The recording industry’s Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF), a leading non-profit organization enriching lives and uniting communities through the power of music in North America, has granted $119,000 USD in academic support to 114 college and university students for the upcoming school year.
The Music’s Future scholarship this year awarded students at 27 colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada as they pursue music performance, therapy, education, and conducting degrees.
The Music Family scholarship supports member families of the American Federation of Musicians (AF-M) as they pursue higher education in their chosen field. This year, recipients represented 40 local music unions in United States and Canada. Some are pursuing careers in music performance, while others are studying engineering, law, art history, neuroscience, journalism and computer science, among other fields.
Unique to securing a scholarship this year was to submit an essay on whether and how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) are impacting current studies and future careers.
“Complex human dynamics cannot be shoehorned into an algorithm,” wrote Elizabeth B., a music therapy major at Concordia University in Montreal, QC. “We are social beings, and our creative process of music-making and enjoyment is thus interpersonal and cannot be mediated by a machine.”
“While AI will continue to be a powerful tool that can be used for good and bad, it will never take away the most valuable part of being a musician: the journey,” said Ryan W., a music education major at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS.
Dan Beck, MPTF Trustee, commented that “the student essays this year were impressive, enlightening, provocative, and reassuring. I’m pleased to see the next generation taking the challenging issues of technology seriously in heart and mind.”
These scholarships represent approximately 3% of the MPTF’s total annual grant distribution. Funding for admission-free live music performances for the public good remains the primary focus of MPTF’s philanthropy. Since reviving the scholarship initiative in 2020, the MPTF has distributed 576 scholarships to benefit aspiring professional musicians and the children of professional musicians.
Four highly gifted music students come from families that belong to Local 293, the Hamilton Musicians’ Guild. “This represents the 2nd highest number of Scholarships awarded in Canada”, says Larry Feudo, President of the HMG. “Local 293 can be very proud of the next generation of musicians up and coming in our region.”
 Lenore Reynolds |  Jordan Scholman |
 Michael Della Valle |  Jayde Sobota |