About the VSA International Young Soloists Award

The VSA International Young Soloists Award annually recognizes outstanding young musicians with disabilities and supports and encourages them in their pursuit of a career. All types of music are accepted, including country, classical, jazz, rap, rock, bluegrass, and world. A committee of distinguished music professionals selects the award recipients who receive $5,000 and the opportunity to perform in at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Any individual musician from the United States who has a disability, age 25 and under, is eligible to apply. Any individual musician from outside the United States who has a disability, age 30 and under, is eligible to apply. Musical ensembles of two to eight members may also apply for the award. This includes any type of ensemble from a rock band to a chamber ensemble to a drum corps. In order to be eligible, at least one member of the ensemble must have a disability. All members of the ensemble must fulfill the age requirements as stated above.

Applications for the 2010 International Young Soloists Award are no longer being accepted, but application materials can still be viewed online. Applications for the 2011 award will be available online in September 2010. Information about past award recipients is available here.