Belmont High ‘Idol’ Awarded Full Scholarship to Berklee

Photo: Lea Grace Swinson (left) with Berklee alumna Courtney Harrell, an LA-based singer-songwriter and recent finalist on NBC’s The Voice. (Photo by Mike Spencer)                                                                                                                   
 
She was a Belmont High Idol as a freshman and was the definitive Matron “Mama” Morton in this year’s production of the spring musical “Chicago.” 
 
And next month, Lea Grace Swinson, Belmont High class of ’17, will attend the Berklee College of Music on a full ride as the 17-year-old Dorchester native was awarded a four-year, full-tuition scholarship presented to her at the Berklee Performance Center on Tuesday, Aug. 8. 
Swinson was one of five recipients of the 2017 Berklee City Music College Scholarship, part of the  school’s City Music Network which delivers high-quality contemporary music education instruction to youth from underserved communities at no or low cost. 
 
Speaking with Berklee alumna Courtney Harrell, an LA-based singer-songwriter and recent finalist on NBC’s The Voice, Swinson told the audience that music has helped her through many insecurities and has brought her “nothing but joy and healing.”
 
The Berklee City Music Network is an association of 46 community organizations that serves more than 46,000 students in the U.S. and Canada each year. Since its inception 20 years ago, Berklee City Music has awarded 251 four-year full-tuition scholarships totaling more than $2 million.
 
The scholarship presentation came at the conclusion of the Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance Program, where more than 100 teens were attending on City Music Summer Scholarships.