Scholarship Information
Dr. Frances Gray Music Award
Faculty of Arts
Cycle: Fall
Value: $500
Recommended By: Music Department
Process: Recommendation Required
Criteria:
Awarded to a returning student who is a deserving music student with outstanding performance ability, and whose calibre would normally allow them to compete in a national competition. Preference will be given to a piano major.
Awarded to a returning student who is a deserving music student with outstanding performance ability, and whose calibre would normally allow them to compete in a national competition. Preference will be given to a piano major.
Background:
Pianist and Professor Emerita Frances Gray has been a vital member of the Music Department at the University of Prince Edward since its inception in 1969. Born in Quebec, Frances Gray studied piano throughout her childhood, later earning her Associate Diploma and Bachelor of Music at McGill University where she graduated with the Lieutenant Governor's Silver Medal. Graduate studies included a year in London, England at the Royal Academy of Music on a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship, and both a Master's and Doctoral degree in music from Indiana University, U.S.A., on Canada Council scholarships. There, she was a student of Menahem Pressler, renowned teacher and pianist with the Beaux Arts Trio. In 1998 she received the UPEI award for Outstanding Scholarly Achievement. Dr. Gray has performed throughout Canada, in the United States, at Canadian Embassies in London, England and Brussels, Belgium, in Rachmaninoff Hall of the Moscow Conservatory in Russia, and at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She recorded three solo piano CDs at the Banff Centre for the Arts, all of which were nominated for East Coast Music Awards. She has performed several times as soloist with orchestras and has been the pianist/keyboardist with the Prince Edward Island Orchestra for many years. She has also been a frequent performer at the Indian River Festival, PEI, and a chamber music collaborator in innumerable concerts with many of Canada's finest musicians. In addition, Dr. Gray frequently has served as piano adjudicator for various provincial and regional music festivals and competitions in the Atlantic area. At UPEI, Dr. Frances Gray taught in the areas of Piano Performance, Piano Literature and Pedagogy, Collaborative Piano, and Music Theory. She retired in 2014 and received Professor Emerita status during the May Convocation. This award has been established by Dr. Gray and her many colleagues and friends to honour her dedication to, and support of, music students in general, and specifically those majoring in piano.
Pianist and Professor Emerita Frances Gray has been a vital member of the Music Department at the University of Prince Edward since its inception in 1969. Born in Quebec, Frances Gray studied piano throughout her childhood, later earning her Associate Diploma and Bachelor of Music at McGill University where she graduated with the Lieutenant Governor's Silver Medal. Graduate studies included a year in London, England at the Royal Academy of Music on a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship, and both a Master's and Doctoral degree in music from Indiana University, U.S.A., on Canada Council scholarships. There, she was a student of Menahem Pressler, renowned teacher and pianist with the Beaux Arts Trio. In 1998 she received the UPEI award for Outstanding Scholarly Achievement. Dr. Gray has performed throughout Canada, in the United States, at Canadian Embassies in London, England and Brussels, Belgium, in Rachmaninoff Hall of the Moscow Conservatory in Russia, and at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She recorded three solo piano CDs at the Banff Centre for the Arts, all of which were nominated for East Coast Music Awards. She has performed several times as soloist with orchestras and has been the pianist/keyboardist with the Prince Edward Island Orchestra for many years. She has also been a frequent performer at the Indian River Festival, PEI, and a chamber music collaborator in innumerable concerts with many of Canada's finest musicians. In addition, Dr. Gray frequently has served as piano adjudicator for various provincial and regional music festivals and competitions in the Atlantic area. At UPEI, Dr. Frances Gray taught in the areas of Piano Performance, Piano Literature and Pedagogy, Collaborative Piano, and Music Theory. She retired in 2014 and received Professor Emerita status during the May Convocation. This award has been established by Dr. Gray and her many colleagues and friends to honour her dedication to, and support of, music students in general, and specifically those majoring in piano.
