was established by the friends and family of Markus and Esther Klein. Mr. Klein was a violinist and a very active and well-known teacher in the Pittsburgh area. Applications are due May 15, 2018. Note: applicants must have completed at least one full season prior to the time of application, and be a senior in high school at the time of application. Scholarship awards would be used for the continuation of violin, viola, cello, or bass study at the college level.
Concerto Competitions & Performances
The Pittsburgh Concert Society Young Artists Competition
The Pittsburgh Concert Society (PCS) holds auditions in the Young Artist category to provide recital performance opportunities and financial support to highly-qualified, young classical musicians who live in the Pittsburgh area.
For PYSO members needing help with pianists’ fees, financial assistance is available.
Please send an email to info@pittsburghconcertsociety.org if you wish to ask for this assistance.
Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh Young Artists Competition
The Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh sponsors an annual Young Artists competition took place in January 2018.
Pittsburgh Philharmonic Young Artist Concerto Competition
Marine Corps Band Concerto Competition
The President’s Own United States Marine Band, in conjunction with the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, is pleased to announce its annual concerto competition for high school wind and percussion musicians. The winner will appear as a guest soloist with the U.S. Marine Band and receive a $2,500 scholarship from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. The runner up will receive a $500 scholarship.
Musicians with a Mission
Contact Founding Director Devin Arrington for more information: devinarrington@gmail.com.
Funded Summer Programs
The National Youth Orchestra of the USA
Each summer, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute brings together the brightest young players from across the country to form the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), a free program for all participants. Following a comprehensive audition process and a three-week training residency with leading professional orchestra musicians, these remarkable teenagers embark on a tour to some of the great music capitals of the world, serving as dynamic music ambassadors. In 2018, the orchestra travels to Asia with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, performing a new Carnegie Hall–commissioned work by Ted Hearne alongside works by Sibelius and Gershwin. The tour kicks off with the orchestra’s annual concert at Carnegie Hall, continuing with stops in Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, and Daejeon.
The program provides room and board during the residency and covers all expenses related to instructional, rehearsal, performance, and tour activities (including tour-related visa costs, airfares, and other transportation, as well as hotels, meals and group sightseeing).
Application deadlines for the 2018 NYOUSA have passed.
NYO2
NYO2, a summer orchestral training program with a particular focus on attracting talented students (ages 14-17) from groups underserved by and underrepresented in the classical orchestral field, runs in conjunction with NYO-USA’s annual summer residency in New York. The 2017 program will take place from early July through early August. NYO2 is free for all participants, including room and board, and all rehearsal, teaching, and performance activities.
Applications for 2018 NYO2 have passed.
Brevard Summer Institute