Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Berklee Legacy Awards Honor Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Joseph Douglass, and Carmen de Lavallade

01/05/2021

Berklee Legacy Awards Honor Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Joseph Douglass, and Carmen de Lavallade Berklee recognized four legendary artists with named spaces on its Boston campus.

By

Eugene Ahn

April 30, 2021

Duke Ellington, Berklees first honorary doctorate recipient, performs for guests at the colleges 1971 commencement ceremony.

Berklee presented the inaugural Berklee Legacy Awards, established to recognize extraordinary Black performing artists throughout history, to jazz icons Duke Ellington and Sarah Vaughan; Joseph Douglass, groundbreaking concert violinist and grandson of Frederick Douglass; and legendary dancer, choreographer, and actress Carmen de Lavallade. The Legacy Awards honor outstanding figures who have received an honorary doctorate from Berklee and/or devoted time, wisdom, and mentorship to members of the Berklee community.

Carmen de Lavallade 94H

Berklee dedicated four spaces on its Boston campus to the honorees at a virtual ceremony held on Friday, April 30. The dining hall at 160 Massachusetts Avenue was named the Duke Ellington Caf, memorializing Ellingtons legacy at the campus's central gathering place for students and faculty. Classroom 114 at 150 Massachusetts Avenue was named the Sarah Vaughan Classroom, dedicated to learning and practice sessions, with a street-level view for all members of the community to enjoy special performances. The 8 Fenway entryway was named the Joseph Douglass Lobby to inspire students as they enter the Conservatory. And room 316 at 132 Ipswich Street was named the Carmen de Lavallade Dance Studio, as the central place for dancers to rehearse and perfect their art.

The Berklee Legacy Awards honor important Black artists in history who paved the way for so many others, said Berklee President Roger H. Brown. We are honored to dedicate these spaces in their names, celebrating their artistic legacies and significant impact on the Berklee community, the performing arts, and the world. The enthusiasm from the families of these iconic artists has been enormously gratifying and we so appreciate their support.

Sarah Vaughan 78H

Sean Skeete, chair of the Ensemble Department and Berklee Legacy Award committee, said, The naming of spaces, representing the life and work of legendary Black artists, will have a resounding impact on the lives of our students.

Hosted by Brown and Cathy Young, executive director for Boston Conservatory at Berklee, the ceremony was attended by family members of the honorees. My family and I are extremely appreciative, said Nettie Washington Douglass, granddaughter of Douglass. We are excited to know that more people will have the opportunity to learn of his extraordinary accomplishments. I know his grandfather, Frederick Douglass, who gave him his first violin lesson and whose favorite pastime was listening to him play...is smiling.

Paris Vaughan Courtnall, daughter of Vaughan, said, This award is such an honor! I can see the smile on [my mother's] face knowing that her music is not only being listened to but studied by students of music.

Joseph Douglass

Our family is so honored to be included in these Legacy Awards, and it means so much to both my mother and me that students will think of her when pursuing their dreams, said Leo Holder, son of de Lavallade. Paul Ellington, grandson of Ellington, stated, What a tribute to have Berklee recognize my grandfather, Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington, with their inaugural Legacy Award in one of his most favorite cities, Boston, and places, Berklee.

Moving forward, the Berklee Legacy Awards will continue to honor Black artists who make a difference through their artistic achievements and the contributions of their time and talent to the Berklee community. The Legacy Awards honor artists who share the fundamental values of Berklee, as well as a commitment to social justice and positive community change. All nominations will be reviewed by the Berklee Legacy Award committee, which includes Berklee faculty and students. For more information on the awards, as well as how to submit candidates, please visit the Berklee Legacy Awards webpage.

Related Categories

News
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/berklee-legacy-awards-honor-d...
See more stories from berklee

Europe Stories

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

02/07/2025

NAB 2025: Calrec expands ecosystem providing ultimate flexibility

Calrec expands ecosystem at NAB 2025 giving broadcasters access to dynamic workflows and ultimate flexibility Helping broadcasters meet the shifting needs of me...

02/07/2025

VEON Raises USD 200 Million in Private Bond Placement

02 Jul 2025 VEON Raises USD 200 Million in Private Bond Placement Dubai, July 1, 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON ), announces ...

02/07/2025

Dom Chinea opens his Cornish Workshop for new series on U&YESTERDAY and U

Brand new factual series follows mechanic and self-taught engineer Dom Chinea as he makes the move of his life to the far west of Cornwall UKTV today announces...

02/07/2025

Rohde & Schwarz acquires ZES ZIMMER Electronic Systems GmbH and expands its T&M portfolio for power electronics

Rohde & Schwarz acquires ZES ZIMMER Electronic Systems GmbH and expands its T&M ...

02/07/2025

Riedel Communications Launches RefSuite Ecosystem for Sports Officiating, Coaching, and Production

Wuppertal July 2, 2025 Riedel Communications Launches RefSuite Ecosystem for S...

02/07/2025

ABC Appoints New Chair

Andrew will serve as Chair of ABC alongside his role at NED, APL Media, where he supports the executive team with strategic insight and global expansion plans. ...

01/07/2025

ITV Celebrates Best Sunday of 2025 with Code of Silence

The launch of Code of Silence, coupled with the Britains Got Talent semi final, gave ITV its best Sunday night of 2025. The first episode of the new crime dr...

01/07/2025

Romola Garai joins Shaun Evans in ITV thriller BETRAYAL, as filming begins in the North West

ITV and Mammoth Screen have announced the start of filming for Betrayal, a gripp...

01/07/2025

Movicom Selects Clear-Com to Power Communications for Global Live Events

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......

01/07/2025

KIT Plugins release NOIZ One Vox

Vocal-processing plug-in joins NOIZ Hub series Launched in 2024, KIT Plugins' NOIZ Hub series was created with the aim of providing a range of professio...

01/07/2025

7 Day Mastering: New course from Mastering.com

New self-paced learning programme announced Mastering.com have announced the availability of a new online course designed to cover the fundamentals of maste...

01/07/2025

cetecom advanced certifies Rohde & Schwarz test solution for the verification of Next Generation eCall functionality

cetecom advanced certifies Rohde & Schwarz test solution for the verification of...

01/07/2025

Teresa Smith Announced as Commissioning Editor for Factual Entertainment

RT has announced that Teresa Smith has been appointed Commissioning Editor with responsibility for Factual Entertainment following a public competition. This s...

01/07/2025

RT is Supporting 26 Arts and Cultural Events across Ireland this July

This July, RT is delighted to support Galway International Arts Festival, Earagail Arts Festival in Donegal, Belfast TradFest and 23 other arts and cultural ev...

30/06/2025

Discover Weekly Turns 10: Celebrating 100 Billion+ Tracks Streamed and a Decade of Personalized Discovery

There's nothing quite like the magic of finding music that feels made just f...

30/06/2025

Spotify's Editors Pick Their Best Songs of the Year (So Far)

When it comes to new music, Spotify's team of editors across North America is always on the hunt for songs that make them feel, think, and move. They're...

30/06/2025

The Forsytes Season 2 Commissioned by MASTERPIECE on PBS

Star Studded Ensemble Cast Are Joined by Richard Rankin as Filming Begins on the Second Season [June 12, 2025 - Boston, MA]: The Forsytes, Debbie Horsfield...

30/06/2025

Qu-Bit announce the Bloom v2

Eurorack sequencer module reimagined California-based modular synth innovators Qu-Bit have announced the launch of a new module that offers a fresh new take...

30/06/2025

Techivation launch T-De-Esser Pro Mk2

Improved dynamic behaviour, improved audio quality & more Techivation have announced the release of an upgraded edition of their very first premium plug-in,...

30/06/2025

German premiere with live flight demonstration: German industry team showcases electromagnetic combat from the air

German premiere with live flight demonstration: German industry team showcases e...

30/06/2025

The Focusrite Summer Sale is now on

The Focusrite Summer Sale is now on Don't miss unbeatable deals on Scarlett, Vocaster, and more. Whether you're an artist, a producer, or a podcaste...

30/06/2025

Yellowstone origin story 1923 starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren comes to RT One and RT Player

All 8 episodes of Season 1 of 1923 will be available on RT Player from Tuesday ...

30/06/2025

Thales 2025 Global Cloud Security Study Reveals Organizations Struggle to Secure Expanding, AI-Driven Cloud Environments

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn 52% report AI security spending is displacing tr...

30/06/2025

Thales Alenia Space to develop SOLiS very-high-throughput laser communications demonstrator

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Cannes, June 30th, 2025 - Thales Alenia Space, t...

29/06/2025

Roland introduce the Mood Pan

Handpan-inspired instrument announced Roland have announced the launch of the Mood Pan, a unique electronic hand percussion instrument that has been designe...

28/06/2025

Scaler 3.1 update from Scaler Music

Music theory plug-in updated Three months on from the release of the latest version of their renowned music theory plug in, Scaler Music have launched an up...

27/06/2025

Spotify Launches K-Pop Performance Video Series . . . Next Up, TWS

K-Pop remains one of the biggest genres globally, and many fans just can't get enough of it. That's why Spotify has launched a new series of K-Pop perf...

27/06/2025

Family Cybersecurity CEO: Protecting Kids, Parents, and My Sanity From Scams

In our latest blog post, Rafael Rivera highlights the rising threat of online scams, and the important role cybersecurity plays in protecting families across ge...

27/06/2025

Klevgrand introduce Walls reverb plug-in

From grounded realism to bending, impossible geometries Klevgrand have announced the release of a new algorithmic reverb plug-in which they say deconstruct...

27/06/2025

GIK Acoustics: Room EQ Wizard Tutorial

Learn to use REW for room analysis Acoustic treatment is one of the most important factors in any studio, and with the extensive range of products available...

27/06/2025

Soundtheory release Kraftur Focus

Second edition of parallel clipper plug-in announced Soundtheory have announced the launch of Kraftur Focus, a new edition of their parallel clipper plug-in...

27/06/2025

Thales and KONGSBERG to establish new major Defence communications joint venture in Norway

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales, a global high-tech leader, and Kongsberg...

27/06/2025

RTL Group to acquire Sky Deutschland

Friday 27 June 2025 Combination of RTL Deutschland and Sky Deutschland (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) to create a unique proposition in entertainment, sports ...

26/06/2025

AgileTV will develop the TV service for LIWEST in Austria

Bilbao Linz, June 26th 2025 - AgileTV, a European leader in TV and video technology solutions, has signed an agreement this week with the Austrian telco LIWES...

26/06/2025

Ad-hoc News: aconnic AG places capital increase and postpones publication of annual report until completion of the transaction

aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has resolved, based on the decisions ma...

26/06/2025

KRK launch Kreate Series monitors

Three new entry-level models introduced Catering to everything from casual listening to professional content creation, KRK's new Kreate Series monitors ...

26/06/2025

MIDI Innovation Awards: Deadline approaching

Registration closes on 8 July 2025 The deadline for entires into the fifth annual MIDI Innovation Awards is now just two weeks away. Product submissions are...

26/06/2025

Waves V16 now available

Entire plug-in range updated Waves have announced the launch of Waves V16, the latest version of their extensive plug-ins collection. Along with compatibili...

26/06/2025

The European Space Agency awards Thales Alenia Space the study of the SIRIUS mission to monitor Urban Heat Islands from space

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Madrid, June 26, 2025 - The European Space Agenc...

26/06/2025

UKTV and Talented People renew partnership for a third year and expand into recruitment for scripted roles

UKTV and Talented People are delighted to announce the renewal of their successf...

26/06/2025

THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF MAGYAR TELEKOM DECIDES ON THE SEPARATION OF THE COMPANY'S PASSIVE MOBILE INFRASTRUCTURE

THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF MAGYAR TELEKOM DECIDES ON THE SEPARATION OF...

26/06/2025

RT'S FINDING SAMANTHA TRUE-CRIME PODCAST SERIES OPTIONED AS A TV EXCLUSIVE

Keeper Pictures, the Dublin-based scripted production company whose credits include The Gone and Striking Out, has optioned the exclusive TV adaptation rights t...

26/06/2025

RT presents new documentary on the origin stories of three abandoned babies in 1960s Ireland

This July, RT presents The Phone Box Babies, a documentary revealing new insigh...

25/06/2025

VidCon 2025: Top Creators Join Spotify to Discuss the Impact of Video Podcasts

Last week, content creators from all over the world flocked to Anaheim for VidCon 2025, one of the largest creator conferences in the U.S. As an official sponso...

25/06/2025

Clear-Com Supports Fourth Annual Rise Academy Summer School

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......

25/06/2025

Soundtoys announce Pride Month campaign

Sales proceeds from 25 - 26 June 2025 donated to Lambda Legal Soundtoys have announced that 100% of all sales made on 25 and 26 June 2025 will be donated to...

25/06/2025

Universal Audio A-Type plug-in goes native

No Apollo or UAD hardware required Universal Audio have announced that their software recreation of Dolby's renowned multiband enhancer - which was laun...