A new scholarship honours the life and legacy of widely beloved Canadian drummer Neil Peart.
With the support of Peart’s family, Modern Drummer magazine will present an up-and-coming drummer with the annual Neil Peart Spirit of Drumming Scholarship.
The scholarship provides the recipient with 52 weeks of free drum lessons from world-class drum instructor Dom Famularo, along with a selection of classic Rush albums to add to their personal collection.
Potential recipients must submit up to a two-minute video of their playing and a short essay describing why this scholarship will be significant to both their life and their drumming.
The recipient will be announced at the Modern Drummer 2021 Festival and will be featured in an upcoming issue of the magazine.
Applicants will be accepted until Nov. 26, 2021.
Peart died in early 2020 after a battle with brain cancer.
As the drummer and primary lyricist for Rush, Peart was known for his technical proficiency and for incorporating jazz and swing elements into a hard-rock style. He grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ont., and joined Rush in 1974, solidifying the Toronto band’s classic, long-running lineup alongside bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson. He retired in 2015.