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Music Scholarships at MSU Denver
The Department of Music is proud to offer many different scholarships for music students!
Students can apply for Music Department scholarships via AcademicWorks during the open application window December 1 – May 15.
Scholarships recipients are announced during the spring semester and receive their award in the following academic year.
Each of the Music Department scholarships has unique eligibility criteria, and recipients are determined by a scholarship committee made up of Music Department faculty and in some cases, the donor. Learn more about each of our scholarships below.
Music Department Scholarships & Criteria
Elisabeth Knappenberger Elm was a passionate supporter of music and the arts, and this endowed scholarship was created as a foundation to provide enduring support of band members in the Symphonic Band or Wind Ensemble at MSU Denver.
Criteria:
- Be a band member for at least one year in Symphonic Band or Wind Ensemble
- Demonstrate an enduring commitment to the band program through musicianship, dependability, loyalty and cooperation in a 250 word essay
- No minimum credit enrollment
- Minimum cumulative GPA 2.5
Beverly Fernald taught voice at Metropolitan State University of Denver from 1970 to 2002. Upon her retirement, the Beverly Fernald scholarship was established. The purpose of the scholarship is to support voice performance majors who hold Beverly’s high ideals for a career in performance and teaching.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music performance major at the time of application
- Must have passed the Voice Performance Audition
- Must be willing to give back to the MSU Denver Music Department in ways best suited to their circumstance
- Must perform a scholarship audition (date listed on application) demonstrating vocal ability
- Minimum 12 credit hours enrollment at the time of application with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5
Christopher Priolo served as a part-time faculty member and Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition at MSU Denver from 1982 until his untimely death in 1989. He was a gifted composer and teacher and was so missed by his family, friends, music department colleagues, and students that they created the Christopher Priolo Endowed Scholarship for Music Composition to honor and perpetuate his creative legacy.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music composition major accepted into the composition program at the time of application
- Outstanding achievement or potential as a composer
- Minimum 6 credit hours enrollment at the time of application and throughout the duration of the award with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5
The Dale Bruning Jazz & Improvised Music Endowed Scholarship honors the life of influential jazz guitarist Dale Bruning and is offered to a student in the Jazz & American Improvised Studies concentration every year.
Dale Bruning was born and raised in Carbondale, Pennsylvania and played piano and guitar during his childhood. He spent four years touring with the US Navy Bands performing on guitar. Bruning moved to Denver in 1964 and began teaching and performing with notable jazz musicians including Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Frisell, and Chet Baker. Bruning is one of Colorado’s most influential, innovative, and important educators. Dale’s students, including Mr. Frisell, can be heard on recordings and bandstands around the world. Bruning is perhaps best known for the Dale Bruning Jazz Guitar Instruction Book Series. The first volume was published in 1997 and the series has received critical acclaim.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music major with a concentration in Jazz and American Improvised Music
- Have exceptional dedication to the study of Jazz and American Improvised Music
- Minimum 6 credit hours enrollment during the semester(s) the scholarship is received with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
Apply through the Classical Voice Area Faculty.
Criteria:
- Be enrolled in applied voice as a declared music major
- Must submit a resume of musical activity and accomplishments
- Must perform an operatic aria in a scholarship audition (date listed on application) demonstrating vocal ability
- Minimum 12 credit hours enrollment at the time of application with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5
For MSU Denver Department of Music students whose primary instrument of study is Flute.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music major with an emphasis in flute
- Be a band member in the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, or Jazz Ensemble for at least one year
- Open to any class status (freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior)
- Be enrolled for a minimum of six (6) credit hours at the time of application and during the semester(s) of award with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
Frank Gordon Edmonson (August 5, 1953 – November 28, 2002) was born in Denver, Colorado to Fan and Bill Edmonson. He grew up in Lakewood and Arvada and graduated from Arvada High School in 1971. He soon moved to Gold Hill, Colorado, where he was a founding member of the J. B. Stetson Sweat Band, playing guitar and fiddle. When the band broke up in 1975, he moved to Denver and became a guitar repairman at the Denver Folklore Center.
Through Frank’s work at the Folklore Center, he became friends with the members of the bluegrass group Hot Rize. In 1981 he was hired as the group’s “roadie.” Soon after, he added bus driving duties, and began learning sound reinforcement from a master, Hot Rize guitarist Charles Sawtelle. By summer of that year, he had become the group’s full-time sound engineer, maintaining band equipment and mastering many different sound boards all over the U.S. and in foreign countries from Europe to Japan and Australia. He also took the job of road manager, handling many critical details of Hot Rize’s busy touring schedule. At about this time, the group made Frank a full member in terms of both band decision-making and pay.
Following Hot Rize’s disbanding in 1990, Frank worked for a variety of artists including Lyle Lovett before becoming road manager and monitor engineer for multiple Grammy-winning Alison Krauss and Union Station. This close association lasted from 1994 to the end of his life. In off-time from Krauss, he toured with world-renowned dobro player Jerry Douglas and with Dan Tyminski, still doing occasional Hot Rize reunion dates. In 2002 he provided critical sound and organizational support to the two history-making “Down the Mountain” tours, involving many artists.
Although Frank never attended college, he became one of the leading sound engineers in the traditional acoustic music circuit. He was especially valued for his depth of knowledge and understanding in a field where true experts are relatively few. He learned his skills through hands-on experience and mentoring, fueled by his dedication to excellence. Although at first he had wanted to be a performing artist, he channeled his skills to enable many musicians to reach their audiences effectively, through his sound engineering and road managing. Throughout his career, Frank was appreciated for his straightforward, friendly manner and his clear desire to help everyone and everything he could. He was well-loved and highly respected far and wide by those with whom he worked.
Frank Edmonson’s story is an inspiration to all who strive to achieve a meaningful life. It is particularly appropriate to the students at MSU Denver, many of whom are struggling to establish themselves and to transform their futures. Like Frank, many MSU Denver students find ways to have significant involvement and impact on other’s lives, that they may never have imagined before attending MSU Denver. The Edmonson Scholarship is particularly appropriate for MSU Denver because of its Modified Open Door status, providing educational opportunities to all high school graduates, regardless of their previous levels of achievement, and MSU Denver’s sister institution status with UCD, at which course work in sound engineering is offered.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music major at the time of application
- Have outstanding potential as a sound engineer
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75
- Additional Preferences for Selection:
- Completed coursework in sound engineering
- Have surmounted challenges to succeed in college education
- Demonstrated talent for the guitar
In honor of Fred Hess, Ph.D., associate professor of theory and composition at MSU Denver. Hess dedicated 20 years to Metropolitan State University of Denver and spent many more years as a vital member of the broader musical community. Born in Pennsylvania, Hess grew up in New Jersey and attended Trenton State College before moving to Colorado in 1981. He earned a doctorate in music composition from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1991 and founded the Boulder Creative Music Ensemble in 1982. Hess was also the founding director of Denver’s Creative Music Works Orchestra and was a member of drummer Ginger Baker’s Denver Jazz Quintet as well as ensembles led by trumpeter and MSU Denver colleague Ron Miles. Most recently, he led the Fred Hess Quartet and performed with the Fred Hess/Marc Sabatella Duo.
Hess is remembered as a brilliant composer, an impactful teacher, and a creative performer, respected and admired by students, University colleagues, and fellow musicians.
He twice received the Colorado Council on the Arts Composition Fellowship and captured first place in the inaugural Hennessey Jazz Search in Denver. In 2000, he received an award for Jazz Composition awarded by the Jazz Composers Alliance.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music major with a concentration in Composition
- Write a 250-word essay detailing your exceptional dedication to the study of music
- Minimum 6 credit hours enrollment at the time of application and during the semester(s) of award with minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
Gerald (“Jerry”) Ray Endsley (1945-2015) was a cornet soloist, band conductor, trumpet pedagogue, publisher, and university instructor. Endsley’s music career began in 1966 when he won the position of Cornet Soloist with the Denver Municipal Band. He performed as soloist and Principal Trumpet until 1995, when he assumed duties as conductor. Jerry was a leading freelance artist and music contractor in the Denver area, and was Second Trumpet of the Denver Symphony Orchestra during the 1978-79 season. He taught trumpet at the University of Denver from 1971 to 1976 and at Denver’s Metropolitan State College from 1978-79, where he later conducted the MSU Denver Community Band from 2005-2014. Jerry was known for his fine musicianship, helpful character, and keen sense of humor.
Criteria:
- Be a band member in Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band or a Jazz Ensemble for at least one year
- Be a declared music major with an emphasis in a brass instrument (preferably trumpet)
- Minimum cumulative GPA 2.5
H. William Morse, Emeritus Professor of Music at MSU Denver and an outstanding music educator and conductor, taught from 1982 until his retirement in 2004. He served as the Director of the MSU Denver Symphony Orchestra for over twenty years and wishes that the endowed scholarship established in his name be used to assist an outstanding orchestral music student.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music major
- Be an outstanding instrumentalist involved in the Metropolitan State University of Denver orchestra currently and during time of scholarship award
- Junior or senior class status
- Financial need is considered as a factor, but is not a requirement
- Minimum 12 credit hours enrollment with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5
Dr. Jerrald D. McCollum, Emeritus Professor of Music at Metropolitan State University of Denver, taught for twenty-nine years in the areas of music education, choral music and choral conducting. He received his degrees from Florida State University and the University of Southern Mississippi. As an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, Dr. McCollum served a three-year term as President of the 400-member Colorado division of ACDA, and was state advisor for the Colorado student chapters of Music Educators National Conference. Dr. McCollum was Organist/and or Director of Music for seventeen years at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church and Director of Music for eleven years at Wellshire Presbyterian Church. Upon retirement from MSU Denver, Dr. McCollum was awarded Emeritus status and was honored as Professor of the Year, 1998. In January 2001, Dr. McCollum organized the MSU Denver Alumni Choir—an auditioned choir of 40 singers who are alumni of the choral program at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music education major with a choral emphasis at the time of application
- Have completed 30 hours at MSU Denver or as a transfer student
- Outstanding potential as a music educator
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
To honor Jim Altman, Michael Altman’s younger brother. Jim loved music and attended San Jose State University. Michael Altman wishes to establish a scholarship in Jim’s name to help guitar students with their financial need.
Criteria:
- Be a declared guitar performance major at the time of application
- Outstanding student and guitarist who is in need of financial assistance in order to continue studying
- Student is encouraged to display an interest in styles in addition to classical in their programming
- Junior or senior class status preferred
- Minimum 12 credit hours enrollment with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5
The L. Quinn-Rudolph Scholarship was established in 1999 by Tom and Lea Marshall to support MSU Denver music students with outstanding potential. The scholarship is named after Ms. Marshall’s musical mentors.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music major or minor at the time of application
- Strong interest and potential in the field of music (performance, teaching, etc.)
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
Dr. Larry Worster began his musical life at age 14, picking up a guitar and learning to play by ear. He spent the next two decades performing in popular and traditional styles of American music. He began his teaching career as a guitar instructor at the Swallow Hill School of Music and the University of Colorado at Boulder Extended Studies Program. After becoming convinced that teaching music was his calling in life, he enrolled in CU-Boulder, initially studying classical guitar before turning to musicology for his graduate degrees. It was here that he met the man who would become his lifelong mentor, Dr. William Kearns. From Bill, he learned that one must ceaselessly strive to discover the unknown, to use the tools of research to uncover the knowledge that leads to better understandings. Dr. Worster served on the faculty at MSU Denver from 1988 until his retirement in 2014, teaching the music literature, history, and senior project classes. He decided to start this scholarship out of a special respect for the student body at MSU Denver, having returned to college in his late 30s and completed his music degrees while working and raising his family. It is his desire to inspire future generations of students to use research to unlock mysteries and empower their own lives through their quest. The Worster Scholarship will be available to all aspiring music majors at MSU Denver. Since its founding, the MSU Denver Music Department has produced outstanding students in all fields of music. It is meant to be awarded to students who show outstanding potential for contributing to the advancement of the art or study of music, either academically as scholars or as performers during their undergraduate studies. The scholarship is intended for students who have declared their intention to study at MSU Denver who are not currently enrolled students. (Awarded in Fall semester only)
Criteria:
- Be a declared music major at MSU Denver
- Be registered for classes in the Fall semester
- Show outstanding potential for contributing to the advancement of the art or study of music, either academically as a scholar or as a performer during undergraduate studies
To support students majoring in music who have demonstrated talent and significant interest in their field of study.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music education major enrolled in band at the time of application
- Principal instrument must be trumpet, horn, trombone, euphonium or tuba
- Demonstrated talent and significant interest in brass performance
- Minimum 12 credit hours enrollment at the time of application with a minimum cumulative MSU Denver GPA of 2.5, or transfer or high school GPA of 2.5 for new MSU Denver students
To support students majoring in music who have demonstrated talent and significant interest in their field of study.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music composition major accepted into the composition program at the time of application
- Demonstrated talent and significant interest in music composition and arranging
- Minimum 12 credit hours enrollment at the time of application with a minimum cumulative MSU Denver GPA of 2.5, or transfer or high school GPA of 2.5 for new MSU Denver students
To provide scholarships for MSU Denver Music Education students during the semester of student teaching. Since student teaching is an “all encompassing” experience, MSU Denver Music Education students are not permitted to hold a job outside of their teaching responsibilities. Often, this presents a financial hardship for students, and the Music Education Endowed Scholarship is intended to assist students during this important, capstone experience.
Criteria:
- Be a declared major in Music Education
- Have exceptional dedication to the study of music and music education as described in an application essay
- Be enrolled for a minimum of six (6) credit hours during the semester(s) of award with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75
For Metropolitan State University of Denver Music students whose primary instrument is Piano.
Criteria:
- Be a declared music major with piano as primary instrument
- Have exceptional dedication to the study of music as demonstrated during an audition
- Be enrolled for a minimum of six (6) credit hours at the time of application and during the semester(s) of award with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
For MSU Denver Department of Music students whose primary instrument of study is Violin, Viola, Cello or Double Bass.
Criteria:
- Have a declared music major with Violin, Viola, Cello or Double Bass as the primary instrument
- Have exceptional dedication to the study of music as demonstrated during an audition with the selection committee
- Be enrolled for a minimum of six (6) credit hours at the time of application and during the semester(s) of award with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
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