by Liz Burg

14 young musicians from urban Boston neighborhoods and Berklee City Music Network sites around the country accepted full scholarships to attend Berklee College of Music starting this fall at an emotional presentation at the Berklee Performance Center on Tuesday, August 10. The Berklee City Music Continuing Scholarships were handed out at the 17^th annual Berklee City Music Scholarship Concert by Berklee president Roger H. Brown; J. Curtis Warner, associate vice president for education outreach/executive director of Berklee City Music; Krystal Banfield, director of City Music Boston; and Lynette Gittens, associate director of City Music.

The students all participated in Berklee’s City Music program – a scholarship, tutorial and mentoring program that grants teens from Greater Boston and other urban areas across the country access to music education at no cost to them or their families. If all 14 students complete four years of study at the college, the collective amount of the scholarships awarded will be worth $2 million.

The 14 recipients were among 82 teens who were enrolled in Berklee’s Five-Week Summer Performance Program on City Music Summer Scholarships, another scholarship component of City Music.

City Music Boston Recipients of 2010 Berklee City Music Continuing Scholarships:

• Matthew Hull, 18, trumpet, Boston, MA
• Terrell James, 18, vocalist, Chelsea, MA
• Lauren Fuller, 17, pianist and vocalist, Framingham, MA
• Bianelys Javier, 19, vocalist, Lawrence, MA
• Juliana Davis, 18, vocalist, Lynn, MA
• Joseph Santiago, 19, guitarist, Revere, MA
• Alexander Macrides, 17, saxophonist and drummer, Roslindale, MA
• Franchesca Phillip, 19, vocalist, Roxbury, MA
• Kadeem Roberts, 19, guitarist, Roxbury, MA
• Tasmine Ballentine, 18, vocalist, Memphis, TN
• Brielle Blount, 17, drummer, Valley Village, CA
• Austin DeVries, 18, drummer, Edmonds, WA
• Reginald Mitchell, 18, bassist, Memphis, TN
• Laura Padilla, 19, vocalist, Long Beach, CA

Under the direction of Krystal Banfield, Berklee City Music has provided educational and mentoring opportunities to underserved teens from Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Dorchester, Chelsea, Lynn and other urban areas since its inception since 1991. 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. In September, 27 national network sites will be operational in addition to sites in Greater Boston.

The photo shows, from L-R, Roger Brown, Krystal Banfield, Lynette Gittens, the 14 scholarship recipients and J. Curtis Warner with their award certificates.

Liz Burg works in the Office of Public Information at Berklee College of Music.