$1.75 Million Raised at Berklee Encore Gala
Berklee City Music graduate/current Saturday Night Live Band keyboardist Tuffus Zimbabwe; Berklee City Music dean Krystal Banfield; Berklee City Music executive director J. Curtis Warner; Berklee president Roger H. Brown; Bright Horizons chair/cofounder Linda Mason; songwriter, producer, music executive, and former Berklee professor Kara DioGuardi.
Phil Farnsworth
Kool & the Gang performed for crowd of more than 800.
Phil Farnsworth
John Connaughton of Bain Capital, Joanne Whitaker, Bill Kaiser, and Dean Goodermote.
Phil Farnsworth
Berklee president Roger H. Brown, Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary, and David Patrick.
Phil Farnsworth
More than 800 guests joined for a musical celebration at the Westin Copley Place on Saturday, October 19 for Berklee College of Music’s 19th annual Encore Gala to benefit the Berklee City Music Program. The event raised more than $1.75 million. Berklee City Music brings year-round music education and individualized mentoring to underserved 4th through 12th graders. In Boston and 43 sites across the country, Berklee City Music grants young people scholarships for summer and full-time study at Berklee’s Boston campus.
Songwriter, producer, and former American Idol judge and Berklee songwriting professor Kara DioGuardi served as the master of ceremonies while R&B legends Kool & the Gang performed hits like "Celebration" and "Get Down On It." Partygoers dined and danced to the sounds of more than 150 faculty, alumni, and student musicians performing salsa, Latin, a cappella, big band, pop, jazz, and blues.
The live and silent auction featured exotic getaways; a VIP Eagles concert tour package; a trip to Los Angeles to observe alumnus Alf Clausen ’66 H ’96 compose the musical score for the hit FOX show, The Simpsons; dinner with Gloria and Emilio Estefan in Boston, a VIP getaway to the Puerto Rico Jazz Festival, and the chance to join Berklee’s president Roger H. Brown at the Grammy Awards and the MusiCares Person of the Year Gala in Los Angeles.
Bain Capital Children’s Charity served as the presenting sponsor of the event. The lead sponsor was Abrams Capital, and the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation and Berklee trustee and Berklee Valencia advisory board chair Ann Kreis were co-lead sponsors. Kristine M. Higgins, David Patrick, and Paul Ciriello served as event co-chairs. For more information on donating to Berklee City Music, visit Berklee.edu/giving.
Allen Bush is the Director of Media Relations. Liz Lupton is a publicist in the Office of Media Relations. Media inquiries: abush@berklee.edu, llupton@berklee.edu.