CLARKSVILLE, TN –For the second time in Austin Peay State University history, one of its students – Bernadette John, a graduate student in the Department of Music – has won a Fulbright U.S. Student Program fellowship. The Fulbright is one of the most widely recognized and prestigious scholarships in the world.

John, who studies music performance and clarinet at Austin Peay, learned she had won the award on Friday, April 14. The award will send her to the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, Ireland, to work with Dr. Paul Roe, professor of clarinet at the academy and one of Ireland’s most creative and versatile musicians.

“When I found out, I was panicking and shaking,” John said. “I called my mom and dad. I was running around telling everybody.”

John will head to Ireland during the 2023-2024 academic year to explore the liminal space between the established classical tradition and its interaction with Irish traditional music. Her work will focus on using the clarinet to examine this space.

“This is a new frontier,” she said. “I know of only two clarinetists who are doing this, and Dr. Roe is one. He’s experimenting with playing Irish traditional music, and this is not something clarinet players are doing, so it’s a whole new world.” John’s goal is to “create a space for the two genres to interact in an authentic manner with a professional approach and present the findings as a fusion of the two worlds,” as she noted in her Fulbright project proposal.

“She could well be at the forefront of a major event in folk cultural music in this country,” said Dr. Tim Winters, director of the Honors Program at Austin Peay, who helped her with her Fulbright application. “She’s doing something that’s really going to make a significant change and open up this music to audiences in ways that it has not been open before.”

Second Fulbright student in Austin Peay history

The last Austin Peay student to win the Fulbright student award was Edith Ramona Lumpkin in 1967. She traveled to the United Kingdom to do literature research and later won Austin Peay’s Outstanding Alumna Award in 2003.

“We are happy and excited for Bernadette to receive this prestigious recognition,” said Dr. William “Buzz” Hoon, dean of the College of Arts and Letters, which houses the Department of Music. “She is a talented and gifted student, who has grown thanks to learning opportunities and the guidance of faculty and staff in the Department of Music and Austin Peay. Bernadette exemplifies what it means to be a Governor.”

John studies clarinet with Dr. Spencer Prewitt and is in pursuit of a master’s degree in music performance, which she’ll earn in May. She plans to pursue doctoral studies after she returns from Ireland next year.

“Bernadette’s passion for music and her desire to explore new frontiers is truly inspiring,” said Austin Peay President Dr. Mike Licari. “Her Fulbright award is a well-deserved recognition of her talent and hard work, and I have no doubt that she will make a significant contribution to the world of music.”

Any students who are interested in applying for the Fulbright should contact Dr. Timothy Winters at winterst@apsu.edu for more information.