Berklee College of Music Press Release
 
Six Local Inner-City Youth Receive Full Scholarships for Four-Year Study at Berklee College of Music BOSTON, August 10, 2005 — Six young musicians from urban Boston neighborhoods accepted full scholarships to attend Berklee College of Music starting this fall at an emotional presentation at the Berklee Performance Center on Tuesday, August 9. Berklee President Roger H. Brown and Assistant Vice President for Community and Governmental Affairs J. Curtis Warner, Jr., along with Boston Public Schools Senior Program Director for the Arts Kathy Tosolini, handed out Berklee City Music Continuing Scholarships to six students who are part of Berklee City Music - a scholarship, tutorial, and mentoring program that gives urban teens from Greater Boston access to music education at no cost to them or their families. If all six students complete four years of college, the collective amount of the scholarships awarded will be more than $600,000. The scholarships were awarded during the annual Berklee City Music Blow-Out Concert where City Music students performed a showcase of gospel, R&B, and jazz music. The six recipients were among 50 teens who were enrolled in Berklee's 5 Week Summer Performance Program on Summer Youth Scholarships for Talent and Excellence in Music (SYSTEM 5), another scholarship component of City Music. From left: Boston Public Schools Senior Program Director for the Arts Kathy Tosolini, Shannon McField, Jonathan Lewis, Leslie Echevarria, Berklee President Roger Brown, Abraham Olivo, Ashley Rodriguez, Trevor Tyrell, Berkllee Assistant Vice President for Community and Governmental Affairs J. Curtis Warner. Photo by Phil Farnsworth   Winners of the 2005 Berklee City Music Continuing Scholarships: • Abraham Olivo, 18, Pianist, Hyde Park • Ashley Rodriguez, 18, Vocalist, Chelsea • Jonathan Adam Jamal Lewis, 18, Guitarist/Drummer/Songwriter, Dorchester • Shannon McField, 18, Vocalist, Allston • Trevor Tyrell, 18, Vocalist, Dorchester • Leslie Echevarria, 18, Vocalist, Boston Under the direction of Warner, Berklee City Music has provided music education to more than 500 underserved teens from Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Chelsea, Lynn, and other local urban areas since its inception in 1991. Berklee City Music is expanding nationally, now bringing students from inner-city Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles to Boston to study at Berklee. President Roger Brown & Jonathan A.J. Lewis At Graduation May 2010