Available Scholarships

Bradford Scholarship for Choirs

Handbell Musicians of America Area 1 established the Elizabeth Bradford Endowment Fund to provide scholarship assistance to encourage choirs to attend their first Area 1 Festival/Conference. In non-Festival years, we also grant scholarships to directors to encourage them to attend their first national educational event. We hope that attending these types of events helps ringers and directors to develop their handbell skills and helps them to become more active in the guild. Only the income from the endowment is used for scholarships, but this is enough to provide partial registration assistance for several choirs/directors each year.

Bradford Scholarship for Directors

Handbell Musicians of America Area 1 established the Elizabeth Bradford Endowment Fund in order to grant scholarship assistance to directors during non Festival/Conference years, to encourage them to attend their first Handbell Musicians of America National or Area 1 educational event. It is our goal to provide Directors the opportunity to further develop their handbell directing skills through attendance at such an event and as a result they will be encouraged to become more active in the Guild. Only the income from the endowment is used for scholarships, but this is enough to provide partial registration assistance for several directors each time the scholarships are available.

Financial Assistance Scholarship

The financial assistance scholarship is for members (or members of a group that has a membership) of the Handbell Musicians of America in order to attend an Area 1 Sponsored event, but need some financial assistance in order to do so. This scholarship is not limited to a single use and is not limited to persons attending their first Area 1 event.

Bradford Scholarship for Choirs

Choir Scholarship Eligibility

Choir Scholarships for Area 1 Festival/Conference are available to Area 1 handbell choirs who are attending their first Area 1 Festival/Conference.

Choir Scholarship Award Process

Please be aware that the scholarship awarded will only pay a portion of the registration fee for Festival.
1. A choir will be defined as a performing group of 7 or more ringers.
2. Preference will be given to those choirs having at least 75% of their members planning to attend the Festival/Conference.
3. Prior attendance by a director or a single member of a choir will not preclude eligibility for this scholarship.
4. The choir must be a member in good standing in Area 1.
5. You must fill out a registration form for Festival in its entirety and pay a $100 deposit per person prior to the Festival’s early bird deadline.

Awards will be distributed on a per ringer basis. For example, if you receive an award of $100 per person and you have 10 people attending, then you will receive $1000 off your registration fee. If any of your ringers withdraws their registration, your total scholarship will be reduced by the amount for one ringer unless another ringer takes their place.

Applications for scholarship should be sent to the address indicated below. Your separate Festival registration should still be sent to the Festival registrar. You must fill out the entire Festival registration form prior to the Early Bird deadline for all ringers who plan on attending, indicating on the form that you are applying for a scholarship and sending in a deposit of $100 per person instead of the entire registration fee. After you have been notified about our scholarship decision you will be expected to pay any remaining balance of your registration fees.

Choir Scholarship Application

Click the link below to download the application form.  Fill out the form and either email it or mail it to the scholarship chair.

HMA Bradford Scholarship for Choirs Application

You may email a completed form to the scholarship chair at [email protected]

Or you may mail it via traditional mail to the current scholarship chair.

DEADLINE: Festival/Conference scholarship applications must be emailed or postmarked no later than 60 days prior to the early bird deadline. 

For questions please contact the scholarship chair.

Bradford Scholarship for Directors

Director Scholarship Eligibility

All Directors who are members of Handbell Musicians of America in Area 1 are eligible, except for the members of the Scholarship Committee.

Director Scholarship Award Amount

Please be aware that the scholarship will only pay a portion of the registration fee for the event.

Director Scholarship Application

Click the link below to download the application.  Print and fill out an application and send it to the Scholarship Committee Chair, postmarked no later than 60 days prior to the early bird deadline for the event.  (Apologies for the Snail mail requirement.)

Director’s Scholarship Application: Area 1

Financial Assistance Scholarship Application

Applicant Criteria

1. Applicants must be an active member of Handbell Musicians of America or belong to a group that is an active member.
2. Applicants must describe their desire to attend the Area 1 event.
3. Applicants must describe why they are requesting financial assistance.

Scholarship Amount

Full or partial event registration to an Area 1 sponsored event, at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee, or assistance with purchasing repertoire music for an Area 1 sponsored event.

Applying

Click the link below to download the financial assistance scholarship.  Complete the form and email it to [email protected].

 Financial Assistance Scholarship.