Awards and Scholarships
At the end of the year Fine Arts Awards Ceremony, the department recognizes exemplary students with a variety of awards funded by the Bradford C. Gooch '58 Endowment for Music. Award recipients are nominated and chosen by the department's faculty, apart from the Todd Jones Scholarship award, in which students may apply for funding. There are also awards for which recipients are chosen in collaboration with the departments of Art and Art History, and/or Theater, Dance and Film Studies. Not all awards are given every year. Below are descriptions of each award Department of Music Awards
Departmental Awards
Choral Award
Established in 1992 to honor the graduating senior who in the opinion of the choral faculty of the Department of Music, has contributed most significantly to the choral program.
Jazz Ensemble Award
Presented to a student who has gone far beyond the everyday demands of ensemble participation, demonstrating leadership and musicianship skills that far exceed expectations.
Music Production Award
Presented to the production assistant(s) who perform above and beyond the professional, technical, and artistic requirements of the Department of Music.
Piano Award
Presented to the most outstanding graduating senior in piano performance--not necessarily every year and rarely to non-music majors.
University Orchestra Award
Presented to a graduating senior who best reflects the core principles of what it truly means to be a member of the orchestra. The student must demonstrate superior musicianship, unfaltering dedication, and outstanding leadership.
Wind Ensemble Award
Presented to an outstanding senior who demonstrates superb
musicianship, leadership, and is recognized by the Director and the members as the best and brightest.
Robert Stewart Award
Given to the graduating senior who, in the opinion of the music faculty, has made the greatest contribution to music at Washington and Lee. The award is named for Washington and Lee's first professor of music, who embodied the study of music through composing, conducting, teaching, and performing.
Fine Arts Awards
Class of 1964
This award was established in 1989 by members of the Class of 1964 in honor of their 25th reunion. It is awarded annually to a junior or senior whom the fine arts faculty identifies as having done outstanding work in the fine arts.
John Graham
Established in memory of a beloved professor. It is given each year to the graduating senior who has done outstanding work in at least two of the three fine arts departments - Art and Art History, Music, and Theater, Dance and Film Studies - at Washington and Lee.
Joseph R. Martin
Given in honor and memory of Joseph R. Martin (1950-2004), Class of 1972, by his family and many friends. Joseph, known affectionately as "JoJo" by nearly everyone, was co-captain of the 1971 W&L football team, an honors graduate with a BA, major in history, and a lifelong devotee of the fine arts. The prize is to be awarded upon graduation to an undergraduate student who has compiled a noteworthy academic record and who has demonstrated the high honor and integrity expected of all Washington and Lee students, on campus and away. The person selected will have been a positive influence on the lives of fellow students, a student whose physical, intellectual and moral endeavor in one or more extracurricular activities (whether or not sponsored by the University) has best demonstrated the classical concept of arête and one who has gained distinction through production of creative work in the fine arts at Washington and Lee University.
The Todd D. Jones '85 Memorial Scholarship
The Todd D. Jones '85 Memorial Scholarship was established in 1999 by family and friends to honor the memory of Todd Jones (1963-1996). Preference is given to students with a demonstrated interest in music and theater. Rising Sophomore, Junior or Senior applicants may compete for a travel study experience by submitting a proposal that will enhance their own artistic development and thereby strengthen the performing arts on campus. The fund is jointly administered by the Department of Music and the Department of Theater, Dance and Film.