Meadowdale High School student Austin DeVries will be packing his bags for Massachusetts thanks to his musical talents.
DeVries, 17, was awarded a full-ride scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music July 13 to August 14 as part of the Experience Music Project’s Experience: The Band program, which recruits local aspiring musicians to learn about music theory, music history and song writing. The members also perform shows to hone their skills.
“It’s a really great experience,” DeVries said.
DeVries’ pursuit of music started in his seventh-grade band class. Though he started off on trombone, it was when he switched to playing drums that his interest really took off.
“Music … is just the one thing that in any language you can appreciate it,” DeVries said. “You can get inspiration, it can change your mood. So many emotions can come from it and so many people are affected by it.”
A friend of DeVries’ mother suggested that he join with Experience: The Band, which is a joint effort between the Experience Music Project and Berklee. Consideration for full-tuition scholarships is one of the perks of being a band member. For the past two years, DeVries has spent four hours of every Saturday at the Seattle museum working with the program.
In addition to working with Experience: The Band, DeVries has also been playing guitar for about two years, is learning bass guitar and has been working on mixing and producing for about seven months. He also balances teaching drum lessons to seven students with taking Advanced Placement classes and maintaining a 3.85 grade-point average.
DeVries was one of about ten candidates to complete an interview and an audition in order to be eligible for the scholarship to Berklee College of Music.
“Austin … was highly recommended by the EMP director and his teachers,” said Lynette Gittens, associate director of Berklee City Music Programs, in an e-mail.
Being selected for the scholarship came as a surprise to DeVries. When he received the phone call telling him he won, he was in the woods helping a friend dislodge a car from the mud. The call came as a relief for his bad day, DeVries said.
“It was the best feeling,” he said. “It made me so happy.”
DeVries hopes to use the knowledge he gains from Berklee to continue pursuing a career in music.
“I’m definitely going to stick with music,” DeVries said. “I still want to experiment with music to see what I like most, but I’m definitely going to stick with music.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
