(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on May 6, 2009.)
Two leading community arts groups have once again combined their energies and financial clout to enhance the level of funding support available to promising performing arts students in the area.
This year, performing arts students, other than vocal applicants, are encouraged to apply for a Huntsville Festival of the Arts (HFA) scholarship, while vocal students will be eligible to apply for a scholarship provided by the Huntsville Community Choir.
The HFA scholarship award was introduced in 1997 to foster the development of the performing arts talent in the community. For 2009, the festival has decided once again to offer junior, intermediate and senior scholarships.
The junior scholarship, of up to $500, is available to applicants 13 years of age and under as of Dec. 31, 2008. The intermediate scholarship, an award up to $1,000, is available to students 16 years of age and under as of Dec. 31, 2008. The senior scholarship is awarded to students 17 years of age or older as of Dec. 31, 2008. The senior awards, for the year, will total $1,500.
Students may only apply for one level of scholarship per year, and scholarship funds must be used toward the cost of tuition to a post-secondary institution, or applied toward lessons from a qualified instructor. The community choir will divide a total of $1,000 among winners in junior, intermediate and senior categories. Candidates must reside in the Huntsville/Lake of Bays area.
Applications for both scholarships may be picked up from the Huntsville High School guidance department, music department, or at the Huntsville Forester office at 11 Main St. West. Applications are to be completed and mailed back to the festival office by May 27.
In addition to the application, each candidate will be required to perform a live audition in front of an adjudication panel. Auditions for both scholarships will be held at Trinity United Church on Saturday, June 13. Award recipients will be notified during the week following the auditions.
Previous festival scholarships have been awarded to students pursuing studies in dance, theatre, and music. Scholarship recipients and applicants have participated in a number of performance opportunities over the years, both during main stage concerts at the festival and Music at Noon concerts.
Winners of either the festival or community choir junior or intermediate scholarships are eligible to re-apply for the senior scholarship but senior candidates can only win once. However, unsuccessful senior applicants are encouraged to audition in subsequent years.
For further information please contact Rob Saunders at 788-2787 or Gerri Mar at 789-3175.
