Scholarships
Athenaeum of Ohio (Chapel of St. Gregory), Cincinnati, by Martin Pasi (2022)
“To my eyes and ears the organ will ever be the King of Instruments.”
— Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Overview
The Cincinnati Chapter is proud to offer annual financial awards to enable students who have not yet graduated high school to study the organ with a professional organist in weekly lessons, group settings, and more.
Each scholarship is a monetary subsidy that parents/guardians use to offset the cost of weekly organ lessons to a child between the ages of seven and graduating high school.
While some previous keyboard experience is helpful, prospective scholarship recipients need not have any prior piano study. In general, we recommend beginning organ study no earlier than around age seven.
Christ Church Cathedral (Chapel), Cincinnati, by C.B. Fisk (2018)
Trinity Episcopal Church, Covington, by Carl Wilhelm (1994)
How it works
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The Chapter offers two amounts of scholarships: $500 to subsidize 30-minute lessons, and $1000 to subsidize 60-minute lessons.
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The scholarship is disbursed in quarterly installments directly to parents/guardians. They must keep a written record of when their child receives lessons using a form provided by the Chapter’s Scholarships Committee. For the next installment to be paid, the teacher must sign off that the record is accurate.
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Scholarship recipients are expected to schedule weekly lessons on an appropriate organ, in consultation with their teacher.
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To ensure progress, students are expected to practice an amount of time appropriate to their development and ability, determined in conjunction with the teacher, usually between 20 and 60 minutes per day. Teachers will help the pupil organize regular practice time on an appropriate organ at a location agreed upon with the parents/guardians.
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Parents/guardians must enroll all recipients in the Guild for the duration of their scholarship award (after being awarded the scholarship).
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Recipients are expected to play any one piece, agreed upon with the teacher, at a Chapter event within a year of being awarded a scholarship.
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Organ teachers are chosen by the parents/guardians and approved by the Scholarships Committee. Teachers must be members of the Chapter. If a parent/guardian does not have a prospective teacher in mind, the Scholarships Committee can provide a list of teachers, their academic qualifications, the parts of Cincinnati where they are able to teach lessons, and their contact information.
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Scholarships may be renewed until the recipient graduates high school, and the renewal request is submitted through the general application process. Receiving a scholarship one year does not guarantee renewal.
Apply
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To be considered for a scholarship, please fill out the application below.
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If possible, make an audio or video recording of the applicant playing any keyboard piece (a simple cell phone recording is perfectly acceptable). If the applicant has never had any kind of keyboard lessons, please simply indicate that.
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Applications for the 2025–2026 academic year will open on Monday, June 1 and be accepted until Friday, August 1, 2025 at 11:59 P.M.
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Applicants will receive notification of the outcome of application on Monday, August 4, 2025. Please check back on June 1 for the application form.
Museum Center, Cincinnati, by E.M. Skinner (1929)