Ten GMWA Participants Receive Berklee Summer Program Scholarships

Boston, MA - Ten musicians from across the country attending this year’s Gospel Music Workshop of America Conference received extra blessings of full-tuition scholarships to Berklee College of Music summer programs. As part of a first-time ever partnership with GMWA, the world-renowned music college offered awards to selected performance workshop participants. GMWA faculty nominated outstanding musicians who were interviewed by a Berklee search committee for selection. The scholarships were awarded during the annual GMWA Convocation ceremony on Friday, August 17, as part of closing events for the conference at Walt Disney World in Kissimee, FL. Five of these recipients will attend the 2008 Five-Week Summer Performance Program and five will attend a special weekend gospel workshop at the colleges Boston campus next summer.

The collective amount of the scholarships awarded was $20,000. These 10 recipients were among approximately 100 musicians in GMWAs performance related courses eligible to compete for the opportunity to experience a slice of the premier contemporary music education offered on site at the Boston campus.

2007 Five Week Summer Performance Program Scholarship Recipients (Full-Tuition):

KAREN WESTBROOKS, Sacramento, CA, Piano
ANGELA FORD, Rockville, MD, Voice
RONALD BROWN, Matthews, NC, Total Percussion
ANTOINE DODSON, Hampton, VA , Voice
FIALISHIA OLOUGHLIN, Apopka, FL, Voice

Summer Gospel Workshop Scholarship Recipients (Full-Tuition):

KELVIN MANSON, Atlanta, GA, Voice
CHARLENE WINGATE, East Elmhurst, NY , Piano
TIFFANY ELLIS, Summerfield, FL, Organ
DERRICK NOLEN, Little Rock, AR, Tenor Sax
OLIVER JACKSON, Simi Valley, CA, Piano

Berklee College of Music, founded on the jazz and popular music rooted in the African cultural diaspora, is revolutionary in its pursuit to prepare students for careers in music through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over 60 years, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art in music and the music business. Our comprehensive curriculum is distinctly contemporary in its content and approach, and embraces the principal musical movements of our time. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today and tomorrow.