Three seniors at Manchester Essex—Charlie Weld, Dilyn Engelhart, and Luli Bartlett—have all remarkably landed slots at one of the country’s most prestigious music schools, the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
All three of them said they consider music to be one of the most important aspects of their lives, and Berklee is an environment where they can take this passion even further.
The application process for Berklee is different from any other school, given the most important part of the process is their auditions, where they must demonstrate their skills as musicians, such as sight reading, rhythms, improvisation, and ear training.
Weld said she is planning to major in songwriting and performance. She started playing guitar and piano at five-years-old, which is also when she wrote her first song called “Ugly Little Seagull.” Weld said music has always been the biggest part of her life.
“Music has the innate power to make you feel less alone and connect people like no other. It is truly the universal language. My family has always vayed music and I am so lucky that it has been a large part of my entire life,” she said.
Weld has released three singles, and performed her first single, “I’ll take the lake,” for her Berklee audition.
Weld is looking forward to collaborating and being surrounded with people that have this same passion for music at Berklee.
“I cannot wait to be around like-minded people who have the same drives, goals, and share a passion for music,” she said.
Bartlett has decided to major in guitar performance and possibly minor in film/visual media scoring. She has been playing guitar since she was five years old and joined her first band, “Totality,” in seventh grade. Her band released their first album during her sophomore year and she said she enjoyed having this creative outlet.
Bartlett has attended summer camps at Berklee every summer since eighth grade and this past summer attended a five-week camp which acted as a shortened semester of college at Berklee, she said.
“The camp really solidified in my mind that Berklee is where I wanted to go,” she said. “I’m excited to be back with everyone and to be able to play all the time in that creative environment.”
Engelhart is majoring in songwriting. She is also looking forward to collaborating with other passionate musicians who have the same goals.
“Music is my life. Musicians choose to be musicians not because they want to, but because they need to. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without music,” she said.
Engelhart said she was hesitant at first to go to Berklee because it meant completely committing to music which seemed intimidating, but she is greatly looking forward to working towards her goals as a musician.
These three incredible students are a great representation of the MERHS music department, given all three got accepted into such a selective school. As MERSD considers new budget cuts in the arts programs, it’s important to keep these amazing accomplishments in mind.
Emma Ketchum is a senior at Manchester Essex Regional High School and a regular contributor to The Cricket.
