Just a few weeks since winning the 2015 Arizona Governor¹s Arts Award for Arts Education, Phoenix Conservatory of Music (PCM) announced today that four of its students have been awarded scholarships to Boston¹s Berklee College of Music. The scholarships, collectively valued at more than $300,000, will allow these students to pursue their dreams of a college education and a career in music.
PCM seniors Keirnan Johnson and Michael Gloria each received the prestigious Berklee City Music College Scholarship, a four-year, full-tuition award. Both will begin undergraduate study at the college this fall, and will attend the Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance Program from July 11 to August 14. Johnson, a pianist from Peoria, is planning to study film scoring and composition at Berklee. Gloria is a pianist and singer-songwriter from the North Phoenix area who has been with PCM since 2010.
Senior Kyler Van Horn and junior Paulina Villalon received full-tuition Berklee City Music Summer Scholarships to attend the Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance Program. Van Horn, who was also accepted into Berklee¹s four-year program, is from Peoria and graduated from Arizona School for the Arts. Villalon is from North Phoenix and attended Veritas Preparatory Academy.
The PCM students were all participants in Berklee City Music, a program that delivers high-quality contemporary music education instruction to youth from underserved communities at no or low cost. PCM is a member of the Berklee City Music Network, an association of 47 community organizations that serves over 28,000 students in the U.S. and Canada each year. Since its inception, Berklee City Music has awarded 223 full scholarships totaling over $11 million.
“Phoenix Conservatory of Music joined the Berklee City Music Network in 2010 and quickly became a model partner, while providing much needed music education services to Phoenix-area youth. Regina Nixon does a tremendous job preparing her students, rallying community support, and raising awareness for Berklee City Music,” said J. Curtis Warner, Founder, Berklee City Music.
Phoenix Conservatory of Music (PCM) is a non-profit organization that provides high quality music education that is affordable and accessible to more than 2,000 students per year. Led by Executive Director Regina Nixon, PCM serves the music education needs of the Phoenix metropolitan area through outreach and community-based programs, on-site classes and private lessons. In 2010, PCM became a member of the Berklee City Music Network, providing its students with year-round instruction, mentoring, scholarship opportunities, access to the Berklee PULSE online education platform, and other resources.
