
Amplify Berklee Gala Raises $1.3 Million for Berklee City Music Scholarships This year's event featured a dance party with DJ Jazzy Jeff and performances from the Berklee City Music Ensemble and alumni Brian Kennedy, Lea Grace Swinson, Kieran Rhodes, and more.
By
Colette Greenstein
November 4, 2024
DJ Jazzy Jeff spinning at the Amplify Berklee gala.
Image by Dave Green
Lea Grace Swinson BM '21 performs at the Amplify Berklee gala.
Image by Dave Green
Kieran Rhodes BM '24 performs at the Amplify Berklee gala.
Image by Dave Green
Left to right: David Bogen, interim president and provost; Krystal Banfield, vice president, education outreach and social entrepreneurship; hip-hop legend DJ Jazzy Jeff; Jim Lucchese, Berklees incoming president; Ron Savage, vice president and executive director, Berklee College of Music; Michael Shinn, executive director, Boston Conservatory at Berklee; Betsy Newman, interim executive vice president and senior vice president, student enrollment and engagement
Image by Dave Green
Berklee raised $1.3 million for the Berklee City Music program at its annual gala, Amplify Berklee, which took place on Saturday, November 2, at the Westin Copley Place, Boston.
Pioneering DJ, rapper, producer, actor, and entrepreneur DJ Jazzy Jeff, renowned for his versatility, innovative turntablism, and pivotal role in shaping the hip-hop genre, was this year's special guest. The gala also featured four-time Grammy Award-winning pianist and producer and City Music ambassador Brian Kennedy 93; Grammy Award-winning percussionist and Berklee professor Eguie Castrillo and his acclaimed Salsa Orchestra; Tia Fuller, a Grammy-nominated recording artist, saxophonist, professor, and artistic director of Berklee's Ensemble Department, who led the Michael Jackson Ensemble; City Music alumna Lea Grace Swinson BM 21, who was one of the featured artists in the Berklee City Music Ensemble; singer-songwriter Kieran Rhodes, a recent Berklee graduate who gained viral fame with his audition on season 17 of NBC's Americas Got Talent; and the award-winning, coed a cappella group Upper Structure, who returned for a second straight year.
Proceeds from Amplify Berklee support scholarships for Berklee City Music students, a global network that enables youth from underserved communities to develop musically, academically, socially, and emotionally, primarily through the study of contemporary music and the performing arts. This year, the program celebrates its 31st anniversary.
Since 1993, Berklee City Music has awarded 283 full-tuition college scholarships, totaling over $33 million. More than 2,000 students from the Berklee City Music Network have attended Berklees Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive on City Music Summer Scholarships. The Berklee City Music Network is currently made up of 46 sites across the United States, Latin America, and Canada, serving more than 60,000 students in the past year alone. Berklee City Music has served over 500,000 students across the network through preparatory and high school academies, and through summer and full-tuition scholarships, since the program's inception.
The gala was sponsored by Abrams Capital, Aramark, Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, Bill and Kelly Kaiser, Berklee Board of Trustees Chair Martin and Tristin Mannion, New Balance Foundation with committee chairs Preetha and Mammen Chally, Jessica and Tim Donohue, Sandhya S. and Craig S. Douglas, and Alison and Richard Vieira.
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Jim Lucchese
Image by Kelly Davidson
Jim Lucchese Named Berklee's Fifth President A 20-year music industry veteran and a committed artist advocate with deep Berklee roots, Lucchese sets the tone for a new era at the institution.
Latest
Lizzy McAlpine '20 performs with Tiny Habits at NPRs Tiny Desk. Left to right: Judah Mayowa, Maya Rae, Lizzy McAlpine, Cinya Khan.
Image by Bob Boilen/NPR
The Best Tiny Desks by Berklee Artists (an Incomplete List) From Big Thief and Lizzy McAlpine to DOMi & JD Beck, Kenny Beats, Arooj Aftab, and more, Berklee acts have always owned the Tiny Desk stage.
(L-R): Berklee student guitarist Andre DR3 Harris; Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and Berklee alum Ashton Riker; Professor and Chair of Music Business/Management Tonya Butler; rapper and award-winning songwriter and producer Al Kapone; Berklee student drummer Andrew DRIZZ Harris; and singer, songwriter, and musician Singa B at the 18th annual Business of Hip-Hop Music Symposium.
Image courtesy of Berklees Music Business/Management Department
Memphis Rapper Al Kapone Brings Blues Education to Berklee He was the featured guest at the 18th annual Business of Hip-Hop Music Symposium.
Americana artist and Berklee student Kyle Ray conceptualized the Blue Ridge Benefit Concert: In Support of Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts on November 20.
Kelly Davidson
Berklee to Hold Blue Ridge Benefit Concert for Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts The event, featuring headliners Langhorne Slim and Kashus Culpepper, takes place on Wednesday, November 20, at Brighton Music Hall.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
20/08/2026
From host-broadcaster and rightsholder support in June and July to MLS, NWSL, US...
20/08/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
20/08/2026
At IBC this year, Veritone (14.A56) is bringing two connected themes to the booth: architectural independence in enterprise AI, and the automation of the media ...
20/08/2026
Telestream and ScorePlay have announced a partnership combining Telestream's...
20/08/2026
The Grand Slam of Curling and Rock League have announced a three-year agreement with ESPN, bringing more than 300 hours of live curling coverage to U.S. audienc...
20/08/2026
Nielsen has announced a series of enhancements to its Big Data + Panel currency measurement methodology, taking effect August 31. The updates were developed in ...
20/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected by service provider Big Blue Marble (formerly ORS Group) to provide its Nimbra platform as the core media transport solution for a...
20/08/2026
The 2026 US Open will bring a series of free fan activations across New York City ahead of and during the tournament, which runs August 23-September 13.
We...
20/08/2026
Bridge Technologies will announce a transport stream (TS) playout feature for its VB330 and VB220 compressed monitoring probes at IBC2026 (Booth 1.A71).
The fe...
20/08/2026
ENCO will demonstrate solutions across captioning, translation, AI production tools, automation, and virtual production at IBC2026 (Stand 7.A34, Amsterdam RAI, ...
20/08/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will demonstrate camera robotics and mot...
20/08/2026
Chyron will demonstrate news workflow solutions at IBC2026 (Stand 7.A23), marking the company's 60th anniversary. Highlights include updates to PRIME HTML, ...
20/08/2026
Spectrum SportsNet LA, the exclusive television home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is now available to Spectrum customers in former Cox markets following the clos...
20/08/2026
swXtch.io will unveil expanded Global SRT Distribution and native multicast tran...
20/08/2026
Riedel Communications has announced that Transformation Church in the United States has deployed a communications system built around the Artist intercom ecosys...
20/08/2026
The bestselling author and longtime Apple observer explores how product launches...
20/08/2026
The Orlando Magic entered last season with a dramatically upgraded in-venue prod...
20/08/2026
Pacers Sports and Entertainment has announced a partnership with DAZN, making it the exclusive streaming home of Indiana Pacers basketball. A team-branded strea...
20/08/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
20/08/2026
The NHL has announced two major developments tied to its Germany growth strategy...
20/08/2026
Set up your own private remote collaboration infrastructure
SoundBridge have recently put together a tutorial video that provides users with a step-by-step ...
20/08/2026
New V-Control Pro features restore basic functionality
Neyrinck's V-Control software has long been keeping older Avid control surfaces compatible with n...
20/08/2026
TV, BritBox and Mammoth Screen have announced that filming is now underway on th...
20/08/2026
New York August 19, 2026 Nielsen today shared a number of key enhancements t...
20/08/2026
New Gracenote Data Hub analysis finds sports program titles up 31.2% and individ...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
At IBC, Profuz Digital will showcase at stand 8.A88 the SubtitleNEXT platform delivering innovative AI transcription integrations and stunning new features boos...
20/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Transformation Church, one of the fastest-growing and most influential digital ministries in the United States, has d...
20/08/2026
QuickLink Showcases New 4K Capabilities Across StudioEdge and StudioCall at IBC ...
20/08/2026
The Boys Season Five Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton August 20, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist Siggy Ferstl uses Depth Map to bring a three ...
20/08/2026
Adobe Firefly expands its creative AI studio: generate music, speech, and sound ...
20/08/2026
Multiview available via SaaS for streaming platforms and operators through broadpeak.io, with live demonstrations at IBC2026
Broadpeak , a leader in streaming ...
20/08/2026
Techex, a leading provider of live broadcast infrastructure solutions, has appointed Stuart Almond as Chief Revenue Officer, further strengthening its executive...
20/08/2026
Avid today announced that MediaCity Studios has upgraded its production infrastructure with an enhanced end-to-end Avid production ecosystem, including the dep...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech
Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...
20/08/2026
Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club
Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...
20/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...
20/08/2026
Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026
Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R)
By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...
20/08/2026
How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays a student about to mix be...
20/08/2026
Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...
20/08/2026
Thursday 20 August 2026
Nina Sosanya, Rizzle Kicks, Roman Kemp and Paul Whiteho...
20/08/2026
Wuppertal August 20, 2026
Transformation Church Elevates Production Communicat...
20/08/2026
The music between the notes Coming together In the middle of 2026, as conversations around artificial intelligence continue to raise questions about how musi...