Berklee City Music Awards 13 Full-Tuition Scholarships

Thirteen young musicians from underserved communities in Boston and across the U.S. were awarded four-year, full-tuition scholarships to attend Berklee at an emotional presentation at the Berklee Performance Center on Tuesday, August 11. The collective value of the scholarships, presented to students from Berklee City Music Network sites, exceeded $2 million.

Emceed by actor and comedian Sinbad, the scholarship presentation came at the conclusion of the Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance Program, the last hurdle for scholarship winners to clear before beginning their college careers.

Scholarship students were welcomed to the stage by Berklee President Roger H. Brown; Lee Whitmore,Berklee vice president of education outreach and social entrepreneurship , J. Curtis Warner Jr., associate vice president, education outreach/executive director, City Music; Krystal Banfield, dean for City Music. The concert showcased the talents of five Berklee City Music ensembles, and special guest jazz saxophonist Donald Harrison, a Berklee alumnus and director of the Internship Program at the City Music Network site Tipitina’s, in New Orleans.

<>The recipients were all participants in Berklee City Music, a program that delivers high-quality contemporary music education instruction to youth from underserved communities at no or low cost. The Berklee City Music Network is an association of 47 community organizations that serves more than 28,000 students in the U.S. and Canada each year. Since its inception, Berklee City Music has awarded 236 four-year full-tuition scholarships totaling more than $13 million.

The 13 recipients are among 122 teens who were enrolled in Berklee’s Five-Week Summer Performance Program on City Music scholarships.

Berklee City Music® is a non-profit organization that leverages the power of contemporary music to empower youth from underserved communities to develop musically, academically, socially, and emotionally. Founded over 20 years ago by Berklee, the organization reaches more than 58,000 students annually through a variety of programs and initiatives including City Music Network, City Music Boston, Amp Up NYC, and the innovative PULSE® online music method. By using culturally relevant music as a vehicle for holistic youth development, Berklee City Music helps young people flourish as students, musicians, and—perhaps most importantly—confident and well-rounded individuals ready to shape the world.

2015 Berklee City Music College Scholarship Recipients

Vocalist Starr Desmond, East Boston, Massachusetts

Vocalist Mahamma Germain, Hyde Park, Massachusetts

Bassist Christoff Glaude, Mattapan, Massachusetts

Guitarist Antonio Shiell-Loomis, Roxbury Crossing, Massachusetts

Pianist Joshua Sutherland, Mattapan, Massachusetts

Pianist Michael Gloria, Scottsdale, Arizona

Pianist Keirnan Johnson, Peoria, Arizona

Vocalist Sarah Khatami, Wexford, Pennsylvania

Bassist Chenni Li, Rowland Heights, California

Bassist David McKinzie, Memphis, Tennessee

Bassist Antonio Robinson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pianist Briana Washington, Hercules, California

Vocalist Britani Washington, Hercules, California