Get James to Berklee College of Music!!

My name is James Loughran, I live in Bradford, England, and I have been awarded a full tuition scholarship of $50,000 a year for four years at Berklee College of Music, Boston, where I would major in jazz composition. Please help me bridge the gap by funding half of my living costs and follow my dream!

See more of me playing here--> https://www.instagram.com/jamesloughranmusicks/

I picked up the saxophone at 11, and started playing in more and more bands as I learned- this is still my favourite part about music, playing with others. During this lockdown I came across a video about a day in the life of the ‘best music school for jazz in the world’, which happened to be Berklee college of music. This was not just the first time I had heard of Berklee, but the first time I had the realisation that one could study jazz in higher education.

To flash forward during my arguably most formative years from year nine to now, I play a plethora of instruments- essentially all brass; all saxes, flute, and clarinets; enough double bass, drum and rhythm to get by; and basic keyboard, and of course live and breathe jazz, its improvisation and its pedagogy. I have a music taste ranging from Fitzgerald scats, to Brookmeyer arrangements, the cool sounds of post-bop Kenny Garrett sax, to the finest richest Ellington suites- and spotify playlists racing a maximum of 403 hours (that’s 5,277 songs I have a problem) I partake in many ensembles, the highlights being the Kirklees Youth Jazz Orchestra in which I played the trombone at the Royal Albert Hall; the Band of the Royal Yorkshire Regiment; and I have now developed my ear and ensemble level into a leading role, directing a Big Band of peers at school and having the role of Musical Director at Revolution Show Corps, overseeing marching members of brass, battery, and pit instruments as they compete internationally and throughout Europe. I also enjoy the theory and harmony side of my studies, being well read into voicing techniques and arranging and composing as much as possible in my spare time.

After being accepted into a few domestic undergraduate jazz courses, I was curious about the ultimate dream- purely as a hypothetical, aware of the impossible finance- and was scheduled for an audition and interview for Berklee down in Hackney, with the tutors flying in. It was quite intensive with skills assessed with transcription improvisation and chord identification to name a few, but it was also a pleasant and rewarding experience personally. A few months later on the 30th April when the acceptance letter came in I truly could not believe it. What I felt next as I looked on the financial page can not be described; I had been given a full tuition scholarship, totalling $50,000 a year. The statistics of the amount of these awarded compared to annual intake filled me with disbelief- it’s kind of nuts, which really makes me ambitious trying to raise the rest of the money, with me being in this rare lucky position already.

However, the massive cost of US higher education leaves an extra cost of $28,000 per annum to cover insurance, room and board, etc as covered here [https://www.berklee.edu/financial-aid/cost-attendance] Ultimately, the greatest possible figure my supportive parents would be able to stretch to in their NHS jobs is half of that- which leaves another $14000/ £11,250 a year to cover through crowdfunding or sourcing a donor.

Due to the student loan and grant systems not being available for an international student, or one in my area, there are no sources of funding available outside of crowdfunding and sponsor, and therefore I come to you with the massive requests of even the smallest fraction of this that you would be willing to contribute. As I have already mentioned, I was fully aware of the steep cost, yet with the rare full scholarship on the cards I knew that this had to be something to fight for.

In my crowdfunding efforts I understand what an ask this is to everyone, but any contribution would be amazing. This crowdfunding alongside my main effort of looking for more well off sponsors to contribute. Whilst I have offers to study Jazz in UK conservatoires, I certainly cannot overestimate the value of studying in America, where jazz was born, bred, and continues to be shared and evolved in every direction, which is why I am so eager for this- a chance to start in America and learn this great language carried from such an eclectic yet united America- from Joplin to Ellington, Gillespie to Parker, Monk to Brookmeyer, Jones to Spalding, Hancock, Aimée, Metheny, Botti, Cohen, and so many more contemporaries.

Along with contacting certain donors and companies, I really have the ambition to reach this target- and in the case I unfortunately can not, your generous donations would go towards my studies at a conservatoire here in the UK.

Thank you loads for reading, and if you're able to please donate :))