Slideshow: Berklee City Music Summit 2016

By 
Jean Connaughton
December 21, 2016
Ras Baraka, mayor of Newark, New Jersey
The Berklee City Music All-Stars perform at an open mic night and jam session at the 2016 Berklee City Music Summit, which was recently held in Newark, New Jersey.
Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka greets attendees at the Berklee City Music Summit, co-hosted by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
Michael League, bandleader of Snarky Puppy, leads Berklee City Music Network master class students in the finale band at the summit.
Keynote speaker Jennifer McCrea, author and senior research fellow at the Hauser Institute for Civil Society at Harvard University, addresses the crowd on the opening day of the summit.
Academy Award-winning hip-hop artist Frayser Boy is among the featured speakers in the "Moving With Intent" music industry panel. discussion.
Master class coaches, from left to right: Renowned trumpeter Vincent Gardner, sought-after saxophonist Jason Marshall, Magda Giannikou of rising eclectic outfit Banda Magda, Grammy-winning guitarist Larry Carlton, accomplished trumpeter Syreeta Thompson, and Michael League, bandleader of Snarky Puppy.
Berklee City Music Network students from Live! Modern School of Music in Miami, Florida, perform during a master class.
Students participate in a clinic with members of the 99th Jazz Orchestra of the U.S. Army Reserve as part of the City Music Student Summit.
Acclaimed artists David Garfield, Paul Quin, Chuck Rainey, Ashley Rodriguez, Dom Famularo, Bernard ‘Pretty’ Purdie, and Richie Cannata from The Sessions lead a series of presentations and clinics for Berklee City Music students.
Music and Youth Development Alliance (MYDA) students from Berklee City Music Network site Renaissance Youth Center in the Bronx borough of New York City perform at the open-mic night and jam session.
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Tea For Two Photography
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Tea For Two Photography
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Tea For Two Photography
Tea For Two Photography
Tea For Two Photography
Tea For Two Photography

The 2016 Berklee City Music Summit was held in November at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, a longtime member of the Berklee City Music Network® (BCMN). The summit is an opportunity for the more than 40 community organizations across the U.S. and Canada who participate in the Berklee City Music program to engage in professional development, share best practices, network, and collaborate on ideas aligned with the Berklee City Music mission of enabling youth from underserved communities to develop musically, academically, socially, and emotionally, primarily through the study of contemporary music.

This year, the summit featured thought-provoking presentations and panel discussions, interactive sessions specifically designed for high school students, amazing performances from BCMN student ensembles, and an inspiring keynote address by Jennifer McCrea, coauthor of The Generosity Network and cofounder and CEO of Born Free Africa who is also senior research fellow at the Hauser Institute for Civil Society at Harvard University.

The summit also featured master classes with music coaches such as Michael League, bandleader of acclaimed jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy, and discussions with panelists such as Academy Award-winning rapper Frayser Boy and Grammy-winning guitarist Larry Carlton, among many others.

The 2016 summit was sponsored by Avid, Billboard, Casio, Conn-Selmer, Flipcause, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Magix, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Noteflight, P. Mauriat, The Sessions, and the Take Me to the River Education Initiative.

There are several ways to support the work of the Berklee City Music program, including donating to scholarships for students to attend the program, joining or supporting the Berklee City Music Research Consortium, and incorporating the Berklee PULSE® music method in your classroom or school district.