When 10-year old , John Martez received a scholarship to study music at Berklee College of Music. The musician-to-be was told he had to wait until he was 18 years old to travel to Berklee. Now that he is 18, he has the scholarship and his supporters have organized a fundraiser at the Casa de Teatro to gather an additional US$6,000 he will need to pay for his living expenditures in his first year, as reported in Diario Libre. His backers had originally requested the support from the state, but this was not possible.
Throughout the years, Martez traveled to Berklee to participate in summer courses with the backing of the AES Dominicana Foundation.
John Martez will perform during the fundraiser that will take place on Thursday, at 8pm at the Casa de Teatro cultural center at Calle Arzobispo Meriño in the Colonial City. Musician and architect Jordi Masalles is leading the effort. A Banco Reservas account in the name of Martez’s father, Junker Martez is open to receive transfers. Martez comes from a family of musicians.
The scholarship to study music in Berklee was granted during the event with the support of legendary Dominican musician, himself a Berklee graduate, Juan Luis Guerra.
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Diario Libre
18 August 2021