Adult Bursaries
Amount of Bursaries
- Total of $500.00 given per fiscal year.
- Up to $250.00 per individual.
- The amount will be no more than half of the cost of the program.
- The cost of the program could include tuition, travel or accommodation.
Dates of Application
- January 15 (Decision by January 30)
- June 15 (Decision by June 30)
Criteria for Eligibility
- Applicant must be a member of NSCF (this may occur after acceptance).
- Age 18 or over at date of application.
- NSCF programs may be eligible.
- Sponsorship is limited to one program per person per fiscal year.
- Sponsorship will not be awarded to the same person for the same program for two years in a row.
- Financial need is not necessarily a criterion.
- Decisions are at the discretion of the committee.
- The applicant must state what benefit the program would be to him/her and to NSCF.
- The applicant must state why he/she requires the assistance.
- No consideration will be given to requests for retroactive funding.
- The applicant must be a Nova Scotia resident.
Please Note: Applicants must register for a camp program before they will be considered for a bursary. Camp registration fees are refundable until July 4. The deadlines for bursary applications are January 15 with notification by January 30 and June 15 with notification by June 30.
Children & Youth Bursaries
Elizabeth Murray Bursary Fund For Junior & Youth Choir Camp
In 1988 the Nova Scotia Choral Federation set up the Bursary Endowment Fund for Young Singers to help provide funding for children to attend Nova Scotia Choral Federation summer programs. In 1998, to recognize Dr. Elizabeth Murray’s substantial contribution to the life of choral music in Nova Scotia, we renamed the fund and established the Elizabeth Murray Bursary Fund For Junior & Youth Choir Camp.
Dr. Elizabeth (Betty) Murray was a pioneer of music education in Nova Scotia. Her work in the Acadia University Education Extension Department, her teaching and her legendary historical plays in Tatamagouche were innovative and inspirational. She put Tatamagouche on the world map by bringing great performers like Teresa Stratas and Maureen Forester to the Nova Scotia Arts Festival. When awarding an honorary Doctoral Degree in 1977, Acadia University said of Miss Murray “She is progressive without being radical, enthusiastic without being offensive, warm hearted without being sentimental, purposeful but never stubborn, a reformer but not a fanatic.” Miss Murray was awarded an Honorary Life Membership in the Nova Scotia Choral Federation in 1981. She died in 1996 at the age of seventy-nine.
We do not give out full bursaries. Typically, depending upon the number of applicants, bursaries of $50 - $100 are awarded. Each year NSCF receives numerous requests for camp bursaries. We try to assist as many applicants as possible. *Please note that campers must be registered fully for camp, with all forms submitted and with a $100 deposit paid in order to be considered for a bursary.
You can help! Donations to help send children to camp are gratefully accepted. A charitable tax receipt will be issued by the Nova Scotia Choral Federation office, at anytime throughout the year. All money raised in this manner is used to help send young singers to choir camp.
Help us to keep our choral tradition strong!
Due Dates of Application:
May 31 (Decision by June 30)
APPLY NOW!
Louise Simons Scholarship for Nova Scotia Youth Choir
Louise Simons, the Choral Federation’s “mother hen”, was instrumental in the formation of the Nova Scotia Youth Choir, originally the Rotary Youth Choir, 25 years ago. As a choral singer (with Nova Scotia Symphony Chorus, Halifax Camerata Singers, Middleton Choral Society and King’s Chorale), an educator (West Kings High School) and a constant presence at the Nova Scotia Choral Federation summer camps for junior, youth and adult singers, Louise wanted singers finishing high school and beginning university to have access to an auditioned provincial choir to keep up their choral education, to provide further challenge, and to keep them singing. She knew our youth should be given a chance to work with Canada’s best conductors. With her steady vision and her creative mind, the choir gradually took flight and was fine-tuned into the exceptional choir it is today. Her enthusiasm, her belief in the importance of singing, her loyalty to the choral community in Nova Scotia, her mentorship and her unfailing energy continues to inspire singers and audiences alike, and we feel her presence so strongly every year when we gather together.
We are very pleased to honour her now with the newly created Louise Simons Scholarship for Nova Scotia Youth Choir which supports four singers in the choir each year. The scholarship covers their tuition and offers them important leadership opportunities within the choir. If you would like to donate to this scholarship, please contact the NSCF office.
With fond memories and thanks,
Janet Ross, Chair of NSYC Volunteer Committee
Requirements
The scholarship applicant must:
- Have a strong vocal background with choral experience
- Have a desire to improve their leadership skills in a musical setting
- Have a desire to improve their conducting, teaching, and pedagogy skills
The applicants will be judged on the merit of their application as well as their audition.
The recipients of this scholarship will be given a leadership position within their section and the choir. They will be mentored by the resident conductors and choir manager. Learning opportunities include:
- Working with resident conductors by identifying music issues in their sections/choir
- Leading and assisting in some sectional rehearsals
- Maintaining connection with their sections between rehearsal weekends to ensure preparation, attendance, answering musical questions. Perhaps organizing a sectional get together between June and August weekends etc.
- Organizing get to know you activities the first weekend and camp recreational activities
- Hosting the visiting guest artist during the day
- Helping to build and foster a sense of community within the choir
Please submit applications electronically to: programs@nscf.ns.ca by April 15, 2016