Berklee's Community and Government Relations Department will present the 2019 Legacy Award to Ysa e M. Barnwell, former member of the internationally renowned African American female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, at the Berklee Urban Service Awards (BUSA) on Saturday, April 20.
The ceremony will take place at 1:00 p.m. in the David Friend Recital Hall, located at 921 Boylston Street, Boston, and will include live performances, special guests, and an award and scholarship presentation. The event is free and open to the public.
The Berklee Urban Service Awards celebrate community members, partner organizations, politicians, artists, and Berklee affiliates who inspire social change in the Greater Boston area. The awards are based on the principle that institutions of higher education realize their greatest potential when they serve as fully committed members of the local community. The BUSAs have also recognized the lifetime achievement and humanitarianism of inspiring local and national artists, activists, and change-makers.
Over the past 10 years, recipients have been recognized for writing songs about the Boston Marathon tragedy, teaching music to underserved youth, producing workshops to expand music education access, and volunteering to perform at senior centers.
Barnwell will be among the more than 35 individuals honored with a Berklee Urban Service Award this year. The list of honorees also includes State Senator William N. Brownsberger; Nadine Martinez, director of visual and performing arts, West End House; Kristo Kondak i, cofounder and conductor, Eureka Ensemble; Shaumba-Yandje Dibinga, executive and artistic director, OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center; and the Wondertwins, Billy and Bobby McClain.
A joint award will also be bestowed upon Carole Charnow, president and CEO of Boston Childrens Museum, and Anita Walker, executive director of Mass Cultural Council, for enriching the community by providing access to the arts across the Commonwealth through the EBT Card to Culture program.
In addition to the BUSAs, Barnwell will be holding a residency the week of April 22 on Berklees campus, as well as celebrating the vocal community with the special event Community Sings: Singing in the African American Tradition on Thursday, April 25. Presented and sponsored by the Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the event will take place at Mary Horton Hall, located at 645 Boylston Street, Boston. The concert begins at 6:00 p.m., and will be followed by a Q&A at 7:15 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The goal of Community Sings is to bring people of all ages and skill levels together to create beautiful and empowering music. Led by Barnwell, singers and nonsingers alike will share the common experience of learning in the oral tradition, as well as singing rhythms, chants, and traditional songs from Africa and the diaspora. A variety of songs from African American culture, including spirituals, ring shouts, hymns, gospels, and songs from the civil rights movement will be part of the repertoire.
Related categories:
News
Related Reading
Berklee's Signature Series Returns February 21 Grammy Award-winning producer, songwriter, and musician Larry Klein kicks off the celebrated series with Grammy-winning Brazilian jazz vocalist Luciana Souza.
Kim Perlak Named Chair of Berklee's Guitar Department Perlak, who served as assistant chair of guitar for five years, becomes the first woman to chair the department.
Berklees Great American Songbook Pays Tribute to Dolly Parton The concert will span Parton's six-decade career with songs such as Jolene, Joshua, 9 to 5, and more.
More from Berklee Now
Most Popular
How Will Cady Used Modal Interchange to Get Ahead in Business The head of brand strategy at Reddit talks about how music gave him a competitive edge far beyond the stage.
Latest
Berklee India Exchange Community Reacts to Gully Boy Members of the Berklee India Exchange community share thoughts on the Hindi-language blockbuster and Berklee's shout-out in the film.
Ysa e M. Barnwell to Be Honored at Berklee's Urban Service Awards The composer and bass vocalist will receive the 2019 Legacy Award.
Berklees Singers Showcase Celebrates the Music of Aretha Franklin Franklin's longtime bass player, Chuck Rainey, will join students on stage.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Berklee Blogs
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
Snapchat
Soundcloud
Spotify
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
Berklee's Community and Government Relations Department will present the 2019 Legacy Award to Ysa e M. Barnwell, former member of the internationally renowned African American female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, at the Berklee Urban Service Awards (BUSA) on Saturday, April 20.
