Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson on his 80th birthday in August 2005 in Toronto. He died in December 2007. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

A new scholarship named for the late Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson will see $40,000 awarded in September to one aspiring musician entering a music program at Toronto's York University.

The scholarship program, endowed by the Ontario government, will offer additional scholarships as it is phased in over the next four years, according to a released issued Monday by York University.

The candidate for the $40,000 entrance scholarship must have exceptional musical ability, especially in jazz performance, and must be facing economic or personal barriers that could inhibit their ability to pursue a university degree.

The program will also offer up to four $10,000 annual scholarships for current undergraduate music students.

Additional entrance scholarships will be offered in the second and third years of the program. Successful students must maintain their academic performance.

Peterson, a great jazz pianist and composer who died in December 2007 at the age of 82, has a long association with York University.

He was an adjunct professor in the music department from 1984 to the late 1990s and was university chancellor from September 1991 to February 1994. He was made an honorary governor of York in 1995.

York pioneered university-based jazz performance studies in Canada.