Amplify Berklee Honors the Legacy and Celebrates the Future of Berklee City Music

Amplify Berklee Honors the Legacy and Celebrates the Future of Berklee City Music The annual gala will benefit scholarships for students in the long-running program.

By

Colette Greenstein

September 18, 2024

Berklee will host its annual gala, Amplify Berklee, on Saturday, November 2, at the Westin Copley Place at 5:00 p.m. The unique community celebration will feature a lineup of live entertainment from Berklees outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni performers in an array of stylistically diverse music rooms. The evening will conclude with a dance party spun by DJ Jazzy Jeff, a pioneering DJ, rapper, producer, actor, and entrepreneur who is renowned for his innovative turntablism and recognized as a crucial figure in shaping the hip-hop genre.

DJ Jazzy Jeff

Image courtesy of the artist.

All proceeds from Amplify Berklee will benefit Berklee City Music students. Berklee City Music is a global network that enables youth from underserved communities to develop musically, academically, socially, and emotionally, primarily through the study of contemporary music and the performing arts. Since 1993, Berklee City Music has awarded 283 full-tuition college scholarships, totaling over $33 million. More than 2,000 students from the Berklee City Music Network have attended Berklees Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive on City Music Summer Scholarships. The Berklee City Music Network is currently made up of 46 sites across the United States, Latin America, and Canada, serving more than 60,000 students in the past year alone. Berklee City Music has served over 500,000 students across the network through preparatory and high school academies, and through summer and full-tuition scholarships, since the program's inception.

For more than 30 years, Berklee City Music has broadened the horizons of children of all abilities and interests through creative expression, says Krystal Prime Banfield, Berklees vice president for education outreach and social entrepreneurship. Amplify Berklee will celebrate this transformative program, and we look forward to what promises to be a memorable evening of inspiration and connection.

In a world where uncertainty seems to be the only constant, it is the artists and creators who guide us through times of great change, said Misael Martinez, Berklees assistant vice president for social entrepreneurship and creative youth development. Amplify Berklee is not just a celebration of music, but a recognition of the changemakers who amplify the voices of our communities, reflecting the power and resilience of our collective spirit. These students are not only shaping the sound of today, but are paving the way for the future of music and culture, and this evening is a testament to their creativity, dedication, and impact.

Amplify Berklee will host a variety of performers including four-time Grammy Award-winning pianist and producer and City Music ambassador Brian Kennedy, who will be playing with the Berklee City Music All-Stars; Grammy Award-winning percussionist Eguie Castrillo and his acclaimed Salsa Orchestra, accompanied by Boston Conservatory at Berklee dance students performing salsa and Latin dance styles; and Tia Fuller, a Grammy-nominated recording artist, saxophonist, professor, and artistic director of Berklee's Ensemble Department, who will lead the Michael Jackson Ensemble in an all-encompassing experience celebrating the entertainer's tremendous legacy and journey. In addition, Berklee Tiny Desk will feature pianist Kieran Rhodes BM 24, most recently known for his viral audition on season 17 of America's Got Talent; Boston Conservatory at Berklee musical theater students will present On Broadway, a selection of iconic show tunes from popular Broadway and West End musicals; faculty member, pianist, organist, composer, and arranger Matt Jenson will lead the Berklee Bob Marley Ensemble, a collective dedicated to the timeless, unifying power of Bob Marleys music; and the award-winning, coed a cappella group Upper Structure will return for a second year.

Purchase tickets for Amplify Berklee.

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