Outside of Johnson Fine Arts Center

ABERDEEN, S.D. – The Northern State University School of Fine Arts will hold two scholarship events this winter for high school students.

The Friends of the Arts/NSU Young Artist Competition will take place Saturday, Jan. 11, and the annual School of Fine Arts Scholarship Invitational will be held Feb. 21-22. Both events will take place in the Johnson Fine Arts Center.

“The faculty are very excited about these opportunities to host so much high school talent in the visual and performing arts,” said NSU School of Fine Arts Dean Dr. Kenneth Boulton. “These are wonderful events for prospective students to present their work and interact directly with our world-class faculty.”

Young Artist Competition

This competition is open to high school juniors and seniors throughout the upper Midwest.

Students from across the region are expected to participate, representing all four performance categories (voice, piano, strings, winds/brass/percussion), Boulton said.

They will compete for a total of $7,000 in cash prizes, including $1,000 for first-place winners of each category, $500 for second-place winners and $250 for third-place winners. Guaranteed four-year music scholarships to Northern will also be available.

A ceremony announcing the winners and presenting their performances will take place at 4 p.m. in the Harvey and Cynthia Jewett Theater. The ceremony is open to the public.

“This event is one of several new recruiting initiatives spearheaded by the music faculty, in order to help attract greater numbers of top instrumental and vocal talent to NSU,” Boulton said.

Fine Arts Scholarship Invitational

The Scholarship Invitational, open to high school seniors, has existed as a scholarship audition weekend specific to music for many years, Boulton said.

“However, the School of Fine Arts faculty conceived a way to re-brand this event, so that it could potentially benefit the enrollment and visibility of all major areas within the School of Fine Arts,” he said. “This will be the fourth year of the Fine Arts Invitational, and we have seen genuine improvement in our targeted, comprehensive recruitment efforts.”

Presently, there are already nearly 80 applications from students interested in fine arts scholarships for the 2020-21 academic year. Registrations are preferred by Friday, Feb. 14; however, applications are accepted at any time, and arrangements may be made for individual student visits throughout the spring semester.

For more information about either event, visit the NSU School of Fine Arts online, or contact Laura Haar or Jani Kovach at 605-626-2497, Laura.Haar@northern.edu or Jani.Kovach@northern.edu.

About Northern State University

Northern State University is a regional university that offers outstanding academics and exceptional extracurricular activities at an affordable price on a safe, welcoming campus. Northern State recently announced its Educational Impact Campaign, with a goal of raising $55 million for a new South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, new athletic and recreation fields, and an on-campus regional sports complex. Once the campaign is complete, NSU will be the recipient of more than $100 million in privately funded building projects and scholarships within a decade. To learn more, visit NSU Admissions.