UK School of Music Scholarships and Grants

NOTE: Following is NOT a comprehensive listing of scholarships and grants available from the School of Music. See also our scholarship information for prospective students.

Scholarships Awarded at the McCracken Reception

Every spring one of our most joyful tasks is to present School of Music scholarship awards to some of our best and brightest students. A reception established in honor of Emily Scott McCracken, is held for student recipients, scholarship donors, and faculty. The event gives us an opportunity to celebrate our students and to honor the scholarship donors who make such a difference in our students’ lives. For more information on this or other giving opportunities, please contact Jeanne Ontko Suchanek at 859-257-3145.

Adele Headley Memorial ($100)

Adele Headley Dailey was music librarian for the University of Kentucky for many years. This memorial scholarship in her name is given by a number of private donors. Recipients shall be undergraduate music majors who demonstrate potential in academic musicological research.

Flossie Minter Greene Memorial ($500)

Recipients shall be current sophomores or juniors who demonstrate potential for academic excellence and has financial need.

Ford M. Montgomery Memorial Piano Scholarship ($400)

Ford McRee Montgomery (1910-1995) graduated with honors from New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Lamda honor society. He also studied at the Mozarteum Academy of Music in Salzburg, Austria. He served on the faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music, before joining the faculty at the University of Kentucky in 1941, where he served until his retirement in 1976.  Recipients shall be full-time graduate or undergraduate piano majors who exhibit high degrees of talent and potential as music performers or teachers. Recipients must maintain satisfactory academic record, show financial need, and be worthy in character. The award is renewable only in exceptional cases. Established in 1996.

Friends of Music Scholarship ($500)

Recipients shall be undergraduate or graduate music majors who demonstrate outstanding musicianship and dedication to the ideals of music and scholarship, consistent service to the UK School of Music, and the promise of high personal and professional achievement. For more information on the Friends of Music, please visit their web page.

George Hurst Memorial Music Education ($300)

George Hurst was a musician and music businessman in Lexington for a number of years until his death in 1985. His friends and colleagues donated to a memorial fund in his name.  Recipients shall be juniors or seniors in instrumental music education major who demonstrate considerable potential as teachers and have financial need 

Jean Marie McConnell Chrisman Memorial Piano Scholarship ($1000)

Mrs. Chrisman was not only a fine musician and teacher but also an individual of the highest character and warmest personality. As a serious yet popular college student and music major at UK, Jean Marie won the prestigious Sullivan Medallion in 1941 as the outstanding woman graduate, clearly a precursor of her life of service ahead. As a protege of UK's Mildred Lewis, she became an outstanding music teacher in the public schools, which led to her appointment as head of the music programs of UK Extension. Recipients shall be music majors in piano who demonstrate exceptional talent and have satisfactory academic records. Established in 1999.

John Barnes Chance Composition Award ($300)

John Barnes Chance (1932-1972) was a distinguished composer who served on the UK School of Music faculty at the time of his accidental death in 1972. Throughout his short career, Chance composed for band, orchestra, chorus, chamber groups and solo instruments. Recipients shall be music majors who demonstrate talent and potential as composers. The award is based on a student composition competition. Established in 1972. More...

Lucille Couch Vocal Music Education ($500)

Lucille E. Couch was born in Central City, Kentucky, on August 26, 1909. She received her B. S. degree from the University of Kentucky in 1932 and her M. A. in 1953. She was a distinguished music teacher and supervisor very active in the Kentucky Music Educators Association. She died in September 1988. The Lucille Couch Vocal Music Education Award is given to an incoming freshman selected in the previous spring auditions. The recipient shall be an undergraduate vocal music education major who has potential in vocal music education. More...

Lynn Markowitz Struttman Oboe Scholarship ($500)

Applicants submit biographical essays (maximum of 500 words) on how music has impacted their lives. Recipients shall be music majors in oboe who exhibit exceptional performance proficiency. The award can be repeated for a total of four years.

The McCracken Scholarships

Because of her great love of music, her concern for the success of young musicians, and her involvement with the music department at UK, Emily Scott McCracken established the first music endowment fund at the University in 1954, with an initial amount of $10,000. Five McCracken Scholarships are presented each year to current music students at the annual McCracken Scholarship Reception, a tradition established by her son, Ralph McCracken, Jr. The McCracken Scholarship Reception continues today with her granddaughters, Frances McCracken Remmele and Margaret McCracken Haynes.. More...

Mildred Lewis Music Education ($500)

Mildred Lewis (1890-1981) joined the UK music faculty in 1931 where she taught sight-singing, dictation, directed the Women's Glee Club, and was the first instructor of the in-service class for training Kentucky music teachers. In 1933, Miss Lewis organized the University Choristers and served as its director until her retirement in the early '60s, an accomplishment for which she is most often remembered. Mildred Lewis built a solid choral music and music education program at UK and was one of the founders and most influential members of the Kentucky Music Education Association.  Recipients shall be undergraduate majors in music education. Open to all Kentucky residents, the award is based on promise as a teacher, scholarship, musical talent, character, and financial need. Established in 1960. More...

Nathaniel Patch Piano Scholarship ($500)

Professor Emeritus Nathaniel Patch taught piano at the University of Kentucky from 1949 until his retirement in 1982. He held degrees from the Eastman School of Music and was familiar to generations of Kentuckians as an active concert pianist and teacher. He performed throughout the United States as a pianist and chamber musician and appeared as piano soloist with, among others, the Lexington Philharmonic, the Louisville Orchestra and the Nashville Symphony. Among his many awards were the UK Great Teacher Award and the Kentucky Music Teachers' Teacher of the Year Award.  Recipients shall be outstanding undergraduate or graduate pianists, music majors, excellent students academically, and who can demonstrate financial need. Established in 1999.

O. Helton Memorial Acres ($1,000)

Anne Mae Helton established the O. Helton Memorial Acres endowed scholarship in memory of her parents, Ora and Oscar Helton in 1982.  Recipients shall be undergraduate or graduate music majors selected by the Dean of the College of Fine Arts for their outstanding musical abilities.

Phyllis Jenness Vocal Scholarship ($600)

Professor Phyllis Jenness came to the University of Kentucky in 1954 after singing professionally for six years in New York. At UK she primarily taught voice, but also ventured into teaching vocal literature and choral conducting, as well as even directing the Women's Glee Club.  She performed regularly throughout her tenure at UK, singing at least one recital per year, plus concert and oratorio appearances throughout Kentucky and surrounding states. Around 1955 she initiated opera as part of the curriculum at UK, organizing performances of short scenes and one-act operas until the first full-scale production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in 1976.  From then on she directed yearly opera productions until 1989, shortly before retiring in 1993. Recipients shall be outstanding undergraduate or graduate voice majors with exceptional talent, dedicated to music and singing as demonstrated by audition. Renewable with a 3.00 GPA. Established in 1993. More...

Thelma Greene Scholarship ($500)

Recipients shall be sophomores or juniors who demonstrate potential for academic excellence and financial need.

Alltech Opera Scholarships

The following awards are based on the Alltech Competition held in early March. Please see the Alltech Scholarship pages for more information.

The Alltech Graduate Prize

• 1st Prize $10,000 plus a Full Graduate Assistantship to the University of Kentucky plus a $10,000 Stipend*
• 2nd Prize $ 7,500 plus a Full Graduate Assistantship to the University of Kentucky plus a $10,000 Stipend*

The Jean and George Seevers Vocal Awards for Undergraduate Students

Sponsored by The William E. Schmidt Foundation*

• 1st Prize $5,000*
• 2nd Prize $2,500*

The Kentucky Opera Prize

• A promise of a future Main Stage role with Kentucky Opera