VCS Scholarship

Since 2010, the Virginia Choral Society (VCS) has awarded one or more scholarships to graduating high school or home school seniors planning to study vocal music education, vocal performance or musical theater in university or conservatory programs. As much as we are committed to presenting high quality programs to our communities, VCS is equally committed to promoting the choral arts by assisting students in their study of vocal music.

Give to the Scholarship Fund

Scholarship Application

Step One: Submit

The deadline to submit applications for 2023 scholarship awards is midnight, Wednesday, March 22nd.

Submit a complete application ELECTRONICALLY, VIA EMAIL ONLY.

VCS typically provides two scholarship awards of $2,000 each, but amounts may vary.

A complete application consists of:

Contact information:
- Full Name
- High school or home-school
- Home Address | Phone | email
Statement of your career aspirations and motivation for studying music. Consider the following when preparing your statement (no more than 2 pages):
- What does the study of music mean to me and to the world?
- Why do I plan to study music in the next phase of my education?
- What type of degree or program am I seeking to enter, and why?
- What special qualities or experience do I have which will make me the best candidate for the scholarship?
Official High school or home-school transcript(s), showing courses taken and grades
At least one, but no more than three, letters of recommendation, written by someone familiar with your skills and talents. Recommendation letters can be from one of the following:
- Vocal coach or instructor
- High school choir or group ensemble director or teacher
- Church choir director
- Other entity such as a music camp or special program director
- Be sure that all documents submitted have your name affixed.

Please attach all information in one email and send to nancy@vachoralsociety.org and submit no later than midnight on March 22, 2023. Please contact Nancy McLaulin at (757) 288 - 6034 (call or text) if you are experiencing any technical difficulties with your email submission. All submissions will be acknowledged upon receipt.

Step Two: Audition

The committee will contact the top applicants to schedule an audition, which consists of two parts. First, finalists must submit a video of an individual vocal performance, which should be of a quality typically be required by a college program admission process. No particular genre is required; you may submit anything that best showcases your talents. Please be prepared to provide access to your videos via a cloud drive or other available source, since media files tend to be too large to attach to email.

Secondly, after the video files have been received and reviewed, the panel will contact you and set up a short interview, either virtually or in person. The panel will ask several questions in order to get a sense of your experience and commitment to study music.

All applicants will be notified of the results shortly after the audition. If you are not chosen to audition, you will also be notified.

Step Three: Recognition

Scholarship award winners are typically recognized on our website, or by other means such as press-releases in local media. You will be asked to provide a head shot photo to include in these communications (you must approve for release).

We also love to showcase our winners at one of our performances, although this is not a requirement to receive the award. This year’s performances are scheduled for May 6th and 7th, 2023.