'83 Alums Terri Lyne Carrington and Makoto Ozone Honored; October Gala to Feature Branford Marsalis '80

Toni Ballard

Recent articles (6 total)

Published: March 26, 2004

At this year's Gala, President Lee Eliot Berk and Mrs. Susan Berk will be honored for their work in creating and supporting Berklee City Music, a premier urban outreach and education program that has inspired hundreds of young musicians to attain a music education. Lee and Susan Berk founded the Berklee Gala in 1995 in honor of the college's 50th anniversary, and dedicated the funds to the City Music program. President Berk will be retiring after the 2004 Spring Commencement, completing 38 years of professional service at Berklee, including 25 years as president. His wife Susan has played an integral part in the advancement of the college for 28 of those years.

This past year, more than 50 Berklee City Music students received scholarships to attend Berklee’s five-week summer performance program, and many will continue throughout the year in the college preparatory mentoring and after-school components of the program. Every year as many as eight new City Music graduates are awarded full four-year tuition scholarships to attend Berklee College of Music. The Encore Gala is a critical funding source for the Berklee City Music Program. To date, Berklee’s Encore Gala has raised over $2,250,000 for Berklee City Music. Since 1992, City Music has enrolled over 750 students, and Berklee is poised to replicate the City Music program in other urban music centers.

View All 1 2