West Virginia Symphony Orchestra announces Deadline to Apply for Music Fellowship is Dec. 17

CHARLESTON, W.VA. (10/29/21) – The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra invites all high school instrumental music students to apply for the Andrew and Amy Vaughan Student Symphonic Fellowship, a monitored and time-intensive training program for serious music students.

December 17 is the deadline to apply for this program that focuses on developing and encouraging West Virginia students with a strong desire for success as a future professional musician, educator, composer or conductor. Applications are available at wvsymphony.org/fellowship. The program is underwritten by a generous donation from Dr. N. Andrew and Amy Vaughan.

Selected fellows will sit alongside WVSO musicians during the second half of the Elliot Foundation Symphonic concert series and conduct personal research about the music performed. Fellows will also meet and interact with renowned guest artists, guest conductors, and WVSO Music Director Lawrence Loh. Additional fellowship activities will be tailored to the winning candidates’ interests and abilities. Fellowship activities take place primarily outside of school hours. Fellows who live outside of Charleston will receive a stipend for travel to symphony activities.

Candidates should be serious instrumental students in grades 9-12. Applications will be accepted for students playing the following instruments: harp, violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba, pitched and unpitched percussion, and piano. 

From the initial applicants, a small number of finalists will be invited to a two-part interview/audition on January 14 in Charleston. For the audition, students are encouraged to perform one or more movements from the standard concerto repertoire for solo instrument with orchestra. An accompanist will be provided, but students are also free to bring their own. Pianists should prepare a major solo movement from the standard sonata repertoire.

The most recent fellow, Phillip Keefover from Fairmont, WV, has entered his freshman year as a music major at WVU. Previous fellows include Parkersburg native Luke Frazier, founder and conductor of the American Pops Orchestra, and Fayetteville native Charles Morey, Acting Associate Concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra is West Virginia’s premier performing arts organization, presenting classical and pops concerts annually throughout the Mountain State. Currently in its 83rd season, the WVSO is a proud member of the community and enriches the region by providing affordable, high-quality concerts, collaborations with West Virginia arts organizations and a nationally award-winning education program.

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