ISSI Scholarships Application (Deadline is March 15)

Scholarship Information:

• Financial need is the top priority in awarding financial assistance.
• Scholarship applications will open on January 10, 2026 and must be submitted before midnight on March 15, 2026. You will receive a confirmation email, and you can also see the status of your application on the ISSI Portal.
• Scholarship applications have more than doubled in the past few years. We appreciate our generous scholarship donors and are continually working to increase scholarship funds. We sincerely wish every applicant could be awarded a significant scholarship, but anticipate this not being the case. Last year many student and teacher applicants did not receive any financial help through scholarships.
• Scholarships awarded last year were partial scholarships; no full scholarships are awarded. We honor the fact that it takes a lot of time and effort to play an instrument and even more to come to ISSI and apply for a scholarship, and genuinely appreciate your interest in and support of ISSI 2026.

Please note: Any student or teacher awarded a scholarship will be required to help with institute week. For example, you may end up sitting at the scholarship table, helping with t-shirts, or helping with any other need that we have. Therefore, please do not apply if you cannot complete shifts during institute week. Additionally, No full scholarships are awarded so you will be expected to supply the balance of tuition.

If you have any questions please reach out to issi suzuki at gmail dot com.

Student Scholarship Application Steps:

1 – Upload your application video to YouTube or another online media source (The URL will then be ready to add to your application). There are no specific piece requirements, please perform a polished piece of your choosing. Make sure video is viewable without permissions (unlisted, not private)

2 – Log into the ISSI Portal and fill out the scholarship application form including uploading your application video.

3 – Ask your teacher for a letter of recommendation (Let them know to email it to issi suzuki at gmail dot com) (If your parent is your teacher, they may email this)

4 – Register for ISSI, paying 10% of tuition (you will pay the remainder once scholarships are awarded). Only registered students will be considered for scholarships.

5 – Plan to help with institute during and before institute week. (For example, you may end up sitting at the scholarship table, helping with t-shirts, or helping with needs before ISSI.)

Teacher Workshop Scholarship Application Steps:

1 – Upload your application video to YouTube or another online media source (The URL will then be ready to add to your application). There are no specific piece requirements, please perform a polished piece of your choosing. Make sure video is viewable without permissions (unlisted, not private)

2 – Log into the ISSI Portal and fill out the scholarship application form including uploading your application video.

3 – Ask a colleague for a letter of recommendation (Let them know to email it to issi suzuki at gmail dot com)

4 – Register for ISSI, paying 10% of tuition (you will pay the remainder once scholarships are awarded). Only registered teachers will be considered for scholarships.

5 – Plan to help with institute by participating in the teacher’s workshop orchestra.