Celine Dion, Donald Harrison, the Neptunes, Chita Rivera, and Andr Watts to Receive Honorary Doctorates at 2021 Commencement

Celine Dion, Donald Harrison, the Neptunes, Chita Rivera, and Andr Watts to Receive Honorary Doctorates at 2021 Commencement Graduations for Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee will be held virtually on Saturday, May 8.

By

Tori Donahue

March 24, 2021

Celine Dion

Image by Alix Malka

Six of the most lauded and influential performing artists across the worlds of pop, hip-hop, jazz, musical theater, and classical music will receive honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee in virtual commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 8. Celine Dion, Donald Harrison, and Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes will receive honorary Doctor of Music degrees from the College, and Chita Rivera and Andr Watts will receive honorary Doctor of Arts degrees from the Conservatory.

This year's honorary doctorate recipients will be recognized for their various achievements in the arts as well as their enduring contributions to the cultural and artistic fabric of the world. Past recipients from the College include Duke Ellington (the first, in 1971), Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones '51, Wang Leehom '99, Juan Luis Guerra '82, Missy Elliott, Esperanza Spalding B.M. '05, Rita Moreno, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Sheila E., and A. R. Rahman. Past recipients from the Conservatory include Sutton Foster, Leontyne Price, Betty Buckley, Debbie Allen, Nicholas Paleologos, Barbara Cook, Billy Porter, Victoria Livengood (M.M. '85, voice), Mary Rogers, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Andr de Shields.

From the campus in Boston and various remote locations around the world, a group of student performers representing the class of 2021 will unite as a collaborative virtual ensemble to perform a multigenre tribute to the honorees from the College. The prerecorded tribute will air on Friday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. ET on Berklees YouTube channel.

Berklee College of Music's commencement ceremony will stream the following day, May 8, at 10:00 a.m. ET, on the school's social media channels. Boston Conservatory at Berklee's commencement ceremony will stream on the same date at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Celine Dion

Celine Dion

Image by Alix Malka

Vocal powerhouse Celine Dion is one of the most immediately recognized, widely respected, and successful performers in pop music history. She won numerous awards by the age of 18, dominated the pop charts in 1990s, and has sold almost 250 million albums during her over 35-year career. Dion has earned five Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, seven American Music Awards, 20 Juno Awards (Canada), and an astonishing 40 F lix Awards (Quebec). She remains one of the most sought-after recording artists, receiving the Diamond Award at the 2004 World Music Awards, recognizing her status as the best-selling female artist of all time. In 2016 the Billboard Music Awards presented Dion with the lifetime achievement Icon Award. She continued to break records with her Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, playing over 1,100 shows to more than 4.5 million fans. She also topped the Billboard U.S. dance club charts in July 2018 with the remix of her single Ashes from the Deadpool 2 movie soundtrack. On June 8, 2019, Dion's iconic 16-year Las Vegas residency came to an end. The much-anticipated Courage world tour kicked off three months later in her home province of Quebec. On November 15, 2019, Dion released her first English album in six years, Courage, an eclectic album representing her new artistic direction. The album includes the hits Imperfections, Lying Down, and Courage, all released on the same day that Dion launched her massive world tour.

Donald Harrison

Donald Harrison

Image by Kiel Scott

Donald Harrison Jr. '81 has built a whirlwind career as a saxophonist while establishing cultural and educational traditions in his native New Orleans, Louisiana. Known for creating nouveau swing, a jazz style that combines R&B, funk, hip-hop, and African dance, Harrison has toured all over the world, with many albums and honors to his name. He still finds time to be Big Chief of Congo Square Nation in New Orleans for Mardi Gras season, and also serves as artistic director of the Tipitinas Foundation Internship Program, where he helps New Orleans youth, especially the disadvantaged, realize their musical dreams. Born in 1960 to a musical New Orleans family, Harrison's father, Donald Sr., was a Big Chief, part of the African American tradition of participating in dancing, singing, and call-and-response in fanciful costumes during Mardi Gras. Harrison's career as a saxophonist has included working with top names in jazz and other genres, including Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Lena Horne, the Notorious B.I.G., and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Harrison's albums include Quantum Leap, which was called a breakthrough by critics for its joining of cutting-edge jazz with New Orleans funk. In 2015, he recorded his first classical composition, Congo Square Nation, with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. Harrisons honors include two French Grand Prix du Disques; accolades from American, Swiss, and Japanese publications; and numerous awards from his hometown of New Orleans.

The Neptunes Formed by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, the Neptunes imparted their singular spirit upon some of the most seminal albums and songs of this century, including hits by Snoop Dogg, Beyonc , Shakira, Madonna, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Gwen Stefani, in addition to soundtrack contributions for billion-dollar blockbuster franchises, such as Bad Boys, Fast & Furious, and Austin Powers, among others. The Grammy-winning collective has notched 24 top 10 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, received the number one spot on Billboard's Top Producers of the Decade list, a

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