Beverly Fernald Scholarship
Beverly Fernald taught voice at Metropolitan State University of Denver from 1970 to 2002. Upon her retirement, the Beverly Fernald scholarship was established. The purpose of the scholarship is to support voice performance majors who hold Beverly’s high ideals for a career in performance and teaching.
A scholarship application process will be held each spring semester to select the Beverly Fernald scholarship winner(s). The MSU Denver Foundation, based upon the amount of the endowment, determines the award amount and number of awards annually. Awards are one-time awards and are not automatically renewable. However, previous recipients are eligible to receive another award.
Financial need is not a criterion for eligibility and applicants may not be eliminated from consideration because they have been awarded other forms of financial aid. There is no residency requirement for this scholarship. The eligibility criteria to apply for the scholarship competition are as follows:
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The applicant must be a declared Music Performance (MPR) major at Metropolitan State University of Denver at the time of application.
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The applicant must be enrolled at Metropolitan State University of Denver for a minimum of 12 credit hours at the time of application.
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The applicant must be have passed the Voice Performance Audition at Metropolitan State University of Denver at the time of application.
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The applicant must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.
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The applicant must be willing to give back to the MSU Denver Music Department in ways best suited to their circumstance.
Students wishing to apply for Fernald scholarship must submit an application to MSU Denver Music Office by the advertised deadline. The essay accompanying the application should address the applicant’s background in voice, qualifications for receiving the Fernald scholarship, a description of the applicant’s career plans, and a statement specifically addressing all four eligibility criteria listed above. Five copies of the application must be submitted by the deadline, all signed and dated by the applicant.
In addition to the application above, applicants will be required to participate in an audition. The audition schedule will be posted as soon as it is available. All students should prepare one piece of music that represents their vocal ability no less than 3 minutes and no more than 5 minutes in length. Cuts are acceptable if needed.
Scholarship recipient(s) will be selected by a committee of at least three studio voice faculty of the MSU Denver Department of Music and the Voice Performance Coordinator. Beverly Fernald, and a representative of the major donor will be invited to attend the auditions, but the committee will make the final decision. Based upon the application and the audition, as well as the committee’s knowledge of the applicant’s vocal ability and musical skills, the applicant(s) judged to have the greatest potential for a career in vocal performance and teaching will be selected as winner(s). In the event that the committee determines that none of the applicants meet this criterion, no award will be made. All decisions made by the scholarship committee are final and cannot be appealed.
