BOSTON, November 24, 2004 — Three students from the Berklee City Music All-Star Ensemble will open for alto saxophone legend Lou Donaldson and Orpheus recording artist/alumnus Andre Ward '88 at the Berklee Performance Center, December 4, 2004. The concert, Old School/New School: An Evening of Jazz, which starts with a silent auction at 6:00 p.m., is a fundraiser for VISIONS, Inc., an organization seeking to help groups challenge racism and other forms of oppression. Eric Jackson from WGBH-FM will emcee the event, which will also feature the Boston Arts Academy Jazz Band. Tickets are $55.50, $35.50, reserved seating and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

Hand picked by Assistant Director of Berklee City Music Programs Lynette Gittens, the trio of students from the Berklee City Music All-Star Ensemble will be performing a set of jazz compositions, written by pianist Tuffus Zimbabwe of Roxbury. The recipient of a full scholarship to Berklee, Zimbabwe won the Five Week Songwriting contest in 2001, and has performed at Berklee's annual Encore Gala, as well as its Swingin' in Mothers Rest concert series.

Drummer Anthony Steele of Dorchester, the 2002 recipient of the Berklee City Music Continuing Scholarship, is a graduate of the Boston Arts Academy. He has represented Berklee at the college's High School Jazz Festival, its Encore Gala, and has performed with visiting artists Stanton Davis, Mark Whitfield, and Walter Beasley.

Wrapping up his first semester at Berklee, Juan Maldonado of Chelsea is one of the college's most promising electric bassists. This past summer, Juan – who also plays the drums, piano, guitar, and trumpet – was awarded a full scholarship to Berklee.

Berklee City Music is a mentoring and scholarship initiative that provides middle and high school students from Boston's urban neighborhoods with after-school mentoring, Saturday schooling, summer study, and, to qualifying participants, full-tuition scholarships to earn bachelor of music degrees at Berklee. Since City Music's inception in 1991, more than 500 teens have had access to a free music education.

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over half a century, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today — and tomorrow.

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Nick Balkin
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