Amplify Berklee Gala Raises More Than $1.3 Million for Berklee City Music Scholarships
Image by Mike Ritter
Berklee raised more than $1.3 million for scholarships for Berklee City Music students at its annual gala, Amplify Berklee, which took place on Saturday, November 7, at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport.
Hosted by Boston Conservatory at Berklee assistant professor François Noel, the new event format featured three ballroom stages as well as a cocktail reception and dinner program, showcasing the world-class talent of students, faculty, staff, and alumni performing music spanning 18 genres.
Three-time Grammy-nominated artist Cimafunk and his nine-piece Havana band, La Tribu, headlined the event with their fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms, funk, and contemporary sounds, joined by Boston Conservatory dancers. Harpist, producer, composer, and Berklee City Music ambassador Madison Calley also performed, accompanied by string quartet Jazmello Strings.
Among those musical guests featured at this year’s gala were the Tropical Ensemble from the School of Fine Arts of Carolina, Puerto Rico, a Berklee City Music Network partner site; the Afropop Ambassadors featuring Albino Mbie BM ’13 and Boston Conservatory dancers; Oisín McAuley and the Celtic Music Ensemble; Lourde Childs BM ’26; and award-winning student a cappella group Upper Structure. The evening also included selections from Legally Blonde: The Musical and Singers Showcase: Forever Whitney Houston, featuring the Overjoyed Gospel Choir and a Boston Conservatory dance duet.
The program also featured remarks from Berklee City Music alumna Gerami Groover BM ’12, MM ’14, a Berklee assistant professor and executive and artistic director of the Hamilton-Garrett Center for Music and Arts. Groover received City Music scholarships to attend Berklee’s Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive and a full-tuition scholarship to Berklee College of Music, a journey that informed the evening’s focus on expanding opportunities for young musicians.
Auctioneer John Terrio Jr. led the live appeal segment raising more than $400,000 in the room for scholarships for Berklee City Music students to attend Berklee’s Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive program.
Proceeds from Amplify Berklee support scholarships for students in Berklee City Music, a year-round, tuition-free music education program serving talented young people from under-resourced communities locally, nationally, and globally. Through contemporary music and the performing arts, the program helps students develop musically, academically, socially, and emotionally.
About Berklee City Music
Since 1993, Berklee City Music has awarded more than 300 full-tuition college scholarships, totaling over $34 million. More than 2,000 students from the Berklee City Music Network have attended Berklee's Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive on City Music Summer Scholarships. The Berklee City Music Network is currently made up of 44 sites across the United States, Latin America, and Canada, serving more than 65,000 students in the past year alone. Berklee City Music has served over 500,000 students through Berklee City Music Network partnerships, preparatory and high school academies, and summer and full-tuition scholarships, since the program’s inception.
Amplify Sponsors
The gala was sponsored by Bill and Kelly Kaiser, Amy and David Abrams, Aramark Collegiate Hospitality, Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, New Balance Foundation, David and Kristin Gross, Martin and Tristin Mannion, Jim and Kimberly Pallotta, and Andy and Mariann Youniss, as well as host committee members Dr. Charles Anderson, Jasson Cohen, Sandhya S. and Craig S. Douglas, Jessica and Tim Donohue, Ron Savage BM ’84, Richard and Alison Vieira, and Elyse Winer.
