My Road To Berklee College of Music
Donation protected
Hi! I am an eighteen year-old drummer from Toronto, Canada and have played since I was four years old. While I have been fortunate enough to study under and play with many accomplished musicians, the biggest and most life changing surprise of my life happened on July 9, 2015.
(Ever see the Tom Hanks movie, "That Thing You Do "? I did at this age -- a thousand times)
Earlier this year I auditioned for both Canada's leading contemporary music college, Humber College, and the world renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. I have dreamed of going to Berklee since I was eight years old and was fortunate enough to attend their Five-Week Summer Performance Program for high schoolers in 2013 on both a tuition scholarship and a generous and supportive private donor. The following video is of me playing in the Jazz All-Stars ensemble when there.
After auditioning this spring for Humber and Berklee they both offered partial scholarships, however, the remaining expenses to attend Berklee were too high for my family and I to cover. While I was a finalist for another full tuition and residency scholarship that sends ONE Canadian to Berklee, an incredible musician -- and good friend of mine -- was chosen.
So, Berklee was out of the question -- but I still looked forward to learning from the outstanding Faculty at Humber College.
But there we were on July 9th, going about the many preparations leading up to Humber when from out of nowhere...BERKLEE CALLED. They worked things out and offered me a FULL tuition and residency scholarship! This was INSANE! And immediately our financial needs and cashflow had to switch.
My family has gone through some pretty challenging financial times over the past few years. Our difficulty at this moment is that there's not a lot of time and cashflow between now and when I start Berklee -- and there are practical expenses that must be covered ASAP, such as:
> health insurance
> a per-semester comprehensive fee
> my passport renewal
> student visa
> insuarance for my drums
> a drum locker rental at Berklee
> U-Haul trailer rental for the trip down
> travel expenses (gas, food, motel) round-trip, for my parents to take me down
> some repairs to our car before the trip (it's quite old and a breakdown would be terrible)
> and maybe one trip home to visit with my family
And this all has to happen LIKE NOW :-O
(So little time! This is a photo taken by a schoolmate for photography class last January)
This literally is not an ongoing need. This is a surprise fork in my life that has thrown our previous plans to the side and where I need just this little bit of help to get me to this life changing opportunity. We'll be fine from there on.
(my first original big band composition)
If you're able to donate whatever you can, even $5, it would be of great help. If that isn't possible, I want you to know that the kindness and support I've received over the years means more to me than anything. I'm forever grateful for it. Thank you!
Daniel
(Ever see the Tom Hanks movie, "That Thing You Do "? I did at this age -- a thousand times)Earlier this year I auditioned for both Canada's leading contemporary music college, Humber College, and the world renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. I have dreamed of going to Berklee since I was eight years old and was fortunate enough to attend their Five-Week Summer Performance Program for high schoolers in 2013 on both a tuition scholarship and a generous and supportive private donor. The following video is of me playing in the Jazz All-Stars ensemble when there.
After auditioning this spring for Humber and Berklee they both offered partial scholarships, however, the remaining expenses to attend Berklee were too high for my family and I to cover. While I was a finalist for another full tuition and residency scholarship that sends ONE Canadian to Berklee, an incredible musician -- and good friend of mine -- was chosen.
So, Berklee was out of the question -- but I still looked forward to learning from the outstanding Faculty at Humber College.
But there we were on July 9th, going about the many preparations leading up to Humber when from out of nowhere...BERKLEE CALLED. They worked things out and offered me a FULL tuition and residency scholarship! This was INSANE! And immediately our financial needs and cashflow had to switch.
My family has gone through some pretty challenging financial times over the past few years. Our difficulty at this moment is that there's not a lot of time and cashflow between now and when I start Berklee -- and there are practical expenses that must be covered ASAP, such as:
> health insurance
> a per-semester comprehensive fee
> my passport renewal
> student visa
> insuarance for my drums
> a drum locker rental at Berklee
> U-Haul trailer rental for the trip down
> travel expenses (gas, food, motel) round-trip, for my parents to take me down
> some repairs to our car before the trip (it's quite old and a breakdown would be terrible)
> and maybe one trip home to visit with my family
And this all has to happen LIKE NOW :-O
(So little time! This is a photo taken by a schoolmate for photography class last January)This literally is not an ongoing need. This is a surprise fork in my life that has thrown our previous plans to the side and where I need just this little bit of help to get me to this life changing opportunity. We'll be fine from there on.
(my first original big band composition)
If you're able to donate whatever you can, even $5, it would be of great help. If that isn't possible, I want you to know that the kindness and support I've received over the years means more to me than anything. I'm forever grateful for it. Thank you!
Daniel
Organizer
George Guerrette
Organizer
Etobicoke, ON