Berklee Today

Berklee Beat: Berklee's Helping Hands

Berklee's new Sarah Vaughan and Terri Lyne Carrington Endowed Funds make first awards.

	From the left: Craigie Zildjian, Terri Lyne Carrington, scholarship award recipient Daniela Schachter, and President Lee Eliot Berk
	From the left: Trustees David Lee and Vivian Beard, Sarah Vaughan award recipient Nia Allen, and President Lee Eliot Berk.
	Photo by Justin Allardyce Knight

"At first I thought, what are we doing celebrating Sarah Vaughan at a gospel concert," said Berklee Trustee David Lee in remarks preceding Berklee's Reverence Gospel Choir Concert on November 27. "Then I remembered that Sarah began singing in the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Newark. We are coming full circle in awarding the first scholarship from this fund at a gospel concert." Lee joined fellow trustee Vivian Beard and President Lee Eliot Berk in awarding the first scholarship from the Sarah Vaughan Endowed Fund to vocalist Nia Allen. Allen later performed with the Gospel Choir.

The fund has grown due to the generosity of Berklee's three African-American trustees, Vivian Beard, Dolores Johnson, and David Lee, who together, initiated the effort. A significant gift from fellow trustee Mike Dreese, gifts from the Boston Links, members of Boston's African-American community, and fellow Berklee trustees William Davis, Laura Bernard, and Scott Benson enabled the fund to become endowed.

The goal is to build the fund so that a full-tuition scholarship can be awarded annually. "We want to make it possible for a young musician to come to Berklee and get to the next level," Beard noted. "We need the financial support of others who care to make this happen."

Composer, producer, world-renowned drummer and Berklee alumna Terri Lyne Carrington was on hand to present the first scholarship from the Terri Lyne Carrington Endowed Fund. She joined Avedis Zildjian Company CEO and Berklee trustee Craigie Zildjian and President Lee Eliot Berk in presenting the award to Daniela Schachter '02, a pianist from Messina, Italy. A Performance major, Schachter has maintained a 3.88 cumulative grade point average.

Craigie Zildjian explained that she was motivated to create a fund for outstanding female instrumentalists at Berklee. "As a trustee, I wanted to establish this scholarship in keeping with Berklee's mission to increase diversity. Terri Lyne is a truly remarkable musician whose talent has inspired women musicians everywhere. And as a drummer, Terri Lyne was the first to put the gender issue to bed! It is only natural to have this scholarship in her name."

Gifts to the Sarah Vaughan or Terri Lyne Carrington endowed fund can be made by contacting development@berklee.edu.

Technics, Fender, Paiste, Zildjian, and Korg Help Equip Facilities

Berklee's new practice facility at Fordham Road [see New Fordham Road Practice Facility Creates Opportunities for Students] has been equipped with Technics SXPR51 digital pianos thanks to the generous support of Technics Musical Instruments. Ikutaro Kakehashi, founder and CEO of the Roland Corporation, provided Roland VS-1680 HD digital studio workstations to allow personal multitrack recording for students at the new facility. Fender Musical Instruments expanded their amplifier loan program with Berklee to include the guitar and bass amplifiers for the complex. Avedis Zildjian Company and Paiste Cymbal Corporation donated the cymbals for the drum practice and ensemble areas.

Korg USA recently made a very generous gift and equipped Berklee's Learning Center with new Korg Triton keyboards. The effort was part of an ongoing partnership with Korg, who helped to establish Berklee's Learning Center in 1991.

"We are most pleased to have received these new Korg Tritons," said Vice President for Information Technology David Mash. "We look forward to the new sounds and features these instruments will provide for students as they work at honing their musical skills."

Rounder Records Gives Back

In celebration of Rounder Records' 30th Anniversary, the label donated the proceeds from its newest Heritage Series of albums to establish a scholarship at Berklee. Brad Paul, vice president of promotion, observed, "It's been a lot of fun putting together this series of shows that represents both the musical diversity of the label and the variety of venues and promoters that support our acts year-in and year-out. We really wanted to reach out to the community that has nurtured us over the years and thank everyone for their support and continued camraderie. It is great to be able to give back to Berklee."