The IBMA Foundation offers five different college scholarships. Students interested in applying for the 2024/25 school year are invited to fill out and submit their applications at the following links:
Click HERE to apply for the Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship.
Click HERE to apply for the J. D. Crowe Banjo Scholarship, the Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sound Engineering Scholarship, the Sally Ann Forrester Scholarship, and/or the IBMA Bluegrass College Scholarship.
Scholarships offered:
J. D. Crowe Banjo Scholarship ($1,000) *fall semester
Katy Daley Broadcast Media/ Sound Engineering Scholarship ($1,000) *fall semester
Sally Ann Forrester Scholarship ($1,000) *fall semester
IBMA Bluegrass College Scholarship ($1,000) *fall semester
Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship ($2,000) *spring semester
The J. D. Crowe Banjo Scholarship ($1,000) is awarded to an individual planning to study banjo at the college level or in a college-level bluegrass ensemble. Applicants must demonstrate a high level of performance skills on the five-string banjo and plan to become involved in the bluegrass music industry as a professional. Bluegrass Hall of Fame member J. D. Crowe, originally from Lexington, Kentucky, was one of the most influential and popular banjo players in the history of bluegrass music. Longtime friend and fellow Kentucky bluegrass musician Arthur Hancock III made the initial $20,000 donation to create and endow the scholarship for the benefit of banjo players for generations to come. Arthur Hancock IV, a touring bluegrass musician and member of the IBMA Foundation board, was instrumental in setting up the scholarship with his father.
The Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sound Engineering Scholarship ($1,000) will be awarded to an individual planning to study broadcasting or sound engineering at college or in a continuing education program with a bluegrass music focus. Eligible areas of study include radio, television, digital media, recorded sound engineering and mastering, live sound engineering, and related disciplines. Applicants must plan to become involved in the bluegrass music industry at a professional level and be current IBMA members. Initial funds for the endowed scholarship were donated by Daley and her husband, Bill Brown. Former co-host of the Bluegrass Stories podcast series along with Howard Parker, Katy Daley had a 30+ year career in bluegrass (WAMU-FM and Bluegrass Country) and country (WMZQ) radio in the Washington, D.C. area.
The Sally Ann Forrester Scholarship ($1,000) will be awarded to a female bluegrass musician. Applicants are not required to have a declared major in bluegrass music, although women enrolled in a bluegrass university degree program are welcome to apply. Initial funds for this scholarship were donated by Murphy Hicks Henry, co-founder with her husband, Red Henry, of the Murphy Method instructional media company and author of Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass (University of Illinois Press). Sally Ann Forrester, sometimes called the first woman in bluegrass, played accordion and sang with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys from 1943 until 1946.
The IBMA Bluegrass College Scholarship ($1,000) is awarded each year to a student majoring in bluegrass or a bluegrass-related field of study at the undergraduate level. Bluegrass music–related studies include, but are not limited to, bluegrass performance, music education, folklore, sound engineering and recording, lutherie (building and repairing instruments), business, marketing, public relations, songwriting/publishing, or other academic study of bluegrass and related roots musics. The successful candidate should have aspirations of professional involvement in the bluegrass music industry. IBMA (the International Bluegrass Music Association) is the nonprofit music association that connects, educates, and empowers bluegrass professionals and enthusiasts, honoring tradition and encouraging innovation in the bluegrass community worldwide.
The Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship ($2,000) will be awarded in the spring semester to a student planning to study songwriting at the college level. Applicants are not required to have a declared major in songwriting, but they must already have demonstrated skills as a songwriter and plan to further their study of the art. Initial funds for the endowed scholarship were donated by Rick Lang, a Grammy-nominated writer who also serves as the chair of the IBMA Songwriter Committee and volunteers with the IBMA Songwriter Mentor Program. Applicants for the Rick Lang Music scholarship must be current IBMA members to be considered. (See www.ibma.org.)
For more information on IBMA Foundation-hosted scholarships, contact Nancy Cardwell at info@bluegrassfoundation.org or call (615) 260-4807.
RETURN to the May 2024 issue of The Cornerstone.
Photo above: Tigertown Tunes, from Clemson University
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