Early Music America offers a limited number of scholarships each year to support attendance at early-music workshops in North America.
The following scholarships are offered annually
- EMA Workshop Scholarships of up to $1,250
- EMA-IDEA Workshop Scholarship of $1,500 specifically intended to support a member of the BIPOC community specializing in historical performance practice throughout North, Central and South America
Applications are welcome March to early April each year. More details are available in the Application Process section below.
Questions about this application may be sent to [email protected].
- The application form will open on March 5, 2024
- Applicants will use the application form linked below to apply for both the EMA Workshop Scholarship and the EMA-IDEA Workshop Scholarship. Only one submission is necessary.
- Please note: the total scholarship amount disbursed to an individual will be no more than $1,250 (EMA Scholarship) or $1,500 (EMA-IDEA Scholarship), regardless of the number of workshops entered in the application
- The 2024 application closed on Monday, April 1, 2024 at 11:59pm PT
- Applicants are highly encouraged to submit the application several days prior to the deadline, so any issues or errors may be resolved in a timely matter. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline.
- All applicants will be notified by the end of April whether they receive a scholarship.
- Recipients will be required to provide proof of their acceptance and/or enrollment at the workshop before funds will be disbursed
- Recipients will be required to submit a brief written reflection of their workshop experience and the impact it has made no more than 30 days following the completion of the workshop(s) funded by this scholarship. Reflections may be submitted in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Reflections must also include high resolution video or photos taken during the workshop. A form will be provided to each recipient to submit their workshop reflection.
- Applicants must reside in North, Central, or South America at the time of submission
- Scholarships recipients are ineligible to apply until the second year following their award. (Ex. 2024 Scholarship recipients will be eligible to apply again in 2026.)
- Current EMA Board and Staff members are ineligible to apply
- Name, Email, Residential Address
- EMA Membership Status (membership not required)
- Identity Statement
- All applicants are invited to complete the identity question below. Applicants who wish to be considered for the EMA-IDEA Workshop Scholarship must complete this field. This information is for EMA’s internal use only and will not be made public.
- Describe any previous training you have had specific to historical performance (300 words max)
- How does attending the workshop(s)/festival(s) named in this application enhance your personal/professional development as a musician invested in historical performance? (300 words max)
- Do you have plans to share/distribute the knowledge gained from these workshop(s)/festival(s)? If so, how? (300 words max)
- Other Financial Support: Have you received any other scholarships, tuition-waivers, or stipends for the early music workshops/festivals named in this application or are you waiting for other funding sources? If so, please list them. (300 words max)
- Upload PDF files of the following. You may submit one PDF with all details below or separate PDF files.
- Artist Resume (1 page max)
- Artist Bio (300 words max)
- A page with up to 5 links to Performance Example(s) [YouTube or similar]
- Up to 10 minutes total of audio/video demonstrating your early music performance skills
- If using multi-movement works, each individual movement should be recorded in a single continuous take and not multiple takes spliced together
- You may use recordings that contain other musicians playing, but you should be the featured performer of that piece
- Include list of works you have submitted as Performance Examples
- The names of works should include enough information for the panel to readily identify each selection/movement
- If any of your audio files includes performers other than yourself, please provide a detailed description (name and instrument) of each musician, or in the case of a large orchestra, please provide the name of the orchestra
- Workshop Information Applicants may submit an application for up to three workshops.
- Workshop Name
- Workshop Location
- Sponsoring Organization
- Workshop Dates
- Workshop Tuition
- Estimated other expenses, including food, lodging, and travel.
- Payment preference
- Check
- PayPal (outside the U.S. only)
- Zelle (inside the U.S. only)
Applications will be assessed based on the following criteria:
- Impact of Attendance: Does this workshop/festival provide training that is otherwise inaccessible to the applicant?
- Impact of Funding: How crucial is the funding from this scholarship for the applicant to attend the workshop/festival?
- Artistic excellence: Does the individual demonstrate the ability to perform early music at a level appropriate for the workshop/festival that they are attending?
The Workshops listed below represent the types of North American pre-professional and professional workshops suitable for Workshop Scholarship applicants. This is not an exhaustive list, and applicants should contact EMA with questions about the suitability of the proposed workshop.
- Amherst Early Music – Various programs
- American Bach Soloists ACADEMY
- Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity – Evolution of the String Quartet
- Carmel Bach Festival
- Domaine Forget Academy – Chamber Orchestra and Continuo
- ala pifarescha: Early Double Reed & Sackbut Workshop
- Heifetz Baroque Vocal Workshop
- Lute Society of America LuteFest
- Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute
- Oregon Bach Festival Berwick Academy
- Seraphic Fire Professional Choral Institute
- Singing Gregorian Chant and Renaissance Polyphony
- Summer Baroque Academy for Instrumentalists – British Columbia
- Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute
- University of Michigan Early Keyboard Institute
- Valley of the Moon Festival Apprenticeship
- Viola da Gamba Society of America Conclave
2023 EMA Workshop Scholarship Recipients
Darius “Seiko” Elmore
Countertenor, Rochester, NYMusic Wellness, Operatic Acting & Performance Workshop
Claire McCahan
Mezzo-soprano, Plymouth, NHAmerican Bach Soloists ACADEMY
Matthew Muggeridge
Countertenor, Ottawa, ONTafelmusik Summer Baroque Institute
Rylie Patching
Baroque bassoon, Seattle, WAAmherst Early Music Festival Baroque Academy
Macarena Sanchez
Baroque cello, Cleveland Heights, OHAmerican Bach Soloists ACADEMY
Fernando Santiago
Baroque violin, São Paulo, BrazilOregon Bach Festival Berwick Academy
Emma Simmons
Baroque violin, Eugene, ORTafelmusik Summer Baroque Institute
Nicole Vega
Baroque violin, Santiago, ChileTafelmusik Summer Baroque Institute
Juan Pablo Vélez
Baritone, MedellÃn, ColombiaOberlin Baroque Performance Institute
2023 EMA-IDEA Workshop Scholarship Recipients
Liz Loayza-Herrea
Baroque Violin, La Paz, BoliviaOregon Bach Festival Berwick Academy
MarÃa Pilar Moreira
Baroque flute, Olivos, ArgentinaAmherst Early Music Festival Baroque Academy
2022
PatricÃa GarcÃa Gil
Ela Kodžas
Daniel Koplitz
Guannan (Alice) Liu
Chaeyoung Park
Stephanie Rempel
Guillermo Salas-Suárez
2020-2021
No scholarships awarded
2019
David Beklovski
Alyssa Campbell
Brenda Koh
Peter Lim
Andrew Truskowski
Sinéad White
2018
Darina Ablogina
Butter Quartet
Margaret Carpenter-Haigh
Marylin Winkle
Shuang Yu
2017
Veronika Anissimova
Maximilien Brisson
Gemma Goday DÃaz-Corralejo
Joseph Harris
Liz Vivian Loayaza Herrera
Hanbyeol Lee
Carter Tholl
Zuguang Xiao
Sydney ZumMallen
2016
Mary Arendt
Sarah Bliele
Katherine Boardman
Joyce Chen
Jena Gardner
Chloe Kim
Maryse Legault
Nicholas Loucks
Marie Nadeau-Tremblay
2015
Jessica Korotkin
Daniel Mireles
Jonathan Slade
Alice Culin-Ellison
Sarah Lodico
Arnie Tanimoto
David Dickey
Bryan Lane
Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen
2014
Michael Manning
Mariana Mevans
Arian Vriens
Sallynee Amawat
Amy Belknap
Cynthia Black
Christopher Grills
Joshua Romatowski
Corey Shotwell
2013
Gabriel Benton
Vanessa Castillo
Ryan Gallagher
Fiona Gillespie
Heather Holmquest
Sarah Huebsch
Joseph Monticello
Andrew Padgett
Alize Rozsnyai
James Williamson
2012
Megan Chartrand
Carlos Cuestas
Ching Yi Denise Fan
Brennan Hall
Allen Hamrick
Lindsay McIntosh
Lindsey McLennan
Michael Pecak
Annabeth Shirley
Christine Wilkinson
2011
Gabriel Benton
Shin Hwang
Emily Lau
Sarah Meyer
Jessica Petrus
Maria Raffaele
John Romey
Niccolo Seligmann
Amy Shen
Beiliang Zhu
2010
Liliana Castelblanco
Laura Cleveland
Caitlin Dawson
Lucy Fitz Gibbon
Ariana Mason
Maria Jose Romero
Robert Warner
2009
Michel Angers
Bryan Duerfeldt
Stephen Gamboa
Salome Sandoval McNutt
Ka-Wai Yu
Patrick Jones
Sian Ricketts
2008
Andrew Arceci
Lydia Brotherton
Hélène Brunet
Luke Conklin
James Augustine “Gus” Mercante
2007
Suzanne Anderson
Hsuan Chang
Paul Kieffer
Andrew Fouts
Alexa Raine-Wright
2006
Adam Bregman
Janelle Davis
Dianna Grabowski
Everett Redburn
Yulia Van Doren
2005
Dalyn Cook
Yura Nakajima
Laura Osterlund
2004
Brandi Berry
Liam Byrne
Debra Nagy
2003
Mahan Esfahani
David Giusti
Andrew Levy
2002
Ghislaine Deschambault
Charlotte Dobbs
John Rush
2001
Benjamin Katz
Vivien Shotwell
Hideki Yamaya
2000
Felix Deak
Daphna Mor
Joanna Morton
Adam Pearl
1999
Risa Kawabata
Alicia Kravitz
Ilya Poletaev
1998
Fania Schwebel
Héctor Sequera
Early Music America also offers biennial scholarships to support advanced study in the early music field. Learn more.
