2022 JOE BONAMASSA BLUES GUITAR SCHOLARSHIP AT MUSICIANS INSTITUTE WINNER: MICK COLLINS

Mick Collins

Mick Collins has 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.

To visit Joe Bonamassa online click here.

Joe Bonamassa in London 2015. Credit: Marty Moffatt

Fall 2019 JOE BONAMASSA BLUES GUITAR SCHOLARSHIP at MUSICIANS INSTITUTE WINNER: Brendan Cady

Travis Newlon (Interim Guitar Program Chair) with Brendan Cady (rt)

The Musicians Foundation is pleased to announce the Fall 2019 Joe Bonamassa Blues Guitar Scholarship has been awarded to MI Guitar Program student (Bachelor of Music in Performance): Brendan Cady.  The scholarship was awarded based on a demonstration of overall outstanding musicianship, advanced skills, and the potential for developing a unique sound on the guitar. Brendan came to Musicians Institute via Nashville, Charleston SC, and Boston with several years of experience playing and performing in multiple genres with a specialization in rock and blues.  

When asked why he chose to study at MI, Brendan shared: “I’ll be completely blunt: finances. To go to Berklee for 2 years costs as much as the entire program at MI, and it’s close to the central headquarters of a lot of the entertainment industry. The programs offered here are top notch, the work outside of school is top notch, and I’m able to really focus on learning and playing.”

As he continues his studies at MI, Brendan shared some of his motivations and educational goals: “I hope to learn a lot about the reality of the music industry and how to navigate that, and monetize my own intellectual property to make a profit from it. I hope to better my musicality, be challenged in ways I haven’t before, gain lifelong friendships, connections, business partners and relationships. I hope to become an amazing musician with amazing skill and talent, and (most of all) to learn how to express my artistic vision with no boundaries and true creative freedom.

His future goals and professional aspirations are “to be an all around talented musician with any instrument I pick up and play. I’d like to be successful at being a musician and to work in many different fields of the industry: mixing, production, studio work, live work, etc.  I want to work everyday using my talent to make art and a profit from that art, my aspiration is to have a successful career in many different facets of this industry. I want to be an artist in every sense of the word and to make a comfortable living off of that artistry.”

Everyone at MI congratulates him on winning this very prestigious award!

Special thanks to our longtime industry partner, great friend and supporter of music education, blues legend Joe Bonamassa and his non-profit Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation for generously sponsoring this scholarship, which helps to provide talented students like Brendan with the support, tools and recognition they need to launch successful and creative careers in the music industry.

 

Joe Bonamassa in London 2015. Credit: Marty Moffatt

 

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