Mick Collinshas been named as the winner of the fall 2022 Joe Bonamassa Blues Guitar Scholarship at Musicians Institute. The talented guitarist is a native of Manasquan, New Jersey, and comes to MI with 5 years of playing experience specializing in blues and folk genres.
Mick decided to attend MI’s Guitar Program because of “The awesome staff/alumni and the opportunity to learn directly from people who are in the industry.” When asked what winning the Joe Bonamassa Blues scholarship means to him, Mick added “This scholarship is a great honor and will serve as motivation to keep working hard to learn as much as I can to do the genre justice.”
As a current AA Performance Program student, he is focussed on learning “How to best serve the music and deepen my overall knowledge as an aspiring musician.” Mick sees his MI education as an important key to achieving his future dreams of being able to “eventually support myself playing music and make music that makes people feel good.”
Everyone at MI congratulates Mick on winning this very prestigious award!
Special thanks to award-winning blues guitar virtuoso and icon Joe Bonamassa and his Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation for generously sponsoring this scholarship, which helps to provide talented students like Mick with the support, tools and recognition they need to launch successful and creative careers in the music industry.
To learn more about the exciting work of the Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, (a non-profit initiative to revolutionize and fund music education) click here.
Talented drummer Kritika Malhotra has been named as winner of the 2022 D’Addario Women in Drums Scholarship. Kritika comes to Musicians Institute from New Delhi, India with 8 years of playing, performing and writing experience and a specialization in progressive rock, odd meter time signatures and polyrhythms.
As a current Bachelor’s degree / Drum Program student, she decided to attend MI because “In my opinion, MI has one of the best curriculums relating to the music industry and the sheer amount of talented people present here is absolutely amazing.”
Kritika added that while at MI, “I want to learn all I can about the music industry and its various pathways, I want to grow as a drummer and as a musician, and I want to make connections with other musicians that will surely help me in the future.“
She shared “I believe MI has made me work for the skies and receiving this scholarship has certainly inspired and enthused me exponentially to become a better musician.”
Kritika sees her education as an important key to achieving her dreams, adding “With all the knowledge I gain from my time at MI, I want to first be an inspired musician and impart all this knowledge to people who want to become better musicians.”
Everyone at Musicians Institute congratulates Kritika on winning this very prestigious award!
Special thanks to our longtime industry partner, The D’Addario Music Foundation for generously sponsoring this scholarship as a part of its ongoing Music Education for Girls Initiative, which helps to provide talented students like Kritika with the support, tools and recognition they need to launch successful and creative careers in the music industry.
The 2022 Schecter Nick Johnston Guitar Scholarship, named in honor of the talented and versatile Rock guitarist and Schecter artist, Nick Johnston has been awarded to Sion Kim.
Sion is currently enrolled in Musicians Institute‘s Guitar Performance program, and comes to MI from South Korea with 5 years of guitar playing experience with specialization in R&B, Rock and Pop genres.
When asked what winning the scholarship meant to him, he shared, “This is my personal proof that my playing has definitely gotten better since I came to MI.” He added, “I chose to study at MI because I heard that Musicians Institute is one of the best colleges.”
While attending MI, Sion continues to focus on gaining the skills needed to achieve his goals of “Improving my rhythm and changing the way I solo, I want to make my soloing more melodic.”
He described his long-term career goals as follows, “My dream is to get an Artist Visa, and perform internationally.”
Everyone at MI congratulates Sion on winning this prestigious award that supports the education and of a talented, evolving, and very deserving guitarist!
Special thanks to our longtime industry partner, Schecter Guitars for generously sponsoring this scholarship, which helps to provide talented students like Sion with the support, tools and recognition they need to launch successful and creative careers in the music industry.
To learn more about the full line of Schecter Guitar and Bass products click here
Versatile guitarist Nadir Gueler has been named as the winner of the inaugural Scott Bennett Memorial Guitar Scholarship at Musicians Institute. Nadir comes to MI from Istanbul, Turkey, having played guitar for 12 years and in possession of a strong blues/rock background with an interest in performing jazz/fusion in the future.
As a current MI Bachelor’s Degree student, Nadir decided to attend MI’s Guitar Programbecause “I want to perform jazz and fusion, I’d like to learn about techniques, phrasing, vocabulary and the harmony and theory behind these styles. I’d also like to learn about the networking and the business side of being a musician. All these things considered, I felt like being in the heart of music at Hollywood, CA was the way to go. Also, there is a very clear trend about MI producing guitar icons and that made it clear that MI was the place where I needed to be.”
When asked what winning the scholarship meant to him, he shared that “This scholarship means a ton to me because winning this award shows that all the hard work that I’ve been putting in for years is paying off and that motivates me to continue to work even harder.”
Nadir sees his education as an important key to achieving his career goals, which include “My dream has always been doing what I love full-time and exploring the world of music without any other distractions. I truly enjoy a variety of genres from pop to fusion and I’d love to perform whether it’s on stage or in a studio. As a job, I want to be able to play my original music as well as playing with/for other musicians. At the end of the day, we are all together in this huge world of music.”
Everyone at MI congratulates Nadir on winning this very prestigious award!
Special thanks to the family and friends of MI (GIT) alumnus Scott Bennett for generously sponsoring this memorial scholarship in his honor, which helps to provide talented students like Nadir with the support, tools and recognition they need to launch successful and creative careers in the music industry.
Talented guitarist Gabriel Franzese has been named as the winner of the second annual Steve Fox Memorial Guitar Scholarship at Musicians Institute. Gabriel comes to MI from São Paulo, Brazil, possessing a wide array of guitar playing skills with a specialization in hard rock/metal genres.
As a current MI Bachelor’s Degree student, Gabriel shared that he initially decided to attend MI’s Guitar Program because of its “Location and reputation. Since the very start, I’ve always wanted to live in Los Angeles and pursue a music career. MI was the best of both worlds.” During his studies, he intends to continue his focus on “a wide range of topics from sounding authentic on my instrument in a specific genre, to not signing a questionable contract with a label and gaining a strong understanding of the music industry.”
When asked what winning the scholarship meant to him, Gabriel shared that “It not only makes me feel honored by this achievement, but it also means that I am able to invest more financially into marketing for my upcoming debut album.”
He sees his education as an important key to achieving his career goals, which include “Being able to tour the world playing my music. Always was the dream, and always will be.”
Everyone at MI congratulates Gabriel on winning this very prestigious award!
Special thanks to the family and friends of MI (GIT) alumnus Steve Fox for generously sponsoring this memorial scholarship in his honor, which helps to provide talented students like Gabriel with the support, tools and recognition they need to launch successful and creative careers in the music industry.
The scholarship award of $5,000 will be awarded annually to a deserving student who embodies true dedication and passion for the guitar and will be applied as a tuition discount for the fall 2022 quarter.
The Scholarship is provided to encourage and support the educational growth of a (new or currently enrolled) guitar student at who demonstrates who demonstrates overall passion and stylistic diversity on the guitar in any genre(s).
The deadline to apply is Sept. 2nd, 2022. For complete scholarship details, and application, click HERE.
Tony comes to MI’s Guitar Program from Brazil, with 7 years of guitar playing experience, a versatile array of playing skills in multiple genres and a strong focus in Rock/Metal.
When asked why he chose to study at Musicians Institute, he stated, “After many years of searching, MI was the place that offered the best opportunities to study and to enter the music industry.”
Upon learning of his ESP scholarship award, Tony shared that “this scholarship represents a valuable recognition of my work as a guitarist, and gives me more opportunity and support to achieve my goal.”
Tony sees his education as an important key to achieving his dream of one day being able to “contribute to the music industry and be recognized as an artist writing my own songs and music as well as being able to play for some big artist(s) while I continue to improve my career in the modern social media world.”
Everyone at MI congratulates Tony on winning this prestigious scholarship!
Special thanks to our longtime industry partner, ESP Guitars for generously sponsoring this scholarship, which helps to provide talented students like Tony with the support, tools and recognition they need to launch successful careers in the music industry.
Jia-Ming comes to MI’s Guitar Program from Taiwan with ten years of guitar playing and performing experience in multiple genres and a specialization in Pop and Rock styles.
Jia-Ming shared that his areas of interest during his studies include: “I want to learn Jazz the most, but also want to learn many other styles, perform on stage and jam with people at MI!”
When asked “what does winning this scholarship award mean to you”? Jia-Ming shared “It encouraged me a lot to win an acoustic guitar scholarship! Although I play electric guitar the most, but I also really love the acoustic guitar, and I had the opportunity to play a lot of gigs with a vocalist in Taiwan. “One vocal + one acoustic guitar” duo format sounds really good to me and I enjoy that a lot.”
He sees his MI education as an important key to achieving his dream of one day being able to “be a session player, have a band and write some original songs.”
Everyone at MI congratulates Jia-Ming on winning this prestigious scholarship award, as he continues his studies at MI!
Special thanks to our longtime industry partner, ESP and Takamine Guitars for generously sponsoring this scholarship, which helps to provide talented students like Jia-Ming with the support, tools and recognition they need to launch successful careers in the music industry.
The Drum Program at Musicians Institute and The Musicians Foundation are pleased to announce that talented multi-stylist drummer Dhruv Mittal has been named the winner of the Greg Priest Memorial Drum Scholarship. The scholarship was created to honor the memory, talent and artistic career of MI alumnus Greg Priest.
Dhruv comes to MI from Kanpur, India with 10 years of playing experience specializing in Funk, Prog-Rock and Modern Fusion. During his ongoing studies as a current AA Drum program student, he will focus on “studying my instrument better and gain a much better understanding of music in general. After spending two quarters at MI, I have formally learned the basics all over again and have been introduced to the endless possibilities that the drums are capable of.”
When asked why he chose to study at MI, he shared that it was “because of its state-of-the-art facilities, and the faculty. I am blessed to be studying with extremely proficient teachers. In the little time that I have been at MI, they have completely changed my outlook on how I perceive playing and practicing.”
When asked what winning the scholarship means to him, Dhruv shared “being awarded with this scholarship is in line with my quest for excellence. It also gives me a validation that I am slowly starting to get better in a way I have always envisioned for myself. I feel extremely fortunate and honored.”
He describes his future professional goals and aspirations as follows, “my biggest goal is to spend my time composing music with other musicians as well as playing as many gigs and tours as I can and finding my own niche in terms of my sound and my technique. Having graduated from IIT Kanpur, which is one of the most competitive and prestigious universities of India, I come from a very technical background. In some ways, the change from science to music is considered unorthodox by many. Which is why I want to work on my social media presence, make quality drumming content, and share my journey with other musicians.”
Everyone at MI congratulates Dhruv on the achievement of this prestigious award. We look forward to seeing him reach his full potential as he continues his studies at MI.
Special thanks to the family and friends of Greg Priest for generously sponsoring this scholarship, which helps to provide talented students like Dhruv with the support, tools and recognition they need to launch successful and creative careers in the music industry.
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