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Endowed Scholarships and Chairs
Wes Wehmiller Scholarship
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Wes WehmillerClick here to watch the video of President of Berklee College of Music, Roger Brown, announcing the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship: Berklee Remembers Wes
video, 55MB |
Prof. John Wehmiller and The Reverend Paula Lawrence Wehmiller, family and friends have established the Wes Wehmiller Memorial Endowed Scholarship in loving memory of their son, Wes Wehmiller, class of 1992, in recognition of his contributions to music as a bassist.
The scholarship is awarded each spring to a continuing student of the electric bass who best exemplifies Wes Wehmiller's spirit and musicianship.
Contributions may be made to the scholarship fund by clicking here.
Wes, who won a scholarship to attend Berklee, was mentored here by bassist/professor Danny Morris who became a close colleague and friend. In 1993, Wes moved to the west coast where he collaborated with a vibrant Los Angeles community of Berklee alumni. From 1997 through 2001, Wes toured worldwide with the multi-platinum pop band Duran Duran, and appeared on many TV shows with them as well, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Today Show, VH-1's Storytellers and Hard Rock Live. Wes also performed with Missing Persons, avant-garde solo artist Mike Keneally, and several other L.A. based bands, and his work appears on numerous recordings produced in the L.A. area and in Vancouver.
At www.weswehmiller.net you can learn about Wes, and the people he touched. This site is packed with music, videos, photography by and of Wes, and much much more.
A unique aspect of the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship is that on the evening of the awards ceremony in March, the new scholarship recipient performs with Danny Morris at Danny Mo's Jam. The following spring, the student travels to Los Angles to perform at WesFest, an annual celebration of Wes's musical legacy. The monies ($30,000 to date) and awareness raised by the WesFest concert series have quickly made the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship one of the most noted awards given by Berklee College Of Music.
In March of 2008, Steffi Willis became the third recipient of the scholarship, receiving her award from Bass Department Chairman, Rich Appleman, and Wes' mentor, colleague and friend, Danny Morris, at the afternoon awards ceremony luncheon. That evening Steffi performed at Danny Mo's Jam. "Steffi is one of the most in-demand bassists around the Berklee community for good reason," writes Danny Mo. "She plays the bass with a conviction to the song, to the groove. You can shut your eyes and feel that commitment, that strong pocket linking the rhythm to the harmony. If you open your eyes, you'll witness someone doing what they love."
Three weeks before Danny Mo's Jam in Boston, WesFest 3, the third annual WesFest benefit concert took place in February at Paladino's in L.A. with gospel/R&B bass legend Andrew Gouché as this year's headliner. 2007 Wes Wehmiller Scholarship Award winner Claire Finley performed with Danny Mo and the Exciters, a band led by Danny Mo and featuring Berklee Alums Melinda Colaizzi, Kristian H and Wes Wehmiller's fellow Duran Duran alum, drummer Joe Travers.
| |  Andrew Gouche, Claire Finley, and Danny "Mo" Morris at WesFest 3 |
Three other acts, all a part of Wehmiller's broad and diverse musical world, performed at WesFest 3 including Mike Keneally, Rick Musallum, and Berklee alums Colin Keenan, Griff Peters, Kira Small and WesFest3 producer Bryan Beller who writes, "The WesFest concert series really has come of age very quickly, and it's still growing, and though we're very grateful for its success, it's not just about meeting fundraising goals. Every year we do this, we're meeting and bringing new people - students, musicians, folks from all walks of life - into the community, and they get for themselves a huge awareness of Wes and why he's so special to the people who knew him. Plus, everyone's seeing with their own eyes the tremendous impact of their support. Seeing Claire Finley carry on the tradition is a reaffirmation of what the event really stands for, and then watching Claire watch Andrew Gouché while Wes' family and friends look on...that's when you start to get the bigger picture of why this works so well. We're all connected, and you can't help but get swept up in the positivity generated by the whole thing."
For more information about creating or supporting scholarships, please contact David McKay or Marjorie O'Malley.
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Steffi Willis
