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A Gift From One Marshfield Resident To Another
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Marshfield resident Chrissi Poland '02 is the recipient of the first award from the newly created Robert Barnett Kaplan Endowed Scholarship Fund. |
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BOSTON, Dec. 8, 2000 – Berklee College of Music is pleased to announce that vocalist and Performance major, Chrissi Poland '02 is the recipient of the first annual Robert Barnett Kaplan Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship fund was established by the estate of Mr. Robert Barnett Kaplan to "provide support to an outstanding new or continuing student from Marshfield, Massachusetts who is a U.S. citizen, demonstrates musical talent, and seeks to further his/her music composition education at Berklee College of Music."
Poland, who is working with Marshfield's Ventress Memorial Library to put together a concert in memory of Robert Kaplan, is touched by the generosity of this gift and says, "When I have established myself, I only hope I can do something like this for someone else." Poland is in her fifth semester at Berklee, studying vocal performance and working on her original compositions and arrangements. She hopes to find continued success after graduation. "I want to continue to write and arrange my own music," says Poland, adding, "I encourage anyone and everyone who is passionate to put in the work. You owe it to the world if you've got that passion. Music really chooses you."
Robert Barnett Kaplan, a composer, pianist and piano teacher, died in 1995 with no children and no immediate family. Marshfield Selectmen Chairman William Frances says that Kaplan "cared fully about the town [of Marshfield]." In his trust, Kaplan established additional gifts to the town including a fund to create an original town anthem with lyrics, as well as funds for the Ventress Library to produce an annual concert.
Kaplan's obvious love of music will benefit many students who wish to enroll at or return to Berklee College of Music. "Coming here is the best thing I could have ever done," says Poland. "I can't believe how much I have learned from both the faculty and the students, and I have so much more I want to learn." Currently, approximately 20,000 of an estimated 34,000 Berklee alumni are active members in the music industry.
Founded in 1945, Berklee College of Music has been advancing careers in contemporary music for more than 50 years. The world's largest independent college of music, Berklee has a multicultural enrollment of approximately 3,400 students, 40 percent of whom are international. The college's alumni include some of the most respected figures in contemporary music, including many multi-Grammy award winners.
For more information, please contact:
Jessica Blake, Public Information Coordinator
Office of Public Information
Berklee College of Music
(617) 747-2750 or jblake@berklee.edu
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