Description
This fellowship honors the career of Wayne Shirley, who spent thirty-seven years as a reference librarian and then music specialist in the Music Division at the Library of Congress, during which time he assisted and mentored generations of scholars. He is also a renowned music editor.
The fellowship is given annually to support a short-term research residency at the Library of Congress on any topic relating to musics of the Americas. Awarded competitively to scholars at any phase of their careers, the fellowship is designed to support expenses (such as travel, lodging, and duplication) associated with residency at the library. The maximum award is $1,000.
A one-page budget and final report are to be submitted by the recipient to the Executive Director of the Society no more than one year after the award is presented.
Eligibility
To be eligible, an applicant must be a member in good standing of the Society.
Application Requirements
In addition to the application form, the applicant must supply the following materials:
- Current CV.
- A narrative of no more than five pages (double-spaced) that describes the scope of the project and includes a persuasive and detailed rationale for how the research plan relates to holdings of the Library of Congress.
- A one-page budget for the project.
Deadline
October 15
Past Fellows
| Year | Winners |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Eric Zolov, "The Bossa Nova Moment: Harmonizing Pan-Americanism in the Era of the Cuba Revolution." |
| 2025 | Scott Gray Douglass, "Against Musical Apartheid: The Trailblazing Career of D. Antoinette Handy" |
| 2024 | Lauren Berlin "The Multimedia Melting Pot: TV Variety Shows as a Tool for Social Change in Postwar America" |
| 2023 | Marianne Betz, “More than a Musical Influencer: Rediscovering Leopold Damrosch in the Context of Nineteenth-Century Musical Networks and Transatlantic Relations” |
| 2022 | No recipient |
| 2021 | Mariana Whitmer, Saga of the West: Musical Representations of the West during the Silent Film Era |
| 2020 | David Font-Navarrete, "Música de los cultos africanos en Cuba: Revisiting and Nourishing the Archive” |
| 2019 | Jamie Blake, “Architects of Russian AMerica: Transnational Musical Networks Post 1917.” |