Songs for Social Change Spring Showcase

Don't miss the Songwriting Department's annual Songs for Social Change Showcase—this year again in a virtual format. More than 130 submissions were received from Berklee student songwriters from across the school and around the world.The three award winners and other showcase songs receive more than $10,000in awards and honoraria from the Berklee S4SC Fund.

This year’s showcase will feature an intimate Zoom concert format, with performers interacting as participants to introduce their songs. The showcase will be streamed via Facebook Live.

Watch

Award Winners

First Place (awarded $1,500)

Martin Guas from La Plata, Argentina, performing "CREO"

Second Place (awarded $1,250)

Mel Fine from Sharon, Massachusetts, performing "In Between"

Third Place (awarded $1,000)

Aashna from Gupta Gurgaon, India, performing "Choke"

Finalists—Invited Showcase Songs

Each awarded a $500 performance honorarium; order of the performances to be determined

• Maha Alkurdi from Amman, Jordan, performing "For We Deserve Life" ("نستحق الحياة")
• Gabriella Atkinson from Strafford, Vermont, performing "The Flood"
• Marissa Carlin from Boston, Massachusetts, performing "My Body Isn't Yours" (Cowriter: Max Margolis)
• Sierra Cornell from Ann Arbor, Michigan, performing "From the Ashes"
• Mar Fayos from Barcelona, Spain, performing "¿Y tú, qué harás?"
• Abel Garcia from San Antonio, Texas, performing "MARTYR"
• Allegra Maizels from Toronto, Canada, performing "Give Love a Try"
• Camille McDermott from Washington, D.C., performing "Grey"
• Sofia Oviedo from Guanajuato, Mexico, performing "Yubarta"
• Forest Romm from Canton, Georgia, performing "Sheets"
• Zach Seals from Woodstock, Maryland, performing "I've Seen"

Finalists—Invited SoundCloud Playlist Songs

New: Awarded $150 playlist honorarium for each song included in S4SC-21 SoundCloud Playlist

• Hannibal Ahmed from New York, New York, featuring "Black Man in America"
• Noa Angell Boon from Singapore, featuring "Breakthrough"
• Claire Davis from Troy, Michigan, featuring "Something to Believe in" (Cowriters: Darby Sabin, Jensen Krall)
• Nicole Demers from Vancouver,Canada, featuring "Kindness Ain't Always Easy"
• Jiro Duenez from Mission Viejo, California, featuring "Better Now"
• Samuel Foster from Issaquah, Washington, featuring "Mental Masquerade"
• Samantha Hozven from Stony Brook, New York, featuring "Flying Cars"
• Nicholas Kitsopoulos from Madison, New Jersey, featuring "Time Runs Out"
• Emi McSwain from Bedford, Massachusetts, featuring "A Song for California"
• Angela Morano from Mendon, Massachusetts, featuring "The Game"
• Aitana Poey from Cuba, Guatemala, featuring "Qué fácil es" (Cowriter: Aurelio Adasme)
• Mason Turner from Langley, Washington featuring "Green Giants"
• Stella Webb from London, England, featuring "She Stands"
• Mallory Wynne from Blackwood, New Jersey, featuring "The Minority"

Judges' Shout-Outs

• From Rodney Alejandro, Songwriting Department: "How Can We Do This to Each Other?" by Matt Gershun from Boston, Massachusetts
• From Prince Charles Alexander, Music Production and Engineering (MP&E) Department: "Tomorrow" by Cameron Thistle from Haymarket, Vermont
• From Joe Bennett, Professional Music and Liberal Arts departments: "Closeted" by Maya Wagner from Hillsborough, New Jersey
• From Dan Cantor, Songwriting and MP&E departments: "Rainforest" by Parker Sundby from Rapid City, South Dakota
• From Erin Chase, Songwriting Department: "Brand New Age" by Aimee Lefkowitz from Seattle, Washington
• From Christiane Karam, Voice Department: "Deng" by Mahya Hamedi from Tehran, Iran
• From Rene Pfister, Voice Department and Artistic Director, Berklee Theater Arts Collaborative: "What Only the Fools Know" by Sophia Drozd from Fairfax, California
• From David Reiffel, Theater Division, Boston Conservatory at Berklee: "Anomaly" by Prithvi Prakash from Plano, Texas
• From Kevin Siegfried, Theater Division, Boston Conservatory at Berklee: "Prayer" by Georgis Lernis from Nicosia, Cyprus
• From Mark Simos, Songwriting Department: "La caja de la muerte" ("The Box of Death") by Mercedes Escobar from Guatemala City, Guatemala