Music Scholarship Overview

DSC_3882For exceptional students interested in studying and performing music, there is no better place than Pacific Lutheran University. The Department of Music offers awards each year to incoming students seeking to develop their skills alongside some of the most talented student-musicians and faculty members in the Pacific Northwest. You do not need to be a music major to receive a Music Artistic Achievement Award; awards are offered regardless of major.

Music Artistic Achievement Awards and limited endowed scholarships are offered in renewable amounts ranging up to $7,500 per year and are in addition to academic merit awards. The Music Artistic Achievement Awards are available to students in a single specific area (for example – strings, voice, brass, etc) and are renewable up to another three years. Music Artistic Achievement Award recipients are required to take private lessons in their area, maintain academic standards, and participate in an assigned ensemble.

Auditions are required and awards are competitive. To be considered for a Music Artistic Achievement Award for the 2023-24 academic year, both an application to PLU as well as the scholarship application form must be submitted.

Artistic Achievement Award applications for the 2023-24 academic year will open October 15, 2022. Applicants will submit their materials via the third-party website Acceptd. Auditions and interviews will be on campus unless the student is unable to travel, in which case they can upload their materials into an online portal.

Important dates:

  • Friday, January 13, 2023: Deadline for January Music Audition applications (by midnight Pacific time)
  • Saturday, January 21, 2023: January Music Auditions on campus
  • Thursday, February 16, 2023: Deadline for February Music Audition applications (by 5pm Pacific time)
  • Saturday and Sunday, February 25-26, 2023: February Music Auditions on campus. These coincide with Presidential Scholarship interviews.

APPLY!

Step 1: Apply to PLU
Step 2: Apply for Music Artistic Achievement Award

Deadline

Applications for the 2023-24 academic year are due Thursday, February 16, 2023 by 5pm Pacific.

Audition Repertoire

Prepare 5 minutes of music demonstrating both musicality and technique.  We want to hear you at your best and most confident. Suggested pieces are found here: PLU Suggested Audition Repertoire

NOTE:  The scholarship audition can serve as the entrance audition if you wish to declare a music major.

Audition Q & A

Do I need to apply to PLU to audition?

Yes. While you do not need to be fully admitted before submitting videos for an Artistic Achievement Award, you must begin the PLU application process before completing the forms on Acceptd. You will be asked to enter a PLU ID number on the initial Acceptd application page

Do I need to be fully admitted to PLU to receive a music scholarship?

Yes. We cannot extend an Artistic Achievement Award offer to you until you are fully admitted to the university.

How does PLU decide who gets offered a scholarship?

Scholarship auditions are competitive. Auditions are evaluated by PLU Music Faculty. Auditionees are ranked by accomplishment, talent and potential, and department need.

Can I audition in more than one area?

Yes, but here are a few considerations:

• Music Scholarships are awarded in a single specific area (e.g., voice, or cello). Submitting audition recordings in multiple areas will not increase the amount of your award.

• All music scholarships require successful participation—each semester—in private lessons and, by audition and placement, in a scholarship ensemble in the area of your award. You may certainly take lessons in a secondary area, or participate in an additional ensemble, but the scholarship expectation remains in the area of your award.

• If you audition in multiple areas, the PLU faculty will determine the area in which the scholarship is awarded. If you intend to accept a scholarship only in one particular area, do not submit multiple auditions. Audition only in your preferred area.

What are the requirements for a music scholarship?

All music scholarships require successful participation—each semester—in private lessons and, by audition and placement, in a scholarship ensemble in the area of your award. Artistic Achievement Awards are renewable up to three additional years, subject to review of enrollment and grades received in lessons and ensemble. If you do not meet these requirements, the award is cancelled. Exceptions to this policy are made for students in study-away programs and for music education majors during their student-teaching semester.