Winners Announced For The Willard J. Hines Music Scholarship Awards

In its second year, the Willard J. Hines Scholarship has awarded two $1,000. scholarships in the newly titled, Courville Concert Choir and We Can Make A Difference Award. The eligibility for the awards are now open to vocal and piano students nationwide with 4 categories established. Originally, the scholarship focused on Detroit area high school seniors who intended to study voice at any college or university, and now the local Detroit award is in a separate category. The purpose of all Hines scholarships is to encourage musical leaders of tomorrow by helping with school fees, voice programs, and performance costs.

The voice scholarship recipients for the year 2021 are Lyric Soprano Brittney B. Burgess for the We Can Make A Difference Award and Baritone Brandon Bell for the Courville Concert Choir Award. Ms. Burgess hails from New York City and is pursuing her Master's degree in Vocal Performance and Literature at The Eastman School of Music. She is a recent graduate of Nazareth College where she earned a Bachelors of Music in Music Education and Vocal Performance. Mr. Bell, originally from Suffolk, Virginia is currently a member of Artist in Residence with the Utah Opera. Bell holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Additionally, he is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Hines Voice Scholarship Chairperson, Clayton G. Williams stated, "We made it to the second year of the awards program despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The winners this year submitted exquisite vocal pieces and are both inspirational in their dedication to their vocal craft. We will be following their careers closely and with the Hines annual scholarship continue to support vocal artists of color pursuing music in the classical space."

The deadline for 2022 applicants is June 24th, 2022.

Scholarship submission requires an official transcript of grades with a minimum GPA of 3.0, a 400-word essay describing their musical goals and aspirations, 2 letters of recommendation from school, church, or teacher, and present 4 contrasting musical selections of any genre: Opera, Musical theatre, Jazz, Spirituals, gospel or Pop through audio/video submission (Mp3 audio files/quality, "private" YouTube or other video links are accepted.) Finally, a headshot, resume, and bio.

All details can be found here https://www.thewjhscholarshipfund.com

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