I am continually reminded that music touches different people in different ways. As you will see in this year’s Giving to Berklee report, many donors express thanks for the outstanding education they or a relative have received. Others are inspired by the music they have enjoyed over the years, and yet others simply wish to invest in young musicians whose creative talents are being developed at the college.

One of the most notable supportive gestures of the past year is a generous gift made through a charitable remainder trust established in memory of Thayer A. Peck, whose life was abruptly lost at age 22 in a tragic car accident. Thayer’s life was music, and jazz was his passion.

In memory of Thayer Peck’s commitment to music, the trust established by his mother is providing scholarships for students who demonstrate musical potential. This generous gift is one of the largest single gifts ever received by the college and will have a profound effect on support for young musicians for years to come.

The Theodore R. & Vivian M. Johnson Foundation is dramatically expanding educational opportunities for disadvantaged urban youths. The Johnson Foundation has made significant investments in the Summer Performance Program (primarily for high school students), the City Music Saturday and After School Programs, and Essentials for Success (a college course that strengthens study skills). The foundation has also created four new full-tuition Berklee scholarships for graduates of the Berklee City Music Program. In this year alone, the Johnson Foundation has made it possible for close to 40 young people to participate in some aspect of our outreach programs. We are deeply grateful for its support.

Finally, Berklee has been funded in the amount of more than $1 million from the U.S. Department of Education to dramatically enhance the way our music education students learn to use technology in the classroom. This grant is marshalling Berklee’s strong technological expertise, equipment, and facilities in a collaboration with the Boston Public Schools. The goal is to better prepare tomorrow’s music teachers to use technology in the classroom.

We are confident that the result of this endeavor will become a model of educational innovation for Boston, Massachusetts, and the nation—a prototype for a new vision of contemporary music education.

Once again, to each and every one of you who has invested in Berklee, please accept my personal and heartfelt thanks for your generosity and commitment.

Sincerely,

Lee Eliot Berk
President