The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation launches the Sofia Carson Prodigy Scholarship
January 18, 2022 -- 12:00 pm PST
A four-year scholarship towards a bachelor's degree at Berklee College of Music and 43 additional scholarships are available to music students in need
Deadline to Apply: April 10, 2022
MIAMI (JAN. 18, 2022) — The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation® is accepting applications for its 2022 scholarships beginning today. This includes their prestigious $200,000 Prodigy Scholarship co-sponsored, this year, by Sofia Carson, Global Ambassador for the Foundation, toward a bachelor's degree at Berklee College of Music. In addition, three Gifted Tuition, and 40 Tuition Assistance Scholarships will be awarded to music students admitted to universities of their choice. All scholarships are awarded to exceptionally talented music students, with financial need, to support their educational and musical aspirations. The Foundation is committed to investing in future Latin music creators from around the globe.
The four-year namesake Prodigy Scholarship, this year the Sofia Carson Scholarship, was created seven years ago and has been co-sponsored by Latin stars including Enrique Iglesias (2015), Juan Luis Guerra (2016), Miguel Bosé (2017), Carlos Vives (2018), Emilio and Gloria Estefan (2019), Julio Iglesias (2020) and Juanes (2021). This year’s scholarship will fulfill one exemplary student's dream of completing a bachelor's degree, in music at Berklee College of Music, starting in the 2022 fall semester.
The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation remains committed to help support closing the gender gap in the music industry. In the 2020-21 season, the four most valuable scholarships were awarded to women, which represents 64% ($531,000) of the total scholarship amount awarded. Launching this year’s Prodigy Scholarship in partnership with Sofia Carson provides invaluable economic support and mentoring to an aspiring musician. Both Sofia and the Foundation are hopeful that Sofia’s co-sponsorship will serve as inspiration to young women wishing to pursue a professional career in music.
In 2019, songstress and actor, Sofia Carson, became the Global Ambassador for the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation, advocating, promoting, and increasing awareness of the Foundation’s mission and educational programs. As part of her efforts, she has participated in countless events to help raise funds and promote the primary charitable focus of providing scholarships to students interested in Latin music as well as grants to scholars, and organizations, worldwide, to research and preserve diverse Latin music genres, and music education programs.
“As Global Ambassador of the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation, it has been my privilege to witness, and contribute, towards realizing this transformational and life-changing mission. It is my immense honor to partner with my Foundation family to contribute to music education. This scholarship will change the life of an ever-deserving, brilliant, young Latin musician” said Carson. “Together, may we continue to amplify and lift up the powerful Latin voices in every corner of our world!”
This year the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation will distribute a maximum of $900,000 among 44 talented music students between the ages of 17 and 25 with financial constraints, as follows:
- One Sofia Carson Scholarship awarded to one student for up to $200,000 to earn a bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, starting in fall 2022
- Three four-year Gifted Tuition Scholarships of up to $100,000 each will be awarded for students to earn a bachelor's degree in music starting in fall 2022 at the university of their choice.
- Forty Tuition Assistance Scholarships of up to $10,000 each will be awarded to students pursuing a bachelor's degree in music. This is a one-time award that will cover tuition costs over one year: the fall 2022 and spring 2023 semesters.
*Gifted Tuition Scholarships and Tuition Assistance Scholarships are restricted to the payment of tuition.
“We continue to be humbled and honored to have Sofia’s ongoing support over these last three years as our Global Ambassador; her generosity truly has no bounds. It is inspiring to see young talent generously paying it forward and paving the way for future creators” said Tanya Ramos-Puig, President, Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation “As we enter our seventh year of providing scholarships and transformational experiential programming, we know that access, and educational equity, is pivotal in supporting future Latin music creators and preserving our cultural heritage for generations to come. It is truly a humbling reality made possible, year after-year, thanks to the gracious support of our partners.”
Each year, the Foundation's Scholarship Committee carefully evaluates applications from a highly competitive pool of aspiring musicians on a variety of skills; rigorous requirements that are both academic and artistic in nature. To date, the Foundation has awarded over $6.5 million in scholarships, grants, musical instrument donations and educational programming, and events, worldwide.
Starting today, Tuesday, January 18, 2022 the application will go live at: www.latingrammyculturalfoundation.com. As part of the process, students must complete an online application, submit two audition videos, two letters of recommendation, and an acceptance letter from an accredited university along with two completed essays. The materials can be submitted in English, Spanish or Portuguese. The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. EDT on April 10, 2022.
For information and the latest news, please visit the official Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation website at: www.latingrammyculturalfoundation.com. If you have any questions after reviewing the guidelines or require assistance with your application, please email LGCF@grammy.com.
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ABOUT THE LATIN GRAMMY CULTURAL FOUNDATION:
The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation® is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization established by The Latin Recording Academy® in 2014 to further international awareness and appreciation of the significant contributions of Latin music and its makers to the world’s culture. The Foundation provides college scholarships, educational programs and grants for the research and preservation of its rich musical legacy and heritage, and to date has donated more than $6.5 million with the support of Latin Recording Academy members, artists, corporate sponsors and other generous donors. For additional information, or to make a donation, please visit latingrammyculturalfoundation.com, Amazon Smile or our Facebook page. And follow us @latingrammyfdn on Twitter and Instagram, and at Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation on Facebook.
ABOUT SOFIA CARSON:
Sofia Carson is a force of nature, rising to the top of all she endeavors with grace and style in the world of entertainment. She has forged a singular path in music, film, television, and philanthropy. As an award-nominated singer and songwriter, she’s garnered nearly 1 billion streams and 2 billion-plus views, reached #1 on the Billboard Top 200, and launched a dynamic catalog, including two gold-selling albums and four gold-selling singles thus far. As an actress, she has starred in NETFLIX’s Feel The Beat, Michael Bay’s Songbird, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, and Disney’s global phenomenon Descendant’s. Next, Carson will star in and executive produce “Purple Hearts” for NETFLIX. She will also co-write and perform the film’s original soundtrack. Her next single “LOUD,” was released just last Friday, January 14. As a philanthropist, she stands out as UNICEF’s newest US Ambassador, the first-female global ambassador of the Latin GRAMMY®️Cultural Foundation and a member of the first-ever Ambassadors Council for The Music Forward Foundation. As a style icon, Sofia is Global Brand Ambassador for beauty leader REVLON and has launched her own makeup collection. A Teen Vogue cover story by Priyanka Chopra Jonas summed her up best, “Sofia Carson has the grace of a pro.”
MEDIA CONTACTS:
The Latin Recording Academy
Nathalie Alberto
Nathalie.Alberto@grammy.com
The Exclusive Agency on behalf of The Latin Recording Academy
Elina Adut