
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 ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...