Berklee College program gives Boston Schools students musical push

(Berklee College photo/Kelly Davidson)

Students perform at the 2010 Berklee City Outreach Concert at the Berklee Performance Center.

By Johanna Kaiser, Town Correspondent

Boston Public School students from across the city are preparing to show off the musical skills they learned and cultivated with the help of Berklee College of Music.

Almost 900 students from 12 of the city’s elementary, middle and high schools honed their instrumental and vocal skills over the past year with the help of 22 teachers from the Berklee City Music Faculty Outreach Program.

Now, those students are set to perform a variety of jazz, blues, rock, and pop songs at the free Berklee City Music Faculty Outreach scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center.

The outreach program, which offers master classes, workshops for teachers, private lessons, directed ensembles, and performance opportunities is designed to help students explore their musical side while encouraging those already interested in pursuing music to stay in school and consider college.

This year, the students from a wide array of schools are set to perform at the concert. The schools are: Blackstone, Mattahunt, William H. Ohrenberger, and Sumner elementary schools; Timilty, McCormack, and Young Achievers middle schools; Murphy and Orchard Gardens K – 8; English High School, Boston Arts Academy, and Roland Hayes School of Music.
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