Lincoln Park seniors win Berklee College music scholarships
Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School seniors Charina Kimes and Eli Dawson have been awarded scholarships to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Their scholarships are renewable for each year of their undergraduate careers.
Quinton Monteiro of Midland, a Lincoln Park freshman, was notified of his scholarship to attend this year’s five-week Berklee City Music Summer Performance Program. Kimes also received a scholarship to participate in the Berklee summer program.
Kimes, a daughter of Verona and Mark Rozier of Pittsburgh,is a soprano majoring in vocal performance at Lincoln Park. She has been a member of the Pittsburgh Junior Mendelssohn Choir for three years, including 2011 when the choir was awarded the prestigious American Prize. She was a finalist for the choir’s Barbara Cass Award for outstanding senior.
Kimes was a member of the Pittsburgh Oakland Girls Choir, and sang in a number of Lincoln Park productions and recitals, including Stardust and the Red Hot R&B Revue jazz concert and workshop.
Completing her third year at Lincoln Park, Kimes has a daily bus commute of an hour and a quarter each way from Pittsburgh’s Shadyside district. She said the experience has been worth those long hours on the bus.
“I have learned so much at Lincoln Park,” said Kimes. “They gave me the tools to become a better singer, musician and person.”
Kimes received another scholarship offer but has not yet committed to a college. She plans to major in music therapy and minor in vocal performance.
Eli Dawson is a son of Angela and Bill Dawson of Harmony, Pa. During his three years at Lincoln Park, he played with the guitar ensemble, orchestra, and jazz improvisation group, and sang in the school chorus. He and friends often form a band to play at benefit events and weddings.
Asked how he became involved in music, Dawson said, “I went into an attic and found an Eddie Van Halen CD, and I told my mom I wanted to play guitar.”
Dawson plans to accept the Berklee scholarship. He said Berklee informed him the scholarship has a value of $20,000 a year. His major is undecided but his main interests are guitar performance and classical music composition. He also plays piano and string bass.
Quinton Monteiro, who won a scholarship to the five-week Berklee summer program, is a son of the Rev. Andrew and Leslie Montiero. A music major in his second year of attending Lincoln Park, he has been an active member of the Mancini All-Stars, the showcase performance troupe of the Henry Mancini Academy.
A memorable Michael Jackson tribute was among lead vocals and choreography performed by Monteiro in the recent Red Hot R&B Revue jazz concert and workshop conducted at Lincoln Park by Berklee professors Winston Maccow and Annette Philip.
Guitarist Levi Keller of Mars, a 2011 Lincoln Park graduate, currently is a freshman on full scholarship at Berklee. Before becoming the first Lincoln Park graduate to attend Berklee, Keller was a participant in the five-week summer program for which Quinton Montiero has been selected.
Another current Lincoln Park senior, violinist Drew Percy of Butler, earlier this year was awarded a scholarship to Berklee.
Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center is in the third year of a mutually beneficial relationship with the Berklee College of Music and the Berklee City Music Network, a nationwide network of music education organizations using the Berklee method of teaching music to underserved students by using contemporary music including jazz, rhythm and blues, rap and hip-hop.
Lincoln Park press release. April 23, 2012. Contact Fred Miller, fred.miller@nndsonline.org, 724.777.5918
