Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award

Scholarship Description

The Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award is a one-time, non-renewable, need-based award of up to $10,000 given in conjunction with full participation in From the Top’s Learning and Media Lab Fellowship.

Each year, From the Top chooses approximately 20 pre-collegiate musicians ages 8-18 to receive the Award. The Award is given to driven and committed pre-collegiate musicians with financial need to help offset the often prohibitively expensive costs of studying classical music at a high level.

You are eligible if you are: classical instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers (ages 8–18) who are full-time elementary, middle, or high school students, and have not yet entered college.

Applicants must demonstrate:

Strong musical commitment

• Applicants must have strong musical ability and a willingness to participate in our Learning and Media Lab Fellowship.

Unmet financial need

• The Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award is a need-based award. Applicants must provide evidence of a family income unable to meet the costs of his/her musical pursuits (new instruments, music lessons, summer festival tuition, and travel, etc.). 90% of our past recipients come from families with an annual household Adjusted Gross Income of under $60,000. While we do consider extenuating circumstances such as cost of living, medical expenses, dependents, etc., we do not encourage applicants with an annual household Adjusted Gross Income of over $100,000 to apply.
• PLEASE NOTE: If your most recent tax return reflects something different from what your current employment situation projects, please include a detailed statement within the “Special Financial Circumstances” section at the end of the online application.

Eligibility Requirements

• Aged between 8 and 18 years old

Application Requirements

• Financial need analysis required
• Special requirements exist (These are specified in text.)
• At least two unedited, un-enhanced video or audio samples of your music for upload into the application portal

How To Apply