International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians and BU Tanglewood Institute Announce 2024 Scholarship Recipient
International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians and BU Tanglewood Institute Announce 2024 Scholarship Recipient
Fátima Landa Velazquez, an oboist from México who will attend the Curtis Institute of Music in the fall, was selected as the 2024 recipient of the ICSOM BUTI Scholarship.
Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI), a premier summer training program for talented young musicians ages 14 to 20, has selected Fátima Landa Velazquez, an oboist from México who will attend the Curtis Institute of Music in the fall, as the 2024 recipient of the ICSOM BU Tanglewood Institute Scholarship, an award funded by the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM).
Started in 2023 and running through 2027, the ICSOM BU Tanglewood Institute Scholarship provides support for Underrepresented Musicians with significant financial need who would benefit from the immersive summer music program at BUTI, fulfilling an important need to assist the development of pre-professional musicians from such underrepresented groups.
Over the course of the agreement, ICSOM provides $50,000 to BUTI, who will award one Underrepresented Musician applying to the BUTI Young Artists Orchestra each season $10,000, an amount covering the full cost of attendance to BUTI.
Another initiative that supports BUTI’s mission of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is the Young Artists Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fund (YADEI), which awards three full scholarships each season, covering the full cost of attendance to BUTI. The YADEI fund is generously supported by Richard and Carol Seltzer, Marian Godfrey, and other patrons and promotes student scholarship, recruitment activities, opportunities for students in the Ann Hobson Pilot Partner Network, and Community Engagement & Inclusion programming.
Underrepresented Musicians eligible for the ICSOM BU Tanglewood Institute Scholarship may include the following:
- Members of historically underrepresented groups at Boston University Tanglewood Institute and in American orchestras (including racial and ethnic minorities and students from lower socio-economic households);
- Students who will be first-generation college students;
- Students who have followed non-traditional pathways to musical excellence due to exceptional talent and motivation in the face of adversity, such as societal, economic, or academic disadvantages;
- Students with a demonstrated commitment to including and applying diverse backgrounds and perspectives to learning, scholarship, service, and civic leadership; and/or
- Students who have participated in strong music programs in institutions such as Pathway Programs or through organizations that focus on diversity and inclusion in music.
“ICSOM is pleased to partner again this year with the BU Tanglewood Institute for this scholarship,” said ICSOM President Paul Austin. “Such an award will assist in training qualified high school musicians who aspire to have an orchestral career and bolster the pipeline for those who will one day seek a position in an ICSOM orchestra. We expect that the inspiring setting of Tanglewood and access to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a charter member of ICSOM, will be a formative experience for those who receive the ICSOM BU Tanglewood Institute scholarship. ICSOM has contributed scholarship funds to underrepresented musicians for decades, but this scholarship represents a substantial increase in assistance to deserving musicians whose paths to the stage may have been limited by systemic financial hardship.”
“The scholarship partnership with ICSOM is extremely meaningful in our mission to make this transformational program accessible to all qualified students, from all backgrounds, regardless of the financial barriers they face,” said Nicole Wendl, BUTI Executive Director. “And what’s more, is that it sends a message to the field at large about where BUTI’s priorities lie and we will continue in taking steps to make this program accessible to all.”
The scholarship partnership with ICSOM is extremely meaningful in our mission to make this transformational program accessible to all qualified students, from all backgrounds. And what’s more, is that it sends a message to the field at large about where BUTI’s priorities lie and we will continue in taking steps to make this program accessible to all.
The International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) represents nearly 4000 symphonic musicians in the top 51 orchestras in the United States and Puerto Rico. ICSOM’s mission is to promote a better and more rewarding livelihood for the skilled orchestral performer and to enrich the cultural life of our society.