Where art, innovation, and healing converge to create a new kind of medical experience.
A call for young musicians in Houston. Three paid fellows for the 2026–27 season.
A real start.
• Who: Young musicians, high-school age and up, about fifteen years and older, in the Houston area
• How many: Three fellows
• When: The season runs September to May, with work beginning with mentors in October.
• Pay: A stipend of at least $1,500 for the season, plus paid performances on top
• Cost to apply: Free, always
• Applications: Open now, closing September 7, 2026, at 12 pm CDT
This fellowship sits inside Echoes of Memory, our 2026–27 season. If you have not read about the season and the world you would be joining, continue reading.
We are choosing three young musicians in Houston to join us for a season as fellows. There is no ranking here. There is a season of work, and three seats in it.
From October, you make music with professional artists and cultural leaders, through to the concert that closes the season in May. You dig into what music actually means to you. And you help shape a whole season that runs through connection, belonging, memory, and hope, inside a place built for healing.
We pay you, because your time and your talent are real. You perform. You are mentored. Your playing is recorded, and it is yours to keep. Any young musician in Houston can apply, and applying is always free.
• A stipend of at least $1,500 for the season, plus paid performances on top
• Two mentors across the season: one of our artists in residence for music and one in cultural work
• Recordings of your playing and your sessions
• Your own profile page, built by our team, and yours to keep: your bio, your photo, and your recordings
• Digital storytelling training, where you find and tell your own story
• A written record of your fellowship: the hours you worked, the settings you worked in, and who mentored you
• Real skills you keep: how to work with other musicians, how to talk about your music, and how to build your first page and portfolio
• Two performances during the fellowship and a place in the community of practice at Experience Museo, with the people who keep coming back and keep making things together
We are looking for young musicians, high-school age and up, about fifteen years and older. If something in you says this is for you, it probably is. Apply and tell us why.
Any instrument is welcome, and we mean any. Piano, cello, violin, flute, guitar, harp, voice, or something we may not have thought of. What matters is how you play or sing it and what it means to you.
You should live in the Houston area. Most of the season runs online, but Museo Institute for Medical Arts, in the Museum District, hosts the in-person sessions and performances so you take part both ways throughout the year.
Applying is free. Always. If money, distance, or anything else is standing in your way, tell us. We will help you find a way to apply.
You work closely with our artists in residence to get ready for two performances: a concert of your own during the season and your part in Echoes of Memory: A Festival of Voices on May 1, 2027. Your instrument, your voice, and your story all find a place in those two nights.
Getting better at your instrument is part of the season, but it goes further than getting better at your instrument. It is about you and about what music is really for. All season, online and in person at Museo, we sit with real questions. They come in two kinds.
You as a musician
• What music has meant, means, and will mean in your life
• What it means to be an artist
• How you make music your own
The power of music
• Healing through the arts and the field it belongs to: arts in health
• Music, story, and presence and their effect on memory
• Community, belonging, and finding where you fit
Under all of it, one thread: belonging. Everything comes back to this: to making your own place in the world, on your own terms.
We ask for about two hours a week throughout the season, plus extra rehearsals before each of your two performances. It is real work, and we treat it that way. That is why the fellowship is paid.
We will also ask you to share a little of your journey with us on your social media across the season: what you are working on, what you are learning, what it feels like. It grows your own presence as an artist, and it lets people follow the season with us. We help you do it well, and you always choose what to share. If you are under eighteen, your guardian chooses with you.
We want to take the guesswork out of this, so here is what matters to us. You do not need to be perfect. You do not need to impress us. You need to be real.
We listen for feeling: A voice coming through. Music that means something to you. Play something you love, and let us hear why you love it.
Who you are: We want to know the person behind the instrument. Your honesty, your curiosity, and what music actually means in your life. There are no right answers to our questions. We are looking for your truth.
Whether the season speaks to you: Our year runs through connection, belonging, memory, and hope. You do not need to have this figured out. We are looking for someone open to exploring these themes with us.
What this could open for you: We give real weight to young musicians for whom this fellowship would make a difference, a door that is not otherwise open. If that is you, tell us. It helps, and it never hurts.
You are not competing against a standard of perfection. We are looking for three young musicians we can grow with, and who can grow with each other.
This season may touch on deeper feelings, such as memory and loss. You perform with those themes, including at the closing concert in May. If that is not work you want to take on, this may not be the right year to apply. You can fill in the guest musician form instead, and we will keep you in mind for other performances throughout the season.
These are conversations and creative work. We in no way intend to replace or provide therapy. We help you explore and understand yourself through story and music. If anything heavier surfaces, we will help you find support.
We document and study some of the season’s work for future analysis. Taking part in that is separate from the fellowship, it is optional, and we will ask you in writing.
If you are under eighteen, a parent or guardian applies alongside you, and they sign again for anything we publish: your profile page, your photo, your recordings, and anything you post about the fellowship. Nobody is required to have a social media account. If you would rather not post, tell us and we will find another way for you to share your year. The research above is a separate written choice, and you and your guardian make it together.
We want to hear you play and we want to know who you are. That is it.
The form takes about thirty minutes. Here is what it asks, so nothing catches you off guard.
• The basics: Your name, date of birth, email, phone number, the part of Houston you live in, and your instrument or voice. If you are under eighteen, a parent or guardian's name and email too, since they apply alongside you.
• A video or two of you performing: Two short pieces, your choice. One take each, no editing needed. Paste it as a link (YouTube, Google Drive, Vimeo) set to “Anyone with the link can view,” and check the link works for someone who is not you.
• A short bio: A few sentences. Where you are from, what you play, and what you are working toward.
• Your thoughts on music and healing: Up to about 300 words, or a couple of minutes on video. Whichever feels more like you.
• Two questions of your choice: You pick at least two from a list of eight and answer in about 250 words each. Things like what is the story behind your instrument, or who first taught you and what did they say that stuck. There are no wrong answers.
A phone video is completely fine. We are listening to you play and speak, and the camera does not matter. Please do not spend money on the recording.
Applications close September 7, 2026, at 12 pm CDT.
We choose in three steps. Each one is a chance for us to know you, and for you to know us.
Step 1. Your videos: From everyone who applies, we pick twelve to continue.
Step 2. The concert: All twelve come to our opening concert on September 12, as our guests. You meet us and you sit down with the mentors for a short, friendly talk.
Step 3. Meet the Talent: From September 14 to 16, all twelve play a song for us and sit for a short interview. From these twelve we choose three fellows, and we announce them at the end of September. The other nine join our roster, and we invite them to some of our events. Everyone we meet keeps their recording and leaves knowing they were truly heard.
Experience Museo along with a small panel choose the fellows. We will share who sits on this panel soon.
• Applications open August 16, 2026
• Applications close September 7, 2026, at 12 pm CDT
• Finalists notified shortly after applications close
• Opening concert, which the twelve finalists attend as our guests, September 12, 2026
• Meet the Talent at Museo, September 14 to 16, 2026
• Fellows announced at the end of September 2026
• Fellows begin working with mentors in October 2026
• The season closes with the final concert in May 2027
Questions? Write to us at info@experiencemuseo.com.
Where art, innovation, and healing converge to create a new kind of medical experience.
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