NSMTA Scholarships
All three scholarships are named for NSMTA teachers who contributed so much to our chapter in the past and their legacy lives on!
Scholarship Chair: Mary Beth Molenaar, scholarships@nsmta.org
Congratulations to the 2024 NSMTA Scholarship winners!
Samuel Kim, piano student of Soo Lee, was awarded the NSMTA Merle Hanson College Scholarship. Sam is a pianist and percussionist and planning to major in Music Education this fall at Northwestern University. He hopes to teach middle or high school music.
Andrea Lee, a 5th Grader at Wescott School, Northbrook, was accepted to the Chicago Chamber Music Workshop at the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory for a three week camp this summer. Andrea is the piano student of Grace Juang, & violin student of Hui-Yi Lavinia Lee.
Emily Hu, piano student of Christina Tio, was awarded the NSMTA Bruce Berr Camp Scholarship. Emily is in 10th grade and is planning to attend the Chicago Chamber Music Festival.
MERLE HANSON COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP
Merle Hanson College Scholarship Award - Performance (or) Music Related Field
ELIGIBILITY
Students who have studied with a member of NSMTA for the past three years and have paid dues by October 31st of the current year are eligible to apply for the scholarship.
The $1,000 scholarship is available to graduating high school seniors who are enrolling in a university, college or conservatory in a program that will prepare them for careers in music or a music-related field (performance, music education, theory-composition, musicology, music-business, music therapy, etc.)
HOW TO APPLY
Each candidate must submit to the scholarship chair:
Verification of acceptance by the chosen school
A record of musical activities
A statement of personal goals or longer essay (see below)
Supporting portfolio file(s) that could consist of:
A performance video on YouTube of two memorized works of contrasting periods and no longer than 20 minutes
A longer essay of no more than 500 words instead of a statement of goals
Score copies of two original compositions, preferably with a YouTube video of a performance of the compositions, no longer than 20 minutes
A YouTube video of student teaching
Applications may be downloaded from the NSMTA website, scanned, and sent with attached portfolio files by midnight May 1st of the current year to Mary Beth Molenaar, Scholarship Chair at: m-molenaar@northwestern.edu.
AWARD
The scholarship of $1,000 will be payable in two checks of $500 each. The first check will be presented at the NSMTA Winners Recital in May where the winner is invited to perform. The second check will be sent to the student at the end of the first semester after the Scholarship Chair has received a record of acceptable grades.
Merle Hanson was one of the original members of our organization which was founded in 1974. We are grateful that Merle left this legacy to encourage and support students like you who are pursuing a career in music.
SUMMER MUSIC PROGRAM SCHOLARSHIPS
NSMTA offers two scholarships, the Betty Benton Scholarship and the Bruce Berr Scholarship of $500 each per year.
ELIGIBILITY
Students who have studied with a member of NSMTA for the past three years and have paid dues by October 31st of the current year are eligible to apply for a summer music program scholarship.
The Betty Benton Scholarship is for students who are currently in grades 5, 6, and 7
The Bruce Berr Scholarship is for students who are currently in grades 8-12
HOW TO APPLY
Each candidate will submit to the scholarship chair a record of musical activities and a statement of personal goals. Candidates must also submit a link to a YouTube video (no longer than 15-20 minutes) of two works from contrasting periods for a panel of judges who will select the winner. Send the link online to Mary Beth Molenaar, Scholarship Chair, at m-molenaar@northwestern.edu. These pieces must be listed on the application and must be memorized. A letter of validation from the program must be sent to the Scholarship chair at the time of application in order for the applicant to receive a check. The winner will be presented with the $500 check at the NSMTA Winner’s Recital in the spring. The winners are encouraged to perform.
Applications are available on the NSMTA website and must be postmarked by May 1st of the current year to be eligible for consideration. No ties are allowed. The same person may not win more than once.
About the namesakes of our scholarships:
Betty Benton was an accomplished piano teacher in the north shore area and taught music at Lake Forest Country Day School. She performed with an adult recorder consort and also played the organ, guitar, flute and dulcimer. At her church she was the youth children’s choir director and performed with the adult handbell choir. Mrs. Benton was President of the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra’s Women’s Auxiliary and influential in fundraising and social events.
Mrs. Benton served as President of the North Shore Music Teacher’s Association from 2012-2014 and received their Member of the Year award. As Scholarship Chair, Betty pushed for more camp scholarships and higher monetary awards. She passed away in 2020 and our high school camp scholarship was named in her honor that year.
Bruce Berr, a member of the North Shore Music Teachers Association for over 30 years, was a nationally known pianist, pedagogue, teacher, composer, writer and clinician. He was an Associate Professor at the Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University, where he taught piano, pedagogy and class piano. He also had a busy home studio at his home in Glenview where he taught piano, composition and pedagogy to children and adults of all ages.
Bruce was a contributing author for the Hal Leonard Method series, and his educational compositions are published by FJH, Alfred and Hal Leonard. He also wrote extensively on musical topics, and his regular column in the American Music Teacher magazine, “Ad Lib,” was a favorite of many. Bruce was a unique soul, extremely dedicated to teaching and learning but also known for his sense of humor, irreverence, curiosity and quick wit. He was an inspirational mentor to countless students, and was also a dedicated friend, family member and husband.
Questions about Scholarships?
For more information, fill out the form to contact the NSMTA Scholarship Chair, Mary Beth Molenaar.