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QUEEN SCHOLARSHIP

The Queen Scholarship is a full-tuition scholarship presented to a McNally Smith College composition applicant every academic year.

This prestigious award is granted to the applicant who:

   1. best demonstrates his or her ambition to pursue a career in music
   2. exhibit exceptional abilities as a songwriter
   3. has maintained a good academic record
   4. demonstrates financial need.

AwardThe full scholarship is applied to tuition, after any federal or state grant funding, to obtain a Bachelor of Music in Composition. The scholarship is valued at up to $80,000. Renewal is automatic as long as the student achieves a grade point average of 3.0 for each semester's work and enrolls full-time. Books, course materials, room and board are not included.
Eligible ApplicantsAny composition student who will be attending the 2008-2009 school year at McNally Smith College of Music.  The scholarship recipient will not be notified until he or she is accepted to the college.
Eligible CriteriaScholarship applicants must submit a McNally Smith College of Music scholarship application (available for download), official high school/college transcripts, and two letters of reference and/or faculty recommendations.

Applicants will also need to submit an original composition based upon “The Queen Songwriting Competition” (see below).
DeadlineApplications must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2008. 
AcceptanceApplicants must be a current McNally Smith College composition student, or have applied for admission by March 1, 2008.  He or she has to be accepted and sign a letter of intent by April 1, 2008.

Scholarship recipients will be expected to represent McNally Smith College in promoting music education at public and/or school-related events, as well as be a role model for other students


“The Queen Songwriting Competition”
1. Create an original composition, words and music, of approximately 3 ½ minutes long.  Your composition must be presented on CD or you may submit via MP3 online.  No profanity please.  Please include a lyric sheet for each song.
2. All songs will be judged on originality, melody, lyrics and overall composition by the McNally Smith College of Music Scholarship Committee.
3. The performance and production are not considered in the judging; however, since five finalists will be judged by the members of Queen, we encourage everyone to submit their best efforts.
4. Five finalists will have their submissions presented to the members of Queen who will then choose the winner.


About Queen:
An ongoing commitment to AIDS awareness led Queen to become a driving force in founding the 46664 campaign for the Nelson Mandela Foundation.  The first of a series of 46664 concerts, held in Cape Town in November 2003, was broadcast worldwide and became the most widely distributed media event in history, with an audience of over 2 billion people in 166 countries.  Brian May and Roger Taylor continue in their roles as ambassadors and participants in the 46664 international concert series aimed at promoting AIDS awareness world-wide.

As a group of songwriters, Queen has no equals.  They are the only group in rock history in which each member of the band has written a Number 1 song:  Freddie Mercury with Bohemian Rhapsody, John Deacon with Another One Bites the Dust, Brian May with We Will Rock You, and Roger Taylor with Radio Ga Ga.  These are just four of the band’s fifty hit singles which have amassed them more than 150 million record sales across the world.

And the band’s work is timeless.  More than thirty years from when some of these songs were written (We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions celebrate their 30th anniversaries this year on October 7th), Queen’s music remains as often heard on the radio as it was when it was first released.  The music has also given rise to a hit musical called We Will Rock You, which is now in its sixth sell-out year in London’s West End, and has productions also currently running in Toronto, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Asia.  Meanwhile, Queen continues to make new music.  The band’s Brian May and Roger Taylor are back in the studio recording a new album with vocalist Paul Rodgers which is expected to be released in the Spring of 2008.

Queen's Website

Brian May's Website


Download the scholarship application here.

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