New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Berklee College of Music) Berklee College of
Music and Lollapalooza announced the founding of the Berklee Lollapalooza Endowed Scholarship at the 20th Anniversary of Lollapalooza in Chicago. The four-year, full tuition scholarship will be awarded annually to a talented musician in financial need and is being endowed by Goldman Sachs Gives, a donor-advised fund.
This exciting partnership is the first educational initiative of its kind for Lollapalooza. "The essence of Lollapalooza is about artist discovery and providing opportunity for emerging bands to reach new audiences," said Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell. "This partnership provides young musicians with a chance to polish their skills on their way to performing on the main stage."
The first recipient will be named at Lollapalooza 2012. Recipients will be chosen through the college's auditions and interviews conducted during the Berklee World Tour. The schedule includes auditions in Lollapalooza's North American home in Chicago February 14-16, and the just-announced Brazil host city of Sao Paolo, November 10-11, 2011. Lollapalooza Brazil happens April 7-8, 2012. For a full audition schedule, please visit Berklee.edu/bwt. To apply, please visit Berklee.edu/admissions.
The Berklee Lollapalooza Endowed Scholarship was established at the recommendation of Fran Bermanzohn, a Berklee Trustee. Bermanzohn is Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Goldman Sachs. The scholarship also aims to bring more outstanding rock musicians to Berklee to join alumni that include members of established and up-and-coming acts like The Cars, My Morning Jacket, Fences, Foster the People, and Wye Oak, who are performing at this year's Lollapalooza.
"Music plays an important role in defining our society, making the education of the next generation of musicians remarkably important," Bermanzohn said. "I'm especially pleased to support music education and Berklee's work with this endowment and think it is especially fitting to announce it at this milestone in Lollapalooza's history."
The full tuition scholarship is the cornerstone of a new multi-faceted partnership between Lollapalooza and Berklee developed by Berklee Music/Business Management Professor Jeff Dorenfeld and festival producer C3 Presents. The collaboration has also resulted in a performance slot at this year's festival for Berklee alumna singer-songwriter Julia Easterlin, an internship at Kidzapalooza for six Berklee students and the Berklee Lollapalooza Five-Week Scholarship, awarded to a Chicago teen attending the college's summer performance program.
"I am thrilled to have the college associated with a festival that has been instrumental in so many musicians' careers, and to use the Lollapalooza Scholarship as a platform to reach out to talented young musicians who might not find us otherwise," said Dorenfeld. "We are also excited to showcase a Berklee artist at such an influential and prominent festival."
Citizens and residents of the U.S. are eligible to be considered for the Berklee Lollapalooza Endowed Scholarship. Applicants who audition for the scholarship will be considered for a host of other scholarships that Berklee awards annually as part of the Berklee World Tour. Berklee's unique audition and interview process is designed to uncover the applicant's musical strengths and academic goals while helping assess their aptitude and ability to succeed in the college's dynamic environment. Each year, Berklee visits more than 40 cities around the world in search of talented instrumentalists and vocalists-an effort that is supported with $25 million in scholarship funds.
Lollapalooza celebrated its 20th anniversary this year with a lineup that included Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5, A Perfect Circle, Cee Lo Green, Damian "Jr. Gong," Marley & Nas, the Cars, Ween, and many more, at Grant Park in Chicago.
Berklee College of Music, for over 65 years, has evolved to support its belief that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through contemporary music education. The college was the first in the U.S. to teach jazz, the popular music of the time. It incorporated rock n' roll in the 1960s, created the world's first degree programs in film scoring, music synthesis, and songwriting, and, in recent years, added world music, hip-hop, electronica, and video game music to its curriculum. With a diverse student body representing over 80 countries, a music industry "who's who" of alumni that have received 200 Grammy Awards, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today - and tomorrow.
Goldman Sachs Gives is a donor-advised fund-a public charity that maintains individual accounts for donors who recommend grants to qualified non-profit organizations from their accounts. Established in 2007, Goldman Sachs Gives enables Goldman Sachs and its people to leverage their donations to charities in the communities where they live and work, or elsewhere around the globe. The focus of this organization is on those areas that have been proven to be fundamental to creating jobs and economic growth, building and stabilizing communities, honoring service and veterans and increasing educational opportunities.
