<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I was curious about this scholarship. In general, how many people apply? In addition, what is the calibur of the finalists (instrumental division) and the calibur of the top 3? </p>
<p>If anyone also has any tips/experiences about the scholarship, please share! Thanks!</p>
<p>My S did this. We wouldn’t do it again, unless we actually lived in Iowa. This is my memory (from 2004):</p>
<p>The competitors were mostly Iowans. Most of them, in my opinion, were of the high school All State caliber. The rules stated that it was for students “who intend to make music a central part of their future life.” Most of the competitors stated they were going to be music ed majors at local Iowa colleges. At the time S did it, there were only 2 scholarships: I think they were $1500 and $1000. [Or possibly two vocal and two instrumental?]</p>
<p>The judges were local music teachers, I believe. Three of them. I remember one was a flute player.</p>
<p>The two people who won were both from Iowa. The first place went to a pianist who wanted to be a lawyer, and flat out said he probably wasn’t going to continue with music. I didn’t hear everyone compete, because I was backstage as accompanist for my S, but I did hear the pianist. He played a lot of notes, and I could tell the crowd was impressed. I’ve heard a lot of good pianists, and to me, he was just one more, but not great. </p>
<p>The kid who got second place was a trumpet player who, frankly, just wasn’t that good (at least on that day). But he was a local boy, planning to attend a local school for music ed. As I said, I didn’t hear everyone, but I did hear him. I felt (objectively, of course) that my S was much better.</p>
<p>The people sitting around me leaned in to tell me that my S “got robbed.” </p>
<p>Then something weird happened. They called everyone out on stage to recgonize all the competitors one last time. And then someone in charge walked on stage and said that they had a special announcement. Someone had **just ** created a third place award of $500. They awarded it to my S. </p>
<p>We were grateful for the money, because it just about covered our hotel and travel expense. The hotels in the area were expensive and low quality, by the way. We had to make a run to WalMart in the morning because our hotel room didn’t even have a hairdryer.</p>
<p>I suppose this might sound like sour grapes. I loved spending the time with my S. But the whole thing was just a little weird.</p>
<p>I see on the website that there are now 6 awards, and the top awards are worth much more. So perhaps the caliber of the competition has gone up.</p>
<p>I was a finalist for this in 07. Couldn’t attend the competition because it was during finals week. They sent me a nice letter saying they were sorry I couldn’t go though…</p>
<p>I was just emailed that I was a finalist for this. Has anyone participated in this recently?</p>
<p>As I recall, a very talented young tenor, who is not from Iowa, was a winner last year.</p>
<p>My D was a vocal finalist last year. It was interesting because you’d think it would mainly be jazz at Glenn Miller but that was not the case. It was actually overwhelmingly classical.</p>
<p>Each vocal contestant took the stage in front of a live audience for their two songs and then the judge joined them on the stage to provide comments. In fact, each contestant got a mini voice lesson where the judge ran them through some basic vocal exercises and asked one or two personal questions based on the submitted essay. The audience, mainly of members of the Glenn Miller Society, was very welcoming. They were clearly delighted to watch the performances and enjoyed how the judge interacted with the contestants. </p>
<p>The tenor who won last year was a high school senior on his way to BoCo. The first runner up was a Freshman soprano from Eastman. We didn’t attend the instrumental competition but the winner was a tuba player from NEC and I believe the runner up was a flautist from Rice. So the competition is improving in terms of the caliber of the contestants - definitely better than All States. </p>
<p>Clarinda was a very picturesque town and very friendly. We were able to get a hotel room at the Days Inn but I think the competition coordinator was somewhat disappointed because the Glenn Miller Society members are happy to put you up in their homes. That’s how much they love the contestants.</p>
<p>They also held a reception the night before the competition so the contestants could meet each other, review the rules and have some cake & punch. How cute is that? D did not win a scholarship but she did get some hugs from the Glenn Miller Society. Did I mention how friendly they are? Guess I can’t say that enough.</p>
<p>Thank you very much LGSM</p>
<p>Sorry couldn’t finish that. LGSMom*</p>