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Fellowships
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CHICAGO SINFONIETTA - Project Inclusion Freeman Fellowships
Project Inclusion is Chicago Sinfonietta’s groundbreaking program where talent and mentorship converge to develop diverse and emerging musicians, conductors, and administrators on and off-stage. What was created by Sinfonietta’s founder Paul Freeman to help eliminate institutional bias due to factors such as ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status has since broadened to tackle matters of diversity and inclusion from every angle. Today, Project Inclusion offers four multifaceted, professional development fellowships to orchestral and ensemble musicians, conductors, and arts administrators.
Chicago Sinfonietta is dedicated to changing the face of classical music; Project Inclusion is the program to make this change possible.
CITYMUSIC CLEVELAND
For nearly fifteen years, CityMusic Cleveland has enriched the cultural life of Northeast Ohio. Our mission is to present first-rate classical music concerts to new audiences in underserved communities by removing the twin barriers of high ticket prices and intimidating venues. In addition, we aim to bring awareness to societal issues, through concert programming, that impact our community, for example, the plight of refugees, child homelessness and cultural acceptance.
In the spirit of our socially-focused mission, we believe that our orchestra should reflect the communities in which we serve. To that end, CityMusic Cleveland announces our inaugural Diversity Fellowship for the 2022-23 season. Our goal is to encourage greater racial and cultural diversity and celebrate the contributions and achievements of underrepresented African-American, Latino American and Native American artists in the orchestral field.
CSO/CCM DIVERSITY FELLOWSHIP
Driven by a mutual desire to create a more inclusive environment in the orchestral industry, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) have embarked on the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship Program. The Fellowship provides an opportunity for graduate level musicians from underrepresented populations to participate in a specialized two-year program. This educational opportunity consists of frequent performances with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, focused mentorship by CSO musicians, audition and professional workshops by top international guest teachers, audition travel stipends and simultaneous enrollment in a Master of Music (MM) or Artist Diploma (AD) degree program. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funds the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship Program.
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AFRICAN AMERICAN FELLOWSHIP
Starting over 30 years ago, the DSO’s African-American Fellowship program regularly offers instrumental fellowships for professional performance experience and advanced training to qualified African-American musicians from anywhere in the United States. Our Fellowship program is specific to African-Americans, given the DSO’s desire to be reflective and inclusive of Detroit's population demographics (82% African-American) and the program is intended for aspiring orchestral musicians (post-college). The AAF contract is issued for one season, with possible renewal for a second season. Fellows function as professional orchestra members, taking part in rehearsals and performances, with additional focus on training and preparing for professional auditions.
FAIRFAX SYMPHONY DIVERSITY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
The FSO Fellowship Program encourages greater racial and cultural diversity in the orchestra field by helping to provide meaningful opportunities for talented minority musicians to achieve their full potential. Open to higher education level string students (violin, viola, cello, and double bass), the FSO Diversity Fellowship supports musical development and helps advance careers.
Up to five Fellows are selected for this one-year program focusing on artistic excellence, career development, immersive mentorship, and performance opportunities. At the conclusion of the season, Fellows will have a wide variety of experiences on which to draw to help guide their music careers.
GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL - STRING AND VOCAL FELLOWSHIPS
Grant Park Music Festival's String and Vocal Fellowships are a unique paid training opportunity for emerging artists aimed at increasing diversity and guiding young professionals toward successful careers in music. Each year outstanding young musicians are selected by the Festival in a competitive national audition to rehearse and perform within the ranks of the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus, and receive one-on-one mentoring from seasoned professionals. Fellows participate in masterclasses with world-renowned guest artists, perform in high profile recitals and in community performances in parks across Chicago. Fellows also serve as guest teaching artists with our Classical Campers program and gain valuable experience in public speaking, ensemble work, marketing, wellness, and the management of a busy music career.
IRIS ARTIST FELLOWS PROGRAM (IAF Program)
The Iris Artist Fellowship Program is a ten-month, full-time position including professional training with instruction, in-the-field experience, and network-building. It is designed to assist rising musicians develop a portfolio of skills with which to build successful careers in music.
The residency provides hands-on training and experience in teaching artistry, chamber music, and orchestral performance with coaching from guest conductors, resident and visiting artists, and education specialists. With a focus on impacting the Greater Memphis community, the Fellowship emphasizes youth development, community building projects, and collaborations. Iris Artist Fellows bring positive change to schools and other organizations in under-resourced communities by participating in community engagement programs that focus on social and emotional learning through music, mentorship, inspiration, and social equity.
LA CROSSE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The La Crosse Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is offering a two-year Fellowship program for promising violinists and violists who are thirty-eight years old or younger pursuing an orchestral career. The LSO strongly encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds including but not limited to, diverse racial, ethnic, socio-economic, and geographic backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in orchestras and whose participation will strengthen the LSO’s efforts to foster greater diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
LOS ANGELES ORCHESTRA FELLOWSHIP
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Inner-City Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, and USC Thornton School of Music have partnered since 2017 in a comprehensive post-graduate program designed to increase diversity in American orchestras. The LA Orchestra Fellows regularly rehearse and perform with LACO, teach and mentor the young students of ICYOLA, and receive a graduate certificate from USC.
The Fellows will participate in a 2-year program, comprised of several mutually agreeable weeks of work with LACO that consist of orchestral services, chamber music coaching and concerts, a recital, mock auditions, and teaching artist opportunities through LACO’s Meet the Music initiatives and with ICYOLA. The LA Orchestra fellowship has a $5000.00 annual minimum guarantee and does not require the musicians to live in Los Angeles. Should a candidate choose to reside outside of LA County, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra will provide travel and housing for the weeks in which the fellow is a resident artist. The LA Orchestra Fellowship also provides financial support for participating musicians to take auditions and accept work with other orchestras.
Successful applicants will be members of historically underrepresented groups in western classical music ensembles.
LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION
Designed to support up to five early-career symphonic musicians representing or serving historically underrepresented populations, this paid LA Phil fellowship focuses on artistic excellence, career development, and immersive orchestra mentorship through a 1-3 year appointment as a musician playing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS/MEMPHIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Funded by The University of Memphis and the MSO’s Circle of Friends, the UofM/MSO Fellowship is a prestigious performance fellowship program for exceptional string players. The program provides an unparalleled two-year learning experience for graduate and post-graduate violin, viola, and cello players coming from African American and Latino communities that are historically underrepresented in classical music. The program will accept up to four qualifying Fellows, who will receive a full-tuition scholarship while enrolled in Master of Music, Doctor of Musical Arts, or Artist Diploma programs, and $8,000 per season while performing with the MSO. Fellows will study with the string faculty of the University of Memphis and serve as Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music ambassadors in the Memphis community.
With the MSO, fellows will perform a minimum of five concert cycles per and will participate in additional performances in solo and chamber setting for community engagement and education; and will have direct access, and apprenticeship opportunities, with the MSO music director and conducting staff, instrumentalists, CEO and administrative staff, MSO Board members, and members of the MSO Circle of Friends. The MSO Circle of Friends was founded as a women's philanthropic initiative that recognizes the importance of people from different social networks coming together to work as an instrument of intentional inclusion through the performing arts. In addition to intensive study with University of Memphis string faculty, fellows will be paired with MSO mentors throughout their fellowship term, and will have the opportunity to perform as a string quartet with the other fellowship participants. Faculty and mentors will provide guidance for fellows throughout the duration of their degree and fellowship.
MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA’S ROSEMARY AND DAVID GOOD FELLOWSHIP
A two-year program designed to enhance the orchestral careers of African American, Latino American and Native American musicians and to encourage greater racial and cultural diversity in the orchestral field.
NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE (NAC) ORCHESTRA MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
The NAC Orchestra Mentorship Program is a three-week one-on-one intensive for pre-professional and early-career orchestral musicians. Each instrumental participant will be paired with an NAC Orchestra musician for the duration of the program, with whom they will share a desk during sectionals, split orchestra, and tutti sessions under the baton of Alexander Shelley, NAC’s Music Director.
International orchestral instrumentalists and Canadian conductors are invited to apply.
NATIONAL ORCHESTRAL INSTITUTE - ORCHESTRAL FUTURIST FELLOWSHIP
In partnership with the Sphinx Organization, the National Orchestral Institute + Festival offers a nationally unique artistic and performance fellowship that combines administration, orchestral performance, festival curation, and community engagement. Each fellowship recipient will work with the Director of the National Orchestral Institute on the planning, recruitment, and execution of NOI+F over a 13-month period to advance their careers as orchestral musicians and provide a creative platform for shaping the orchestra of the future. In addition to attending two consecutive summers at NOI+F (2018 and 2019), the fellowship requires two one-week retreats where the fellow will be in residence at the University of Maryland to work with the NOI+F Director and staff of The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. The fellow will work remotely with general responsibilities ranging from 10-15 hours per month, excluding participation in the festival and the two residencies.
NEW HAVEN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – HARMONY FELLOWSHIP
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s Harmony Fellowship for Underrepresented Musicians is a two-year Fellowship program for promising, diverse violinists, violists, and cellists pursuing an orchestral career. The NHSO strongly encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds including but not limited to, diverse racial, ethnic, socio-economic and geographic backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in orchestras. Fellows will rehearse and perform with the orchestra and receive other career development benefits including mentoring and audition preparation, as well as Education/Community Engagement training with supervised experiences.
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - COLTON FELLOWSHIP
The 2020–21 New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Colton Fellowship is an excellence-based program designed to support early-career Black and Latinx musicians in the orchestra field. This initiative continues the NJSO’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The Colton Fellowship will support two fellows per year to participate in NJSO performances, receive mentorship and engage with the community. For the 2020–21 season, there is one position available to join current Colton Fellow, cellist Laura Andrade. To be considered for the NJSO Colton Fellowship, eligible candidates must submit an application. Invited candidates will display artistic excellence through a blind audition and discuss their commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the arts during a short interview. This fellowship is made possible by a generous gift from Judith and Stewart Colton.
ORPHEUS PERFORMANCE FELLOWSHIP
The Orpheus Performance Fellowship offers emerging musicians from diverse backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in classical music, the opportunity to participate in the orchestra’s Carnegie Hall series and related tours. By taking part in rehearsals and performances, the fellow will gain in-depth experience with the Orpheus Process®, the orchestra’s unique method for rehearsing and performing without a conductor. As a capstone project, the fellow will explore all aspects of concert production by self-producing a solo or chamber music recital in NYC with the support of Orpheus musicians and staff.
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - PAUL J. ROSS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
The Paul J. Ross Fellowship Program is a two-year program designed to enable musicians identifying as Black or African American to dedicate themselves to the pursuit of an orchestral career. Fellows work closely alongside members of the Pittsburgh Symphony to train and prepare for professional auditions and opportunities, with substantial financial and professional development support, and robust mentorship in a welcoming and inclusive environment.
The Paul J. Ross Fellowship is named in honor of the late Paul J. Ross, the violinist who, in 1965, was the first African American musician to receive a full-time contract from the Pittsburgh Symphony. The legacy of Paul J. Ross is notable for nurturing, mentoring, and supporting young musicians, and his devotion to sharing his joy of music. Formerly known as OTPAAM (Orchestra Training Program for African American Musicians), the fellowship program was begun in the 2007-2008 season to promote diversity in orchestra settings to better reflect the diverse communities and audiences the orchestra serves.
THE STOCKTON SYMPHONY FELLOWSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM
The Stockton Symphony Fellowship Training program is a one-year program for promising violinist coming from diverse backgrounds who are pursuing an orchestral career. This program will offer those accepted 36 paid services, coaching sessions with section players, and access to Stockton Symphony players for mock auditions.
VIRGINIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - VSO AFRICAN AMERICAN FELLOWSHIP
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra has created a new African American Fellowship Program for four early-career orchestral string musicians to advance the goal of increased diversity of orchestral musicians nationwide. This is a continuation of the VSO’s equity, diversity and inclusion initiative. Fellows will perform from September through May as part of the VSO in over 100 services throughout eastern Virginia and engage in public school residencies and educational performances. Professional development opportunities, including private lessons and mentorship, will better equip Fellows to succeed in their careers as performers and educators. Through these activities, Fellows will receive a graduate certificate in performance from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
WISCONSIN CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC FELLOWSHIP IN TEACHING ARTISTRY
Intended for early-career Black and Latine artists in classical music, fellows commit to working for a period of one year at WCM, with an option for renewal in the second year.