Scholarships

CMSA Student Scholarships

Each year CMSA offers scholarships for full time high school and college students to attend the annual convention. The scholarship covers convention registration giving you access to all workshop and activities.  It also includes admission to one (1) of the pre-convention workshop offerings, admission to all evening concerts, your Gala banquet meal, and a one-year membership in CMSA.  It does not cover air fare to travel to the convention, nor does it cover room & board at the hotel.  Scholarship recipients are responsible for booking their own travel and hotel arrangements.

Attendees under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. (Your chaperone’s banquet meal and evening concert tickets are covered by the scholarship.)

Please note that our pre-convention workshop offerings begin on the Tuesday evening prior to the convention, and carry over to the following morning.  This would require that you adjust your travel plans to arrive by late afternoon on the Tuesday.

Scholarship recipients are expected to:

• Attend the entire convention Wednesday to Sunday
• Play in the En Masse Orchestra at daily rehearsals (4) and in the Saturday evening concert
• Attend morning sectional rehearsals Thursday to Saturday
• Attend the Gala Banquet on Friday

Lou Chouinard Scholarship

At the Austin Convention in 2015, CMSA established the Lou Chouinard Scholarship for Second Mandolins to recognize Lou’s significant contribution to the organization and to the second mandolin section in particular. As of November 2023, the scholarship has been renamed the Lou Chouinard Scholarship and is open to players in any instrument section.

Each year, CMSA will offer up to two scholarships for first-time attendees to the convention. Recipients cannot be or be related to CMSA Board or Scholarship Committee members and cannot be a recipient of a student scholarship in the same year. The scholarship covers convention registration for all convention activities, including one of the pre-convention workshop offerings, your Gala Banquet meal and a one-year membership (or membership extension) in CMSA. In addition, the recipient may be granted an additional $250 for travel, lodging, or meals, based on receipts presented.

Scholarship recipients are expected to:

• Attend the entire convention, Wednesday to Sunday
• Play in the En Masse Orchestra at daily rehearsals and in the Saturday evening concert
• Attend morning sectional rehearsals, Thursday to Saturday
• Attend the Gala Banquet on Friday

For the 2024 convention, CMSA has allotted all available funds from the Lou Chouinard Scholarship fund.