Spotlight On Success - December
ArtsEdge Berkleemusic
2008 Scholarships
Continuing its mission to forge new and exciting arts in education partnerships and support the development of new learning opportunities for Western Australian school students, ArtsEdge fostered a relationship in 2008 with berkleemusic.com, the online education division of the Berklee College of Music, USA.
"Our mission has always been to expand music education opportunities to musicians around the world and so we were thrilled to form this scholarship program with the Western Australian Government," said Ms Debbie Cavalier, Dean of Continuing Education, Berklee College of Music.
In June 2008, ArtsEdge put the call out to all secondary students across the State, asking them to submit applications for the ArtsEdge Berkleemusic 2008 Scholarships.
Five Berkleemusic.com scholarships were awarded - each to the value of US$1,100 and offering recipients access to the largest online music school in the world and their choice of more than 75 courses in guitar, bass, song writing, theory, music business and production.
In July, as part of the program for the ArtsEdge 10th Anniversary Conference held at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Mr Barry Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer for Berkleemusic presented certificates and scholarship prizes to those recipients who could attend.
The ArtsEdge Berkleemusic 2008 Scholarships were awarded to:
Scott Collinson - Churchlands Senior High School
Laura Mansfield - Churchlands Senior High School
Eliza Bourgault de Courdray - Churchlands Senior High School
Anna Kinney - Churchlands Senior High School
Kai Lim - Leeming Senior High School
LtoR: Scott Collinson, Barry Kelly, Anna Kinney at the ArtsEdge 10th Anniversary Conference, July 2008
ArtsEdge contacted Mr Kelly at the conclusion of the 2008 scholarship partnership (in December) to get his thoughts on the program.
"The scholarship program with ArtsEdge, in this its first year, has been a tremendous success," he said.
"The scholarship winners were incredibly talented students and we hope that we can continue to grow this very strong connection with music education in Western Australia."
Scholarship recipient Eliza Bourgault de Courdray also provided ArtsEdge with positive feedback.
"The course I chose was basic improvisation over blues chords," said Ms Bourgault de Courdray. "The course was well organised and explained; it had a video so we could play along with the 'teacher' and I had assignments to complete. I have enjoyed the experience and I am happy to have chosen this course as I know it will help me to get better at blues music."
ArtsEdge will continue developing new arts in education partnerships in the future including this program with Berkleemusic.com
In commenting on the continuation of the ArtsEdge program in the future, Ms Cavalier stated, "We are extremely proud of our ArtsEdge scholarship students and [we] look forward to welcoming many more into the program in the years to come."
About Berkleemusic
Berkleemusic.com's award-winning online courses and certificate programs provide lifelong learning opportunities to people interested in music and working in the music industry. Students come from more than 80 countries around the world and include Grammy award winners, managers, artists, publishers, music business entrepreneurs and major international touring acts.
For more information on Berkleemusic online and Berklee College of Music, visit www.berkleemusic.com
