By Andrew Hughes

One of SAMI's most treasured traditions is the Shirley Martin Scholarship, which accepts entries from young musicians and encourages them along their musical paths. However, there isn't just one winner; runners-up are chosen every year, along with a recipient of the Mike Lane Horizon Award, intended for entries full of creative potential. These scholarships are made available by our generous sponsors and individual donors.

The new year is an excellent opportunity to look back on what's happened in the preceding twelve months. We held our Shirley Martin Scholarship ceremony for 2024 back in May, and chose four entries. Isabella Bradley received an honorable mention with her instrumental “End of the Tunnel”. Cash Holmes won the Horizon award with his song “The Party”, which he played with his band at the ceremony. Our runner up was Lindsey Lowe, with her song “Monster”. Lindsey has been working very hard, performing live, writing songs and growing as a musician. We'd love for her to enter again this year, as all previous entrants can do if they haven't yet won the Shirley Martin Scholarship.

Photo: Lindsey Lowe, last year's runner-up, performs her song “Monster” at the Shirley Martin Scholarship award ceremony on May 6, 2024. 

Last year's winner of the Shirley Martin Scholarship was Corbin Stanchfield with his song "Not Very Nice". Corbin has applied for the scholarship multiple times, winning the Horizon award in 2021 and achieving runner up in 2023. During that time, he worked as an intern with REC Room Recording, building a variety of skills and accelerating his musical and professional growth.

In addition to being a multi-instrumentalist in his own right, Corbin has played bass in other groups, most notably the jazz group Palace Kat. Last August they released three songs, "Rediscovery", "Amps and Ohms", and "Zeitgeist". They also have a studio album and a live album, both released in 2023. All of these releases are streaming on Spotify, along with Corbin's solo releases. Currently the group is on an indefinite hiatus, but they recently posted some clips on their Instagram page, if you can't get enough Palace Kat.

After finishing his studies at Jefferson High School, Corbin plans to enroll in an institution of higher learning, but hasn't made a final decision. He hopes to major in Jazz Studies with a focus on bass. We wish him luck wherever he decides to go, and know he will continue to learn and grow as a musician no matter what he does.

As Corbin considers his future as a musician, SAMI is also looking ahead at the next Shirley Martin Scholarship ceremony. Anyone from ages 14 to 19 living in the rough area of west central Indiana has until April 2nd, 2025 to submit a song. All genres are welcome, and instrumentals are allowed. Further details are available on the scholarships page, but please be patient with us as we update our materials and prepare for this year's ceremony.