NEW YORK (Berklee College PR) - An unprecedented line-up of superstars and rising talent from pop, jazz, and Latin music will gather to perform in honor of Berklee College of Music's 60 years of innovative music education. Subaru of New England presents the Berklee 60th Anniversary Concert at The Wang Theatre on Saturday, January 28, at 8:00 p.m. Tickets for the event range from $48.00 - $98.00 and are available by calling Telecharge at 800-447-7400, logging onto www.wangcenter.org, or visiting The Wang Theatre Box Office at 270 Tremont Street, Boston, Monday through Saturday between 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Wang Theatre is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets go on sale Thursday, Dec. 22, at 10:00 a.m.
Guest performers will include Berklee honorary doctorate recipients
Paul Simon and Herbie Hancock, and alumni Gary Burton and
Chiara Civello. Bill Cosby, also an honorary doctorate recipient, will host the evening. More performers will be announced soon.
Twelve-time Grammy-Award winner Phil Ramone, one of the most respected and prolific music producers in recording history, is producing Berklee's 60th Anniversary Concert. His album credits span five decades with such legends as Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney, and B.B. King, to name only a few. Ramone is also a Berklee College of
Music trustee.
All concert proceeds will benefit the Berklee Presidential Scholarship Fund, a grant established to bring the nation's best young musicians to study at Berklee for four years, with all college tuition, housing, and fees provided at no charge. While such awards are not unknown for student athletes in the U.S., this program is the first of its kind by a music college. Simon, Hancock, and Cosby are all donating their performances in exchange for the creation of Berklee Presidential Scholarships in their names.
Subaru of New England is the presenting sponsor for the 60th Anniversary Concert. Newbury Comics and
William J. Lynch and Associates are the co-lead sponsors, with Bain Capital as the supporting sponsor.
About the artists:
Paul Simon has established himself as one of the best and most popular singer/songwriters in the history of pop music. In a career that dates back to the 1950's, he has won 12 Grammy Awards for albums and songs with Art Garfunkel and as a solo artist. He received an honorary doctorate of music degree from Berklee in 1986.
Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music. His creative path has moved fluidly between almost every development in acoustic and electronic jazz and R&B, and he has attained a balance of commercial and artistic success marked by 10 Grammy Awards, among many other honors. Hancock accepted an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee in 1986.
Gary Burton is one of the greatest and most innovative jazz vibraphonists in the world with five Grammy Awards to date. His remarkable four-mallet technique can make him sound like two or three players at once. Burton is a Berklee alumnus and he received an honorary doctorate of music in 1989. After more than 30 years as an educator and administrator at Berklee, he retired in 2004, after spending his last years as the college's senior vice president.
Chiara Civello is Italian singer/songwriter who brings a variety of pop, jazz, cabaret, and Latin influences to her eclectic sound. Her current release, Last Quarter Moon (Verve Forecast), includes songs that compare to Sade, Basia, Norah Jones, Nellie McKay, and Rickie Lee Jones. The Berklee alumnus spent 2005 on tour in North
America and Europe.
Bill Cosby is an entertainer, educator and best-selling author who credits jazz music with influencing his free-flowing comedy performance style. He has toured as a singer and leader of his own jazz groups. When Berklee presented him with an honorary doctorate of music degree in 2004, Cosby brought with him a special surprise for the occasion: an original composition he called the "The Berklee Fight Song" that was performed by a faculty brass band and dedicated, by Cosby, to the college with no football team.
