Fulbright 101 for Musicians

Melissa Terrall

MTNA Business Digest, Volume 5, Issue 2

January 2026


With trembling hands, I logged into my Fulbright application portal and opened the PDF: “On behalf of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, I am pleased to congratulate you on your selection for a Fulbright award to Mexico.” My journey to this award was lengthy. Over the course of five years, I applied on three separate occasions, hopeful to pursue my burgeoning interest in Mexican piano repertoire. I finally received the award on my third try, and within months, my husband and I relocated to Mexico City for a whirlwind year abroad.

I spent the 2023-2024 academic year immersed in Mexico’s beautiful culture, auditing master’s courses and taking private lessons at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música, performing concerts of works by Mexican and U.S. composers, and offering master classes and lectures in my second language. Just as enriching as the academic activities I participated in were the lifelong friendships I built and the sights I saw—from shopping at local tianguis to celebrating Día de los Muertos. I’ve been home for over a year now, and it is one of my passions to inspire other musicians to pursue global study opportunities like Fulbright.

Fulbright is the world’s largest and most diverse international exchange program. Now approaching its 80th year, the idea was proposed by Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright following World War II, with the goal of promoting diplomatic relations and cultural understanding between nations (U.S. Department of State, n.d.). As the United States’ flagship exchange program, Fulbright has produced Nobel laureates, politicians, ambassadors, CEOs, professors, and university presidents. Did you know that Fulbright also funds projects in the arts? In fact, among Fulbright’s ranks are some of the United States’ most celebrated classical musicians (Fulbright Program 2021):

  • Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Copland was a two-time Fulbright scholar in the 1950s and 60s.
  • Pianist Gary Graffman, former director of the Curtis School of Music and teacher of Yuja Wang and Lang Lang, received a Fulbright award for music study in Italy in 1949.
  • Celebrated minimalist composer Philip Glass studied with none other than Nadia Boulanger in France on a Fulbright grant in the 1960s.
  • Grammy award-winning soprano Renée Fleming was a grantee in Germany in the 1980s.

Ever since its inception, Fulbright has sent musicians abroad to hone their craft. Initially, most studied at the epicenter of western art music—particularly in France, Germany, and Italy. The first U.S. student Fulbrighter to study music outside of Europe was musicologist Harold Powers, who investigated Indian music in 1952. Over subsequent decades, musical projects in non-European nations have increased. During the 21st century, most years have had at least one Fulbrighter conducting music research on every continent, according to the Fulbright student alumni directory (Fulbright Online, n.d.).

Fulbright is not a singular program but rather a constellation of numerous grants. Under the Fulbright U.S. Student umbrella, there are awards for students and recent graduates to go abroad to teach English, enroll in graduate programs, and conduct independent research. There are also numerous country-specific awards, like Mexico’s Binational Business program and Nepal’s Public Health fellowship. Another arm of Fulbright is the U.S. Scholar program, which funds professionals to conduct research and teach abroad. Conversely, the U.S. welcomes citizens of other countries for study and lecture exchanges via the Fulbright Foreign Student and Scholar programs. (The remainder of this article will focus on the U.S. Student program. Information about all of Fulbright’s programs can be found at fulbrightprogram.org.)

A Note Regarding Funding

Before proceeding, there’s an “elephant in the room” to acknowledge: The current U.S. government has been limiting funding to the arts, grants, education, and more. Perhaps you have read that Fulbright funding has been, or will soon be, suspended. What is the current state of affairs? Is it even worth applying to the Fulbright program?

The Fulbright Association, a nonprofit serving American alumni, has posted regarding the state of funding on its website here: https://fulbright.org/status. The most recent updates are dated July and August of 2025. July’s update was encouraging, noting that the draft appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2026 included solid funding for the Fulbright program (Fulbright Association, n.d.). On the other hand, the August update shared less positive news. A linked post from the Alliance for International Exchange states that the Office of Management and Budget had moved to cut numerous U.S. foreign exchange programs. While Fulbright was not among the programs cut, this is not a positive precedent to set (Alliance for International Exchange 2025). Even so, the Fulbright program moves forward, with awards for the 2025-26 academic year being announced this summer.

With this context, the central argument of this article remains: The process of navigating the Fulbright application and formulating a competitive project idea is well worth a musician’s time. No matter the year or administration, funding is never guaranteed. As a Fulbright alumnus who applied three times, I encourage approaching the application with a growth mindset simply based on the merits of the application process. A worthwhile project is one that the applicant is passionate about and intends to pursue, whether or not they receive the grant. As Thomas Burns states in his volume The Zen of Fulbright, “Pushing ahead with an overseas project you believe in despite the status of your Fulbright application is, ironically, a very Fulbright thing to do” (Thomas Burns, n.d.).

Benefits of Applying for the Fulbright as a Musician

For musicians, the Fulbright application process is unique, beginning with choosing a host country and grant type. Some nations offer music-specific Fulbright awards, including the illustrious Liszt Academy in Budapest, London’s Trinity Laban Conservatoire, and the Harriet Hale Woolley Award in the Arts in Paris. Additionally, most countries have Open Research awards that welcome applications from all disciplines. This was the category I selected for music study in Mexico City. A less conventional but equally feasible option for musicians is Fulbright’s English Teaching Assistantship, alongside which one could conduct a musical project for host country engagement.

The Fulbright application consists of essays, an affiliation letter, recommendation letters, and a language evaluation. Additionally, musicians must submit a performance or composition portfolio comparable to a graduate school audition. The waiting period alone is six months: from the yearly October deadline to award announcement the following spring. Depending on when the applicant begins work, the process can easily add up to a year or more. As arduous as the process is, I found that applying for the Fulbright helped me clarify my career goals, expand musical and peripheral skills, think like an entrepreneur, and enlarge my network. I will elaborate on these areas below:

  • Clarify career ambitions: Fulbright’s extensive application process requires thoughtful reflection on one’s values and goals. As applicants refine their project idea, they must state how it achieves Fulbright’s purpose of cross-cultural exchange and mutual understanding, while also expressing how they are ideally prepared to realize this vision. When I embarked on the application process for the first time, I simply knew I wanted to specialize in Mexican classical piano repertoire. The application drove me to continuously interrogate and adjust my ideas and motivations: Why Mexico? Why me? Where will I study and with whom? Why? What style or period am I drawn to? What can I meaningfully contribute to this area of study? This process is overwhelming but worthwhile. Applicants emerge with new connections, a fresh perspective on their career, and project ideas to pursue, whether or not this particular award materializes.
  • Develop peripheral skills: As essential as the practice room is, a fulltime musician will need more than technical chops to bolster their career. Pursuing a Fulbright grant is ideal for musicians seeking to develop peripheral skills such as writing, teaching, research, collaboration, language ability, and cross-cultural communication.
  • Think like an entrepreneur: A modern music career presents unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Wouldn’t it be terrific to settle at an Esterhazy estate and have one’s musical pursuits bank-rolled for decades? Unfortunately, that is not the world we inhabit. Musicians require the resilience, motivation, and independence necessary to forge their own path, find and create opportunities, make their own schedule and routine, and network constantly. Coincidentally, these same qualities are at the heart of the Fulbright program. Pursuing a Fulbright grant is an ideal way to develop entrepreneurial skills that are so central to a well-rounded career as a 21st-century musician.
  • Network building: The application itself—let alone the grant year—affords many opportunities to expand your network. An essential component of the process is connecting with professors who will contribute feedback and recommendation letters. I am endlessly thankful to my “village” of mentors—from musicology professors to piano teachers—who generously offered advice and wrote references. Another networking component is finding an affiliate in your host country. This is perhaps the most challenging and rewarding part of the process, as it requires you to expand your network into a potential host country.

Getting Started: Four Action Steps

Curious about exploring Fulbright grant options? Consider the following four action steps:

  1. Reflect on your skills and interests. What are you drawn to as a performer, researcher, composer, and/or pedagogue? Where could your interests and skills fit in a global context? Do you have an interest in the musical heritage of a particular country? What language skills do you have or want to develop? See what surfaces as you reflect on these questions.
  2. Discuss Fulbright with music mentors. Your applied music instructor or another professor is likely familiar with Fulbright. Discuss your interest with trusted mentors and professors. They will likely be delighted to provide insight or refer you to trusted colleagues with Fulbright knowledge.
  3. Explore Fulbright website resources: If I could go back and talk to my younger self during the Fulbright application process, I would tell her to take advantage of the plentiful free resources online. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program website includes application checklists as well as numerous videos and tutorials. Fulbright records and posts all its webinars online: Just click “Videos and Tutorials” under the “About” tab. For musicians, I recommend starting with webinars in the Arts Awards category for helpful tips specifically related to musicians and artists. Another resource is the Grantee Directory (under the “Alumni” tab), where you can search recipients by year, field of study, country visited, and more. Click on a grantee’s name to view their proposal summary and gain inspiration based on past projects.
  4. Contact your Fulbright Program Advisor. Most universities have a dedicated advisor who oversees and coaches Fulbright applicants at their institution. You can search for your advisor under the “Applicants” tab. No worries if you have already graduated: Fulbright applicants are welcome to apply through their institution as alumni.

Conclusion

As a featured speaker at Fulbright’s 75th Anniversary celebration, famed soprano Renée Fleming reflected on her transformative Fulbright year abroad: “Germany is really the wellspring of art song … and it was there that I discovered Richard Strauss, whose music would become so central to my career.” Beyond propelling her career, Fleming acknowledges that Fulbright fundamentally changed her. She chuckled wistfully as she recalled sobbing on the plane from the sheer nervousness of moving abroad. Who would have thought that decades later, she would be awarded Germany’s highest honor, the Federal Cross of Merit?

“So powerful was this journey for me,” said Fleming, “that I truly wish that every young person could study abroad …  Beyond our individual studies, we gained empathy and the spirit of collaboration, becoming global citizens. It is this kind of inspiration that we’ll need to address the world’s most intractable problems” (Fulbright Program 2021). Alongside Fleming, I wish for all musicians to have the opportunity to study music in a global context—to see how our musicianship can impact the world outside practice rooms and beyond borders.

References

Fulbright Program Overview | Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

United States Department of State Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. n.d. “Fulbright Program Overview.” Accessed October 5, 2023. https://eca.state.gov/fulbright/about-fulbright/fulbright-program-overview.

Featured Fulbright Alumni in the Arts

Fulbright Program. 2021. “Featured Fulbright Alumni in the Arts.” Accessed October 6, 2023. https://www.fulbrightprogram.org/featured-fulbright-alumni-in-the-arts/.

Fulbright Program Status

Fulbright Association. n.d. “Fulbright Program Status.” Accessed October 28, 2025.

https://fulbright.org/status.

Alliance for International Exchange: OMB Funding Cuts

Alliance for International Exchange. August 14, 2025. “OMB Moves to Cut FY25 Funding for at Least 22 ECA Programs.” Accessed October 28, 2025.

https://www.alliance-exchange.org/alliance-commentary/omb-moves-to-cut-fy25-funding-for-at-least-22-eca-programs-nbsp.

Thomas Burns, The Zen of Fulbright: The Unofficial Guide to U.S. Fulbright Scholarships (Don Davis Press, 2014), 13.

Grantee Directory

Fulbright Online. n.d. “Fulbright Grantee Directory.” Accessed October 7, 2023. https://us.fulbrightonline.org/alumni/grantee-directory.

Celebrate with Fulbright

Fulbright Program. 2021. “Celebrate with Fulbright.” Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.fulbrightprogram.org/celebration/

     

    Oregonian pianist Melissa Terrall was a 2023-24 Fulbright scholar, studying at Mexico City’s National Conservatory. Terrall received her master’s degree at the University of Kansas and has held professorships at Clark College and Linfield University. 



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