Berklee Alumna Lexi Vollero MA ’22 Receives Fulbright Award to Brazil

Lexi Vollero, a 2022 graduate of Berklee NYC, has been awarded a Fulbright Open Research Award to study at Conservatório e Faculdade Souza Lim in São Paulo, Brazil, for the 2026–2027 academic year. While at Berklee NYC, Vollero studied Writing and Production for Musical Theater. 

As a Fulbright participant, Vollero will study through the Fulbright Program and the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). Vollero, a native of Laguna Nigel, California, will be conducting research and interviews as well as participating in cultural engagement by composing original music with local artists in the region.

She will spend nine months researching Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) through a threefold approach: studying at Conservatório e Faculdade Souza Lima, interviewing local MPB artists, and observing the recording of the series O Novo Sempre Vem at Trama NaCena Studio. The compositions resulting from Vollero’s research will feature English and Portuguese lyrics to reflect a cross-cultural musical voice. Following the completion of her Fulbright experience, Vollero plans to release her compositions to both Brazilian and American audiences. She will prioritize leading introductory-level music tech workshops and skill-sharing events with Trama NaCena. Vollero also plans to copresent her compositions with Brazilian audiences at the conservatory and studio alongside local collaborators. 

“I believe the study of global popular music is fundamental in fostering understanding of a culture in its current context, and catalyzing future change,” Vollero said. “We can learn a lot from the music people are both generating and responding to—it acts like a snapshot or litmus test for where they are at in a given moment. I am deeply grateful that the Fulbright Committee recognizes this value and is supportive of this cross-culture collaboration that aims to edify, rather than extract. I am honored to be amongst such talented, distinguished, and passionate researchers, embarking as representatives together on this adventure with open hearts and curious minds.” 

Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided hundreds of thousands of participants with the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns in more than 160 countries. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected in an open, merit-based competition that considers leadership potential, academic achievement, and record of service. Many have achieved distinctions, including 62 Nobel laureates, 93 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 44 current or former heads of state or government.

Berklee has produced ten Fulbright Scholars throughout the years. Associate professor Ray Seol studied in South Korea on a Fulbright award in music last summer. Faculty member Stacy Mattingly and alumni Shanelle Villegas BFA ’19 and Lili Chey Warren BM ’23 were Fulbright award recipients during the 2024–2025 academic year. Alumni Michael Doughty BM ’23 and Michael Lucarelli MM ’20 received Fulbright awards in the 2023–2024 academic year, and the college was recognized as a top producer of Fulbright US students from 2021–2022 after alumni Devina Boughton BM ’21 and Andrew Skinner MM ’20 received awards. Liz Davis Maxfield BM ’09 received Berklee’s first Fulbright fellowship in 2009.