Sixth Annual Nashville Songwriter Scholarship Announced
Chloe Cullen, recipient of the 2021 Nashville Songwriting Scholarship
BMI Foundation Trustee and Director of the Nashville Songwriting Scholarship competition Clay Bradley announced California native Chloe Cullen as the winner of the sixth annual Nashville Songwriting Scholarship. Chloe is pursuing a degree in music business and songwriting at the University of Claifornia Berkeley.
"I’m speechless with gratitude, winning this award is such an honor!" said Cullen. "It’s an incredible feeling to be recognized for my music and it inspires me to work even harder towards my goal of being a successful songwriter. Thank you to the BMI foundation and my family for supporting my music and my education."
The Nashville Songwriting Scholarship is an annual, nationwide competition open to aspiring country music songwriters. The award was established in 2015 by BMI to celebrate the company’s 75th Anniversary year and pays homage to musical epicenter and “Songwriting Capital of the World,” Nashville, Tennessee. The scholarship is awarded for the best original song entry in any of the following genres: Americana, blues, bluegrass, contemporary Christian, country, folk, and roots.
Chloe Cullen is a 19 year old singer/songwriter from Petaluma, California. Last year she was selected for University of California Berkeley's most prestigious honor, as a Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholar. For 11 years she sang with a professional children’s choir. This gave her a solid foundation in harmony and performance. At age 13 she picked up a guitar and started writing original songs. She spent summers attendeding songwriting programs, studying at NYU Steinhardt, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, and Berklee College of Music. In 2020, drawing influences from Maggie Rogers, Kacey Musgraves, Lori McKenna, Brandi Carlile, and Alison Kraus, she self-released an EP which she recorded in a converted barn/music studio. Following the release, Chloe won Sonoma County’s "Stars of Tomorrow" talent competition in 2020. Currently she is an artist management intern at Ineffable Music in Oakland California and serves as the youth ambassador to the advisory board of the West Coast Songwriters Association. At UC Berkeley she is on the leadership team of the Songwriting Club and handles marketing for The B-Side, a Berkeley music magazine. Chloe plans to continue songwriting and performing while simultaneously pursuing a degree in business.