Mellon, University of Pittsburgh Accepting Applications for Pitt/Mellon Jazz Scholarship

Mellon, University of Pittsburgh Accepting Applications for Pitt/Mellon Jazz Scholarship

PITTSBURGH, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Mellon Financial Corporation (NYSE:MEL) and the University of Pittsburgh today announced that applications are being accepted for the Pitt/Mellon Jazz Scholarship. The winner will be announced in June, with the scholarship to be presented on Sunday, June 26, prior to the Mellon Jazz at Hartwood Acres concert taking place as part of the Allegheny County Summer Concert Series.

Marking its 19th anniversary this year, the one-year, $5,000 Pitt/Mellon Jazz Scholarship is awarded on the basis of musical ability as demonstrated by an audition tape that includes samplings of various musical styles. Any full- time undergraduate student who will be enrolled at Pitt during the fall 2005 semester is eligible to apply for the scholarship.

The current Pitt/Mellon Jazz scholar, guitarist Ben Geise of Williamsport, Pa., is a senior and music major at the University of Pittsburgh. As a member of the Pitt Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Pitt Jazz Studies Director Nathan Davis, Geise has traveled to Jamaica, where he and the other ensemble members performed for children at rural schools. Geise performs locally with a guitar trio and a fusion group.

"Our affiliation with Pitt's outstanding jazz program takes on special significance in this 35th anniversary year of the Pitt Jazz Seminar and Concert," said Rose M. Gabbianelli, Mellon executive vice president and director of corporate affairs. "Helping maintain Pittsburgh's rich jazz heritage is one of the prime objectives of the Mellon Jazz program, and under Nathan Davis' leadership, Pitt has become an important part of this community's rich jazz tradition."

Applications for the Pitt/Mellon Jazz Scholarship must be submitted by Wednesday, May 4, 2005. For more information or to obtain an application, call the University of Pittsburgh Music Department at (412) 624-4187, visit http://www.pitt.edu/~musicdpt/undergrad/jazzScholarship.html or write to: Jazz Scholarship, 130 Music Building, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260.

Source: Mellon Financial Corporation; University of Pittsburgh

CONTACT: Ron Sommer of Mellon Financial Corporation, +1-412-236-0082, or sommer.rw@mellon.com ; or Sharon Blake of University of Pittsburgh, +1-412-624-4364, or blake@pitt.edu

Web site: http://www.mellon.com/ http://www.pitt.edu/~musicdpt/undergrad/jazzScholarship.html

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