Encore Gala Raises $2.3 Million for Berklee City Music
Chaka Khan performs the Starlight Finale at the 25th annual Berklee Encore Gala
Image by Phil Farnsworth
Featured performer and hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash at the turntables.
Image by Phil Farnsworth
The Berklee City Music Ensemble performs during the concert portion of the evening.
Image by Phil Farnsworth
From left: Linda Mason, President Roger H. Brown, Livingston Taylor, Susan Berk, and Former President Lee Berk
Image by Phil Farnsworth
From left: Krystal Banfield, Roger Brown, Chaka Khan, Linda Mason, and John Connaughton
Image by Phil Farnsworth
Chaka Khan performs the Starlight Finale at the 25th annual Berklee Encore Gala
Image by Phil Farnsworth
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Berklee Encore Gala raised a record $2.3 million in support of Berklee City Music. The annual event, held at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, included more than 150 faculty, student, and alumni musicians who played for more than 900 guests. Deval Patrick, former governor of Massachusetts, spoke at the dinner. The evening also included a silent auction.
Guests enjoyed a wide variety of musical acts in seven different nightclub settings. Performers included hip-hop icon Grandmaster Flash; Berklee faculty member Livingston Taylor; and Berklee alumni band Twisted Pine, winner of the 2018 Boston Music Award for Americana Artist of the Year. The evening's roster also included the Berklee Indian Ensemble; the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra, directed by Greg Hopkins and featuring guest vocalists Donna McElroy and Renese King; Mar del Norte, featuring Eguie Castrillo; and the Berklee City Music Ensemble. Grammy-winning singer Chaka Khan '04H gave the evening's Starlight Finale performance.
Copresenting sponsors included Abrams Capital and Bain Capital Community Partnership. Colead sponsors included Aramark Education, the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, and Jim and Judy O'Brien. They cochaired the event, along with David and Lori Sprows.