Symphony Guild encourages student musicians through scholarship program
The Hot Springs/hot Springs Village Symphony Guild annual scholarship auditions will be held May 11 in Hot Springs Village, with scholarship applications to close on April 5.
The auditions will be held at 1 p.m. at the Presbyterian Kirk in the Pines Church, 275 Asturias Drive, in the Village.
The scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $3,000, go toward graduating seniors’ college tuition, and the student must be planning to study a music discipline degree.
To be eligible to apply, students should also be graduating from high school in one of the county’s seven public school districts — Cutter Morning Star, Fountain Lake, Jessieville, Mountain Pine, Lakeside, Hot Springs or Lake Hamilton; the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts; or from a private or home-school within the county.
Students must also rank in the upper half of their graduating class, or have an ACT score of 23 or higher.
The Guild also offers the opportunity to renew awarded scholarships throughout the students’ college career. Applicable students do not have to audition each year but instead are asked to resubmit an application with a current college transcript.
Additional information and applications for the scholarship can be found at:
https://tinyurl.com/3peh95sc
The Guild said in a news release this is one of its “favorite missions.”
Scholarship Committee Chair Mary Ritch said she wants students to know the Guild members are there to support and encourage them.
“I enjoy seeing young people at the beginning of their career,” Ritch said. “It’s an exciting thing to watch happen. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.”
Education Vice President Jim Kelly said the organization “just wants to help these students.”
The audition judging panel is made up of Guild board members who have all been either music educators or former musicians. Ritch and Kelly said the judges’ hope is for the audition to feel less nerve-wracking for students.
“We’ve been in their position,” Kelly said.
“Everybody has bad performances sometimes,” Ritch said. “We judge on much more than the performance alone.”
Students are holistically judged on “how well they play musically, the personality that comes through in performance, and memorization can be a plus, but is not required,” she said.
Students are encouraged to choose the genre that “best presents their skills” and will have 3-5 minutes to showcase their talent. Both instrumental and vocal students are eligible, and the Guild can provide an accompanist if needed.
“We’ve even had a student audition with both piano and flute,” Kelly said. “Versatility can be a plus.”
Ritch said she urges “on the fence” students to take the leap and apply, noting, “Just do it anyway, what’s the worst that could happen?”
One of the Guild’s most deeply held values is to promote the growth of music education in the community. “We do much more than just the scholarship auditions,” Kelly said. The members are “deeply committed” to supporting budding musicians.
Additionally, the Guild provides opportunities for 60-100 students each summer to attend music education camps. Grants are given to schools, upon teacher requests, to provide musical equipment for students’ use.
The organization also holds an annual children’s concert presented by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, where 2,000-3,000 students attend and have the opportunity to fall in love with music.
Funding is raised for such opportunities through “a low membership fee, gala events, dinners, fundraisers, and concerts with admission fees.” Kelly said most of the Guild members love to contribute an additional donation, apart from their membership fee.
The HS/HSV Guild is composed of over 300 Hot Springs and Hot Springs Village community members and continues to grow. For more information, or if interested in becoming a Guild member, visit: https://tinyurl.com/2bfwb28n