Berklee Awards 2016 Lollapalooza Scholarships

Millissa Henderson

BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC's partnership with LOLLAPALOOZA has resulted in scholarship awards for 14 outstanding musicians since 2011. The 2016 recipient of the BERKLEE LOLLAPALOOZA ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP, a four-year, full-tuition award to bring her to the college in the fall goes to MILLISSA HENDERSON of MUSKEGEE, OK. MEGAN BISHOP of CHICAGO, has been awarded the BERKLEE LOLLAPALOOZA FIVE-WEEK SCHOLARSHIP to attend this summer’s program for high school students.

The partnership also gives BERKLEE student folk trio HONEYSUCKLE the opportunity to perform on one of the main stages at LOLLAPALOOZA’s 25th anniversary festival, JULY 28th-31st, in CHICAGO. The band is set to perform SATURDAY, JULY 30th, at NOON (CT) on the PEPSI STAGE. BERKLEE students will also host a silent concert at KIDZAPALOOZA throughout the festival.

“Five years ago, LOLLAPALOOZA celebrated its 20th anniversary, and BERKLEE and LOLLA celebrated together by announcing the endowed scholarship,” said BERKLEE professor JEFF DORENFELD, who developed the partnership with concert producers C3 PRESENTS. “The scholarships are life-changing for the recipients, while the partnership also affects, educates, and enables many more BERKLEE students to meet their dreams and aspirations through the festival performance and their work at KIDZAPALOOZA. Together, we build careers in music.”

Scholarship recipient MILLISSA HENDERSON is an 18-year-old guitarist who began taking lessons in 2009. She has been lead guitarist/vocalist for rock bands INSANE AUDIO and SIGNS OF WARNING, and guitarist for the MUSKOGEE HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ BAND and PRIDE OF MUSKOGEE MARCHING BAND. She has also been a member of GUITARCHESTRA, a TULSA-based orchestra that performs rock arrangements of classical pieces. She was awarded second place – out of 900 entries – in the 2015 QUEEN OF STRINGS competition. Also a vocalist and pianist, her performances cross genres including rock, funk and fusion. She is currently working on an EP of original music.

HENDERSON attended BERKLEE’s GUITAR SESSIONS in 2013 and the FIVE-WEEK SUMMER PERFORMANCE PROGRAM in 2014 and 2015.

“After being on campus, taking classes with incredibly talented teachers, and discovering other young people with my same love of music, I knew becoming an undergraduate at BERKLEE was something I really wanted to do,” said HENDERSON. “I feel that the key to a sincere, life-long music career is through music education and study at an esteemed school.”

HENDERSON plans to major in professional music with a concentration in music business/management or music production and engineering.

As part of her scholarship, MEGAN BISHOP, a 16-year-old vocalist, joins more than 1,000 teens from all over the world who are sharpening their skills in private lessons, ensembles, and concerts at BERKLEE's FIVE WEEK SUMMER PERFORMANCE PROGRAM .

“I’m really excited to meet new people and collaborate, record music, learn more about who I am as a musician, and explore different kinds of music,” said BISHOP. “I am so grateful for the scholarship. Everything about music has thrilled me since I was really young and I'm striving to get better at doing what I love.”

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