The Berklee-Spelman Exchange Program Enters Year Three

The Berklee-Spelman Exchange Program Enters Year Three The initiative celebrates the contributions of African American women to jazz and contemporary music.

By

Colette Greenstein

August 28, 2025

Berklee student and trombonist ChaYa Grant will be entering her junior year this fall at Spelman.

Image courtesy of the artist

Berklee and Spelman College, a global leader in the education of women of African descent, will offer students Cha'Ya Grant and Alana Smith the opportunity to participate in the colleges exchange program this fall.

The mission of the Berklee-Spelman Exchange Program (BSEP) is to promote educational opportunities in music and liberal arts to female-identifying students of African descent; to facilitate cultural and social integration through the study of music performance, theory, and history, with a specific focus on jazz and contemporary music; and to increase the retention of African American women in jazz while expanding the jazz canon.

As we enter the third year of the Berklee-Spelman Exchange Program, we're proud to welcome Cha'Ya and Alana-two extraordinary musicians and scholars, said Tia Fuller, founder, Berklee-Spelman Exchange Program, and a professor in the Ensemble Department. This program continues to build a powerful bridge between cultural heritage and musical excellence, while uplifting the essential contributions of African American women to jazz and contemporary music.

Tia Fuller

Image courtesy of the artist.

Fuller, a magna cum laude graduate with a bachelor's degree in music from Spelman College, collaborated with Paula Grissom-Broughton, PhD, an assistant professor at Spelman, to develop the program. BSEP aims to provide Berklee students with a strong foundation in Black culture and its influence, the invaluable bond of sisterhood, and the empowerment of self. The program also offers Spelman students access to Berklees abundance of resources, ensembles, and world-class education in contemporary music and performing arts.

Grant, a Boston native, will be entering her junior year at Spelman, as a professional music major with a concentration in music performance and production. A passionate trombonist who fell in love with the sound of the instrument early on, she began playing in sixth grade at Conservatory Lab Charter School and later attended Boston Arts Academy. Grant also received classical training at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. As part of her musical education, Grant has participated in several prestigious programs, including the Fortissima program at the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles and the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA). She has also performed at renowned venues, such as The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and Symphony Hall in Boston.

I feel like I wouldn't find this opportunity anywhere else, Grant said about the exchange program, an experience she felt she could not pass up. I've been in Boston my whole life and just wanted to start anew. I also feel like I will grow spiritually, mentally, and physically while studying at Spelman for the fall.

Spelman student Alana Smith

will spend her junior year at

Berklee this fall.

For her junior year, Smith will attend Berklee this fall as a double major in computer science and music with a focus in vocal performance. Similar to Grant, participating in the exchange program was an easy decision for the Newark, New Jersey, native, because she felt it would be a great opportunity to gain more experience as a performer and more confidence when performing, as well as meet more musicians.

Grant added, I hope throughout this experience I get to learn more about the community and why it is so important to stick together as Black women in whatever field we are going into.

Learn more about the Berklee-Spelman exchange program.

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