17th Annual Berklee City Music Festival and Scholarship Concert

Berklee College of Music presents its 17^th annual Berklee City Music Scholarship Concert on Tuesday, August 10, 7:30 p.m., at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston. Talented urban teens from the Boston area and Berklee City Music Network sites across the country will perform rock, pop, jazz, inspirational music, and r&b songs. Following tradition, students will only learn of their scholarship awards when their identities are revealed from the stage at a break in the concert. Joy and tears spread quickly through the room from students and their families. In the past, Berklee's City Music summer program has awarded an average of 10 to 11 scholarships at the end of the season.

Due to the popularity of the concert, all seats will be ticketed. Tickets are $5 in advance, $10 at the door. Student tickets are $1 with any student I.D. All tickets can be purchased on ticketmaster.com, by calling Ticketmaster at 800 745-3000, or in person at the Berklee Performance Center Box Office, 136 Massachusetts Avenue, Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Leading up to the scholarship concert, the City Music Festival from August 7-9 presents free concerts by City Music students at various Berklee venues. A full schedule is below.

The City Music Scholarship Concert and the City Music Festival will feature 82 teen musicians and vocalists representing Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Charlestown, Chelsea, Dorchester, East Boston, Framingham, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Lawrence, Lynn, Revere, Roslindale, Roxbury, Saugus, and Somerville. Students from City Music Network sites in California, Delaware, Illinois, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. will also perform. All are attending Berklee's Five-Week Summer Performance Program through the City Music Summer Scholarship.

Berklee City Music is the college's strategic educational initiative that uses contemporary music to reach underserved 4th- through12th-graders. Programming includes instruction by expert faculty, individualized mentoring, after-school classes, Saturday schooling, summer study, and full-tuition scholarships to attend Berklee at no cost to the students or their families. City Music has provided educational and mentoring opportunities to more than 5,000 local teens from urban areas since 1992.

Four years ago, Berklee's City Music Network—launched in 2001—expanded to include partnerships with community organizations nationwide that actively share the goal of changing teenage lives with contemporary music education. Students' experiences are life-changing, from the performance and mentoring opportunities to the online music theory, ear training, and performance curriculum focusing on popular r&b, rock, hip-hop, and jazz songs.

City Music Festival events are free and open to the public.

Saturday, August 7

Faculty/Student Jam Session

6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

David Friend Recital Hall, 921 Boylston Street

Sunday, August 8

George Russell Jr. Blues Ensemble, with spotlight guest City Music Choir under the direction of Nichelle Mungo

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

David Friend Recital Hall, 921 Boylston Street

Monday, August 9

Bernardo Hernadez Latin/Jazz Ensemble and 

the Alonzo Harris Hip Hop Ensemble 

with spotlight guest Marty Walsh Rock Ensemble

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

David Friend Recital Hall, 921 Boylston Street