Awarded to incoming first-year students during their senior year of high school (transfers are not eligible) on the basis of music performance skills demonstrated by the audition or compositional skills evidenced by written scores. Students can receive $2,000 to $8,000 per year. In addition, music lesson fees for a student holding a music scholarship are reduced to $25/semester for half-hour weekly private lessons on the instrument of your audition. Please note that you should only apply for one scholarship area. Recipients are not required to major or minor in music at Wooster. Those applying must perform in areas in which the College offers instruction.
Application Instructions
Applicants who complete all necessary application materials by midnight EST on January 21, 2024 and attend the February 10 audition weekend, will receive notification by April 1, 2024.
- Complete the general application for admission.
- Complete the Music Scholarship Application Form.
- Submit ONE or TWO letters of recommendation (teachers / instructors in the respective field).
- Letters of recommendation in Word or PDF format may be attached to the scholarship form at the time of submission or may be sent separately via email to mpuster@wooster.edu.
- Attend the audition weekend held on-campus in Scheide Music Center. It is highly recommended that students attend an on-campus audition weekend on February 10, 2024.
Applicants should perform ten minutes of concert music (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and/or Twentieth/Twenty-First Century) or jazz in at least two contrasting styles selected from the Class A Solo Repertoire List (or its equivalent) from your state. Selections should be chosen to demonstrate technical facility as well as expression and tone quality. Singers should perform in English and at least one world language other than English and may include one song from a musical. Memorization and performance with piano accompaniment is required for singers (piano accompaniment may be live or recorded). Applicants who are not percussionists may audition on only one instrument or in voice. Percussionists must audition on at least two contrasting instruments.
In keeping with copyright laws, applicants who perform using printed music must perform from published editions, not from photocopies or facsimiles.
Applicants for a scholarship in Composition should submit two representative scores. Recordings of compositions are encouraged but not required. Applicants who are not percussionists may audition on only one instrument or in voice. Percussionists must audition on at least two contrasting instruments.
International Students
Recorded auditions will be considered for international applicants. Recordings (and all application materials) must be postmarked by your selected deadline.
Expectations of Recipients
Applied Lessons
- All scholarship holders must register for and perform satisfactorily in applied lessons on the instrument of audition each semester. Satisfactory performance entails the earning of a C-grade or higher, or a satisfactory audit (“L”). Holders of scholarships in composition will take composition lessons.
- All non-composition scholarship holders will perform an applied lesson jury at the end of each semester, even when auditing.
- A scholarship holder may be required to perform in a departmental recital during a semester.
Ensembles
- All scholarship holders must register for and perform satisfactorily on the audition instrument in a large ensemble (Wooster Singers, Wooster Chorus, Wooster Symphony Orchestra, Scot Band, or Wooster Jazz Ensemble) each semester. Satisfactory performance entails the earning of a passing grade (“S”) or satisfactory audit (“L”). Holders of scholarships in composition have their choice of large ensemble. Please note that admittance to Wooster Chorus, Wooster Symphony Orchestra, Scot Symphonic Band, and Wooster Jazz Ensemble is by a separate audition.
- Based on the recommendation of the piano faculty, keyboard scholarship recipients will fulfill the requirement through Accompanying, Keyboard Ensemble, or other chamber ensemble opportunities.
- In some semesters, Ensemble directors may assign recipients of scholarships to a particular ensemble.
- In rare cases, recipients of scholarships may be required to participate in more than one ensemble, but only when the total rehearsal time required by both ensembles does not exceed the amount typically required by just one large ensemble.
In most cases, these expectations impose no additional burden on Music Scholarship holders because these are activities in which the holders would typically want to be involved anyway. In addition, music lesson fees for a student holding a music scholarship are reduced to $25/semester for half-hour weekly private lessons on the instrument of your audition. Music Scholarships are awarded for a maximum of 8 semesters.
Questions & Concerns
Please contact Melissa Puster, Administrative Coordinator, at 330-263-2419.
*The maximum annual amount of Wooster merit scholarship is $43,000 annually and can be applied only to tuition charges. Prospective students may apply for more than one competition based scholarship but will only be awarded one. Competition based scholarships replace the Dean’s Scholarship amount, except for the Covenant and performing arts scholarships. All merit scholarships are automatically renewed each year as long as the student maintains full-time enrollment and remains in good academic and judicial standing with the College (please see additional qualifications for performing arts). Scholarship amounts listed may change. All admission and scholarship deadlines are postmarked deadlines.
**Students who are eligible for and awarded a tuition benefit such as the Tuition Exchange Program, the Great Lakes College Association (GLCA) program, Wooster’s employee tuition remission, or Veteran’s Education Benefits may choose to apply for the merit scholarships noted above, but if awarded, the scholarship status will be honorary only.