Margaret Knight
High School Scholarship

Chairperson: RICHARD WOO (hsscholarship@njmta.com)

(description updated July 15, 2024)

To honor the immense impact and contribution of the late Margaret Knight to NJMTA, the High School Scholarship has been renamed the Margaret Knight High School Scholarship. Read more about Margaret Knight here…

DATES/DEADLINES:

  • Wednesday, September 11 at 11:59pm: Registration deadline (entries will include the essay and list of participation in NJMTA events).  Registration link is at the bottom of this page.

  • Wednesday, October 9 at 11:59pm: Composition category - Composition scores, recordings, an introductory video (1-3 minutes introducing themselves and their compositions), and other optional materials due.

  • Sunday, October 27 at Rowan University: Live auditions for Performance and Music Education/Pedagogy categories - .  NOTE: this is the same date and location as the MTNA Performance Competition.

  • Saturday-Sunday, November 16-17 at Rutgers University: NJMTA State Conference.  The Performance recipient will perform one of their selections, the Music Education/Pedagogy recipient will read their essay, and the Composition recipient will arrange to have their composition(s) performed with live performers on acoustic instruments.


ABOUT

Three scholarships (each $2,500) are offered to high school seniors who will be pursuing music study in college with one of the following majors:

  • Performance

  • Music Education or Pedagogy

  • Composition

Students may only register for one category.

For each recipient, one half of the scholarship amount will be awarded in the student’s first semester of college music study, and the second half will be awarded in their second semester.  Awards are contingent upon the student’s continuation of their college major.


STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

Any student of an NJMTA teacher who is graduating from high school and plans to major (not minor) in music for their college studies.  The major of Music Performance, Music Education or Pedagogy, or Composition must correspond to the scholarship category that they enter.  The student must have studied with the current NJMTA teacher for at least six months preceding the event.

TEACHER ELIGIBILITY

The teacher must be a member of NJMTA in good standing and must have paid dues for the past two years including the current year.  The payment must be made by September 1 of the current year.    Please see the “General Guidelines to Student Activities” for detailed eligibility guidelines.



REQUIREMENTS

This criteria holds all of the categories:

70% - Performance and Music Education/Pedagogy: Performance in audition (see REPERTOIRE on NJMTA website).  Composition: Two original compositions and a video of 1-3 minutes introducing themselves and their compositions.

20% - Essay of 1,000-1,200 words stating the student’s musical goals, their vision for the community in music, and what they hope to learn in college.  NOTE: For Composition students, the essay should not include an explanation of the two compositions.  The judges of this essay will not see or hear the compositions.

10% - A list of participation in NJMTA-sponsored events (but not necessarily awards received), including events for the current Fall season.



REPERTOIRE (for Performance and Music Education/Pedagogy categories):

The program should include repertoire from all four musical time periods.  The chairperson must approve the program should the four periods not be represented.  (This is particularly applicable if college audition requirements are different for your instrument.)  Please allow sufficient time (at least four business days) for the chairperson to approve the program. All programs must be approved by the deadline in order for registration to be complete.

  • Baroque 

  • Classical

  • Romantic

  • Contemporary

The judges are only required to listen to 30 minutes of the program. The judges reserve the right to withhold an award if they think that either the repertoire or the performance is below that of a college entrance standard for a music major.


COMPOSITIONS (for Composition category)

Composition students will submit a video of 1-3 minutes introducing themselves and their compositions.

Two original compositions will be submitted through PDF scores and audio/audiovisual recordings.  The compositions will be of contrasting styles, and they will each use different instrumentation.  No arrangements will be accepted.  The pieces must be able to be performed by acoustic instruments without extended techniques (i. e. introducing foreign objects into the workings of the piano to change the sound quality, strumming or plucking of piano strings, etc).  Electronic music will not be permitted.  

The scores will be generated by music-notation software and will not be handwritten.  Standard notation must be used (i.e. no notations for extended techniques, electronic music, etc).  The scores will be converted to a PDF file.  Other file types will not be permitted.

Audio/audiovisual recordings are required for both pieces.  Acoustic instruments are preferred, but MIDI is acceptable.  NOTE: the Composition recipient will arrange to have their composition(s) performed with live performers on acoustic instruments at the state conference.

Optional:

  • Accompanying explanations and multimedia (i.e. artwork, videos, etc).

  • Repertoire list of past compositions with approximate dates.

  • Past composition events with dates (including events outside NJMTA).

The judges reserve the right to withhold an award if they think that the level of the compositions are below that of college entrance standards for a music major.

HOW TO ENTER:

Teachers are to complete the online HSS registration form.  The teacher (but not the student or parent) will correspond with the chairperson.  

Please see the fee schedule for the entry fee.  The student may register for only one of the three categories.

The entry fee must be submitted online.  Paper checks will not be accepted.  NOTE: The essay of 1,000-1,200 words as well as the NJMTA participation list must be submitted at this time.

Contact: hsscholarship@njmta.com

NAME CHANGE FEE:

Please see the fee schedule should a request for a spelling change be made after the registration form is submitted.  The name spelling will appear as submitted on the certificate and the recital program.

ACCOMPANISTS:

Teachers are responsible for obtaining and appropriately compensating their own accompanist prior to the events, and they must list them on the registration form to avoid scheduling conflicts with other students using the same accompanist. Teachers may not accompany their own students.  NJMTA will provide a recommended list of accompanists should one be requested.

PERFORMERS:

For the Composition category, teachers are responsible for obtaining and appropriately compensating performers prior to the events.  NJMTA will provide a recommended list of performers should one be requested.




Recipients of 2023 High School Scholarship:

Performance: JOIE KUAN (student of Chiu-Tze Lin)


From the past scholarship recipients…

Charles Love, 2022 Composition Scholarship Recipient, (reproduced with his permission)

My freshman year at Bennington College has, on the whole, been very successful thus far. Last semester, I wrote numerous shorter pieces, mostly for solo instruments, though some, such as the pieces I wrote for violin and viola, have had piano accompaniment. The latter is set to premiere at my sister's senior viola recital and I will be accompanying her. This semester I've been able to work on a piano trio under the tutelage of Allen Shawn, which will premiere in May and of which I've completed one of three movements so far. I'm also taking his class on Stravinsky, in which we've analyzed many of the great composer's works. Among my goals for the rest of the year are writing for larger ensembles, expanding the forms of my pieces to encompass longer-form developments, and exploring more repertoire for performance and analysis.

Elizabeth Yang, 2021 Performance Scholarship Recipient

I am currently studying Neuroscience and Piano Performance at Northwestern University under the dual-degree program. While this is definitely a difficult track to balance, my first-year experience has been very eye-opening and rewarding. In the music department, I have various opportunities to perform and often take advantage of watching concerts featuring fellow Bienen students or guest artists (including Yunchan Lim!). The facilities are wonderful and the presence of other great musicians motivates me to improve without creating a cutthroat, overly-competitive environment. Outside of music, I have greatly enjoyed taking other classes related to my science major, as well as writing and language classes. Overall, simultaneously learning to manage my studies and transition into college has taken some time but has set a solid foundation for how I will navigate the rest of college. I'm very happy to be here! :)

2022 WINNERS

Composition: CHARLES LOVE (student of Nancy Modell)

Performance: Christopher Shin (student of Veda Zuponcic)

2021 WINNERS

Performance Scholarship Recipient: Elizabeth Yang, piano (student of Grace Yang)

Alternate: Sammi Li, piano (student of Ingrid Clarfield)

Music Education / PedagogyScholarship Recipient: N/A

Composition Scholarship Recipient: N/A

Judges for Essays and NJMTA Activities: Yining Wang and Betty Stoloff

Judges for Performance: Gulimina Mahamuti and Diyi Tang

By participating in any NJMTA event, parents give permission to the New Jersey Music Teachers Association(NJMTA) to use photographs or videos of your child taken by NJMTA representative, with appropriate captions, in NJMTA publications, on the NJMTA website, social media and/or in the local newspapers. If you do not wish NJMTA to use your child’s photos/videos in any way, kindly notify the chairperson of the event in which your child is participating.