Scholarships and Bursaries

Scholarship Competition

Surrey Symphony Society scholarships are made available each Spring to outstanding students in each orchestra who perform at a high level and attend rehearsals regularly. The scholarships are applied to registration fees and are awarded when the student registers for next year’s program.

The number of scholarships awarded depends on scholarship donations received, but there will likely be three winners in each orchestra. Scholarship winners are announced each May.

Lucille Lewis Scholarship Competition

The Lucille Lewis Scholarship is awarded to a graduating secondary student of the orchestra program who has demonstrated strong musicianship skills and is continuing on with his/her musical studies at the post-secondary level or is involved in his/her musical community after secondary graduation.

This scholarship has a monetary value of $500 and may be awarded annually to one student.  The Lucille Lewis Scholarship winner will be announced at the Spring Concert.

Gillian Mott Memorial Scholarship

The Gillian Mott Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a student who is presently in the Prelude Strings Orchestra. The award will cover tuition fees for the following year in whichever SYO orchestra the awarded student is registered for the new SYO season.

The student is required to

• enter and be adjudicated in the Surrey Symphony Society Scholarship Competition
• write a 100 word paragraph explaining what playing in an SYO orchestra means to them
• show consistent “good citizenship”, such as having good attendance, being punctual, having a good attitude, being respectful of others, and generally being helpful.

The successful candidate will be decided on by the Prelude conductor and a member of the Board of Directors for the Surrey Symphony Society.

Bursary Program

Students who have been accepted to one of the Surrey Youth Orchestras through an audition process and who can demonstrate financial need may apply for a bursary. The amount depends on individual circumstances and the number of applications received.