Berklee in Puerto Rico 30th Anniversary Celebration Culminates in Awarding $3.74 Million in Financial Aid Berklee awarded nine full-tuition scholarships to study at the Boston campus, the largest number awarded in Berklees 30 years in Puerto Rico. By
Media Relations
June 26, 2025
Berklee faculty, staff and students celebrate the first day of the Berklee in Puerto Rico program at Escuela Libre de M sica Antonio Paoli (ELMAP) in Caguas, Puerto Rico on Monday, June 2, 2025.
Image courtesy of Make Music Happen
The Berklee in Puerto Rico music education program's 30th anniversary celebration culminated with a concert and graduation ceremony for students at the Centro de Bellas Artes in Caguas, where 30 awards and $3.74 million in financial aid were granted to students to pursue studies at Berklee College of Music.
To the students, you just lived an intense, inspiring, and powerful week. Im sure you will carry these lessons, the emotions, and the growth from this experience for the rest of your life, said Hon. William E. Miranda Torres, mayor of Caguas. Please continue to dream big. Continue to fight for your goals. Keep practicing, keep learning, keep playing and singing. Not just music, but life. Puerto Rico needs your voices, your creativity, and your courage. And Caguas will always welcome you with open arms.
For the second consecutive year, the Caguas Centro de Bellas Artes served as the stage for participants in the 30th edition of the Berklee in Puerto Rico music education program, produced by the nonprofit organization Make Music Happen. This year, 196 participants demonstrated the musical skills they developed and reinforced in front of their families, organizers, and program collaborators. The participants formed 16 musical groups to perform songs and musical arrangements by Ismael Rivera, Bob Marley, and Kenny Garrett, among many others. At the ceremonys close, Damien S. Bracken, dean of admissions at Berklee College of Music, presented financial aid and scholarships to outstanding participants from Berklee in Puerto Rico to study at the college.
On Thursday, June 5, we celebrated Berklees 30th anniversary in Puerto Rico at the Centro de Bellas Artes at the Santurce Fine Arts Center with an epic concert. The exceptional musicians who performed on stage that night were sitting right where you are today, at a graduation like this one, at Berklee in Puerto Rico, 30, 20, or 10 years ago, said Luis lvarez Fiol '83, president of Make Music Happen and a Berklee College of Music alumnus. The most important thing for all of you is that, in five or 10 years, those of you who are willing to invest the energy, make the sacrifice, and have the discipline it takes to be a great musician, a great person, and therefore a great citizen, will make it to the Centro de Bellas Artes and any major festival in the world, just like the virtuoso musicians who performed on June 5. The opportunity is yours. This program does not change lives; only you can change your lives. Make Music Happen offers you an opportunity to develop your talents. And for those who want to do so, I assure you that you are on the right track because what happened here today, what we saw on this stage this morning, is truly wonderful.
Eight students received financial aid to participate in Berklees Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive summer program, worth $5,430 each. They are:
Ian Trinta
Dami n Tricoche Santiago
Dylan Segarra Vel zquez
Gala Dale Camacho Santana
Carlos Malav Crespo
Yoedelis L pez
Jahdiel Avil s
Adri n Delgado-Toro
Three students received a partial-tuition scholarship to attend a bachelors degree program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, worth $25,000 per year, equivalent to $100,000 for four years each. They are:
Edgardo Cruz
Sergio Ortiz
Amanda Perez Figueroa
Four students received a partial-tuition scholarship to attend a bachelors degree program at Berklee, worth $30,000 per year, equivalent to $120,000 for four years each. They are:
Yahir Barbosa
Noelis Berrios
David Garc a Arocho
Kevin Rivera Ocasio
Four students received a partial-tuition scholarship to attend a bachelors degree program at Berklee, worth $35,000 per year, equivalent to $140,000 for four years each. They are:
Jorge Montes-Irizarry
Jonathan Picorelli
Hern n Luis Rivera Cruz
Mikael V zquez Feliciano
Two students received a partial-tuition scholarship to attend a bachelors degree program at Berklee, worth $40,000 per year, equivalent to $160,000 for four years each. They are:
Enoc Delgado S nchez
Dayran Ramos
Finally, nine students received full-tuition scholarships to study at Berklee College of Music, worth $52,400 per year, equivalent to $209,760 for four years each. This is the largest number of this type of scholarship awarded in Berklees 30-year history in Puerto Rico. The recipients are:
Gary Acevedo Gonz lez
Joseph B ez Vel zquez
Ediel Ramos de Jes s
Amanda Avil s
Juan Gonz lez
Daliana Soto
Joseph V zquez
Gabriela Guill n
Daniel Andrades
In addition to the awards mentioned above, Rub n Amador BM 01, director of the Conservatorio de Artes del Caribe (CAC) and former student of Berklee in Puerto Rico and Berklee College of Music, presented five participants with full-tuition scholarships to attend one semester of the CACs pre-university program, worth $1,980 each, for a total of $9,900. They are:
Yansfel Alem n
Yadiel Cab n
Ragdiel Gonz lez Guti rrez
Jensen Qui ones Barreto
Wesley Canales Vilari o
It gives us immense joy to know that these students will be able to fulfill their dream of developing their musical talents, which connect us as a country and as a family, said Secretary of Education Eliezer Ramos Par s. I encourage them to make the most of this opportunity, continue to spread their talent, and hold the name of Puerto Rico high. At the Department
