The Diana Ross Scholarship is a half-tuition scholarship presented to a McNally Smith College of Music Bachelor of Music applicant every academic year.
Award
The half-tuition scholarship is applied toward a Bachelor of Music student. Renewal is automatic every semester as long as the student achieves a grade point average of 3.0 for each semester’s work and enrolls full-time for up to four years. Room and board, books, and course materials are not included.
Additional Submission Guidelines
In addition to completing an online application, applicants must also include up to 2 performance video links that equal no more than 4 minutes. Chosen selections must be in contrasting styles that demonstrate musical strengths and versatility. Accompaniment is suggested. Video links must be included in the online application. Applicants must also describe their participation in detail for each piece. Space to do so is provided on the application.
The Diana Ross Scholarship Winner
The McNally Smith College of Music Scholarship Selection Committee will review the demo submissions and will select up to five finalists from the applications submitted and present them to Diana Ross who will choose the winner.
About Diana Ross
The teenage Diana Ross established the Motown sound with a solid gold chain of number one hits. As a soloist she ascended within the cinema and discothèque, on television, and Broadway stages. She dignified the title of Diva and is considered the most successful female vocalist in American popular music.
The Detroit native moved into the house named Hitsville USA in 1960. She was sixteen years old. Diana Ross and the Supremes became Motown's hottest Holland-Dozier-Holland chartbusters, landing 12 number ones within the decade. The first Ross solo hits, 1970's "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," set the tone for her bold and buoyant career.
A film biography of Billie Holiday provided Diana Ross with her first screen acting opportunity. Lady Sings The Blues (1972) earned Ross a Golden Globe and an academy award nomination. The soundtrack went to number one. Two more starring film roles followed, Mahogany (1975) and The Wiz (1978), both generating hit songs and albums. Ross' dance-oriented singles "Love Hangover," "Upside Down," and "I'm Coming Out" smoldered on disco dance floors and became circuit party anthems, while television and Broadway vehicles underscored Diana Ross' unstoppable charisma and showbiz instincts.
She was named "Female Entertainer of the Century" by Billboard magazine. Diana Ross' last hit with Motown was the biggest: the title theme for the movie "Endless Love," a duet with Lionel Richie. Moving to RCA for the 80's, Ross delivered notable hits like "Muscles," "Missing You," and reworking of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love."
Her return to Motown for the 90's marked a new phase for Diana Ross as an artist and businesswomen. With control of an extensive catalogue, she focuses on opportunities highlighting her strengths as a performer and interpreter. Two platinum albums, ten gold albums and five American Music Awards attest to a life in the heart of American popular music.
Diana Ross is a 2007 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. The Honors have redefined America’s perception of its artistic legacy and reinvented the way this nation rewards its artists. She is also the recipient of the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award.
On November 20, 2004, Diana Ross visited McNally Smith College for a tour of the campus, a Q & A session with students and staff, and to inaugurate the Diana Ross Scholarship.
Scholarship applications are due March 1, 2010 for the 2010-2011 school year.
Complete the online application here.