Peter Collins undergraduate Music Scholarship

Application Deadline: Monday, May 15, 2023 at 11:59 pm PST

The Kamloops Symphony Music School and the family of Peter Collins, with support from friends, family and community, are proud to provide an annual scholarship for a student from the Thompson Nicola Regional District who is studying or plans to study music in a post secondary institution full-time.

About Peter Collins

Peter started singing at a very young age, and although his tastes shifted from the heavy metal that he favoured in high school to the beautiful arias and operatic pieces that he became known for as an adult, music had been in his blood since birth. Peter was often seen with a guitar in his hand and a song in his heart. He took his love of music and turned it into a new career when he returned to Kamloops and became a music teacher and voice coach in 2008. Pete loved teaching voice and guitar students at KISSM and at the KSO School of Music and would always brag about how well each student was doing each week. He felt like he was Uncle Pete to many of the students and couldn't believe how much he loved seeing each child grow as an individual and in their musical skills. Peter loved every one of his students, and he was honoured to be a part of their lives. Whenever Pete encountered a student who struggled make lessons happen financially, he would do whatever he could to help them out - whether that was repairing a used instrument and passing it along or adding minutes on to a lesson for free. He knew what it was like to love music so much and to struggle to learn the craft, and he wanted to help any willing student to make their dreams happen.

And so, when Peter passed away, the Peter Collins Memorial Bursary was born to be able to help other struggling and deserving youth be able to pursue their passion for music like he did. In 2020, we expanded the bursary to include an award for post-Secondary students pursuing music.

Application:

The Peter Collins Undergraduate Scholarship will be awarded through the following application process:

Scholarship Amount: Approximately $500 to $1,000, based on applicants and available funds.

Eligibility

• Open to all students from the Thompson Nicola Regional District and North Okanagan areas, or any student who has taken music lessons in Kamloops.
• The student must be a Canadian citizen.
• The student must plan to be enrolled in an undergraduate music degree in a recognized post-secondary institution as of September 2023.
• A fully completed application form and all other required supporting materials must be received by the application deadline.
• There is no age limit for applicants.
• Previous winners of either the Peter Collins Bursary, or Peter Collins Undergraduate Scholarship are eligible, but preference will be given to applicants who have not won previously.

The winner(s) agree to either perform at a recital taking place on June 10, 2022, in Kamloops. (date subject to change), or submit a thank you video to be shared during the month of June, along with a video recording of a previous performance.

Procedures

• A committee reviews each complete scholarship application that meets all the requirements.
• Each individual jury member assigns a score based on the defined assessment criteria.
• All committee member scores are aggregated, and applicants are ranked.
• After a final discussion of the rankings, a winner or winner(s) is/are chosen.
• The decision of the committee is final.
• Funds are limited and scholarship amounts my vary.
• If no applications are received, or the committee feels that there are no suitable candidates, no scholarship will be awarded, and the funds will be reinvested into the Peter Collins Memorial Fund.
• The scholarship will be awarded in June of 2022.

Assessment Criteria

To aid in the selection process, all applicants will be given individual scores by committee members using the following criteria:

• Artistic Statement & Intent (35%): How clearly the candidate states why they are pursuing music, their rationale, and why they deserve the award.
• Performance and/or Student’s Work (35%): The quality of the performance, or sample(s) of the student’s work, based on their current place in their development.
• Musical Achievements (10%): Previous artistic accomplishments, and how much promise they show for a career in music.
• Supporting Letter of Reference (10%): The quality of the reference letter, based on both content and referee.
• Overall Impression (10%): General perception of the effort put into the application and general narrative.

Application Requirements

Applicants must submit:

• A completed application form.
• A sample of the student's work as a musician, composer, or researcher. Examples include:
  • An audio or video recording of the student performing.
  • Note: in the case of audio/video recordings, the committee will only listen to/watch 4 minutes of content. The applicant will be asked to specify which 4 minutes the committee should listen to/view. If this is not specified, the committee will only listen to/view the first 4 minutes.
  • A score of one of the student's compositions or an audio/video recording of a performance of the piece.
  • A writing sample (in the case of a music research student).
• A CV or List of Key Accomplishments.
• A letter of reference from a current music teacher or community music professional who can speak to the individual's current and/or recent experiences.

The deadline for the 2023 application has passed.