The Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award is a one-time, non-renewable, need-based grant of up to $10,000 given in conjunction with full participation in From the Top’s Learning and Media Lab Fellowship.

Each year, From the Top chooses approximately 20 pre-collegiate musicians ages 8-18 to receive the Award. The Award is given to driven and committed pre-collegiate musicians with financial need to help offset the often prohibitively expensive costs of studying classical music at a high level.

An application for the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award is also an application to From the Top’s Learning and Media Lab Fellowship program. You do not need to complete two separate applications. See the “How To Apply” section below for more instructions.

If you are selected as a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist, you must also participate fully in our Learning and Media Lab Fellowship program. The Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award cannot be granted without full participation in our Fellowship program.

Award recipients will be announced in two classes annually: Fall (October) and Spring (January).

There is no application fee for the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award.

• You are eligible if you are: classical instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers (ages 8–18) who are full-time elementary, middle, or high school students, and have not yet entered college.

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Strong musical commitment: Applicants must have strong musical ability and a willingness to participate in our Learning and Media Lab Fellowship.

• Unmet financial need: The Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award is a need-based award. Applicants must provide evidence of a family income unable to meet the costs of his/her musical pursuits (new instruments, music lessons, summer festival tuition, and travel, etc.). 90% of our past recipients come from families with an annual household Adjusted Gross Income of under $60,000. While we do consider extenuating circumstances such as cost of living, medical expenses, dependents, etc., we do not encourage applicants with an annual household Adjusted Gross Income of over $100,000 to apply.

• PLEASE NOTE: If your most recent tax return reflects something different from what your current employment situation projects, please include a detailed statement within the “Special Financial Circumstances” section at the end of the online application.
• Educational engagement: Applicants must demonstrate a strong commitment to learning and creativity, inside and outside of the classroom.

• Strength of character: Applicants must demonstrate drive, initiative, maturity, leadership, and a commitment to giving back to one’s community.