UEA Music Centre Award (UK)

UEA Music Centre awards a number of Music Centre Awards every year, to new and current students who show exceptional musical achievement and commitment. Application is after entry to UEA, generally the second week of the autumn semester.

The awards are for musicians of any instrument or voice and any style or tradition including different national traditions. They are intended to encourage recipients to develop their musical and leadership skills and contribute significantly to music at UEA. A high standard of performance is expected, but equally important is a clear commitment to take leading roles in the musical life of the University.

The awards are worth £800 per year. Where the Director of Music considers that a candidate has not met the required standard but shows promise, a smaller sum may be awarded to support their development towards a main award in a subsequent year. The award holder is expected to use the money to develop their musical skills and resource. Instrumental or vocal lessons can be arranged as part of this expectation.

The awards are made for one year, but if the holder wishes to continue and can demonstrate to the Director of Music that they have made significant contributions during that year, they are welcome to re-audition for the next year and the award may be renewed. If at any point the Director of Music has concerns, the holder of an award may be invited to discuss their involvement in musical life. If it is felt that the holder is not willing or able to make the required contribution, the award may be withdrawn.

About UEA

The University of East Anglia (UEA) is an internationally renowned university based on a campus which provides world-class academic, social and cultural facilities to over 15,000 students from more than 100 countries.

The University is ranked in the top 200 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World Rankings 2022) and its teaching is of the highest quality having ranked Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework (2017-2021).

Located in 300 acres of parkland, UEA is just three miles from the vibrant and historic city of Norwich. UEA’s mini-city campus has everything you need in one place. The safe campus boasts a wide range of accommodations, the Sainsbury’s Centre for Visual Arts; a state-of-the-art public art gallery and renowned campus sports facilities in its Sportspark.

With international standards of excellence in teaching and research, outstanding facilities and comprehensive support, the University of East Anglia offer a truly unrivalled study experience. They empower their colleagues to do their best every day and trust the people to make decisions based on their expertise and knowledge. They work to ensure processes are simple and efficient so are agile in times of change, and allow our people to make choices that work for them, us and the wider society.

Benefits

The UEA Music Centre will award the scholars with cash of £800 for a duration of just a year. Applicants who wish to reapply the following year must have demonstrated excellent performance during the former year

To be Eligible

Applicants must meet the following requirements to be qualified for the UEA Music Award;

• Applicant must be a home or EU or International students
• No qualifications need to have been taken.
• A high standard of performance can be demonstrated at the audition. In the case of a musician performing in a style or tradition without a formal method of assessment, this is particularly important.
• For those who are used to the graded exam system, it may be useful to say that a performing standard of Grade 8 and above is a benchmark. Neither Grade 8 nor any other exam need either have been taken or passed.

How to Apply

The application for the UEA Music Award has been divided into three easy parts, which us explained below;

Applicants will need to submit either an online application form or a hard copy application form and provide details about your current and previous musical activities. We will ask you to outline your life so far as a musician, to tell us about some of your most exciting musical experiences and impressive musical achievements. We will ask you to think about how you might continue your musical activities at UEA (e.g. what from your research about the university has particularly caught your eye, what in your current musical life would you like to bring with you). We will also ask what you think are the special qualities that would make you a good award holder (e.g. your excellent leadership skills perhaps, or your ability to listen and find solutions to problems) and we will ask for examples of projects and work you have already done which show your special qualities. Please note that your commitment to contributing to musical life, and your ability to be specific about how you intend to do this, will be extremely important in our decision-making. The application deadline for the 2022 Music Centre Awards is 11 am on Friday 7 October 2022.

If your application is accepted, you will then be invited to a short interview with the Director of Music where we will discuss your application, giving you a chance to expand on the information you put in your application form. We will ask you about your musical ambitions and personal qualities, and there will be the opportunity for you to ask us about anything to do with the musical life of the university. Interviews for the 2022 Music Centre Awards, are scheduled to take place on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 October 2022.

If, during your interview, you make a convincing case for the contribution you can make to music at UEA, you will be invited to an audition. The audition will last ten minutes, during which you will be asked to perform three contrasting items of a maximum total length of ten minutes. Two of these should be pieces you feel show you at your best (they can be accompanied or unaccompanied), while the third should be a short unaccompanied study or folksong. An accompanist will be provided where requested and you will be offered a short rehearsal before your audition. It is possible to audition using backing tracks if you prefer, but if the music you choose has an accompaniment, it is expected that you audition using either a live accompanist or such other accompaniment/backing as you choose. Performing unaccompanied in this circumstance will be looked at unfavourably. Composers should submit performances of their works if possible, accompanied by scores. Auditions for the 2022 Music Centre Awards, are scheduled to take place on Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 October 2022.

see the Music Centre Award Terms and Conditions for important information about the audition process.

Note; If you currently have a UEA Music Scholarship you are not eligible for a UEA Music Centre Award.

For enquiries or questions on the scholarship, send an email to; email:musicevents@uea.ac.uk

To see the terms and conditions as well as get more information on the scholarship, visit the scholarship site at; https://www.uea.ac.uk/uea-life/campus-life/campus-facilities/music-centre/scholarships-and-awards/music-centre-award