February 28th, 2009

ATTN: Office of Scholarships and Student Employment

Berklee College of Music
1140 Boylston St.
Boston, MA, 02115

To Whom it may concern,

Thank you for considering my application for the Berklee Achievement Scholarship.

Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Mario Carrillo, one of the few students from
Spain at Berklee and the only one at the moment from my hometown Madrid. I am an
Acoustic Bass principal (I also double with Electric Bass), pursuing a bachelor's degree in
Performance and Music Education.

Music has always been present in my life ever since I can remember. The memories of
my childhood have the music my parents used to play in my home attached to them. They
introduced me to the immense musical universe in a huge variety of musical genres and
ever since then, music evolved, grew and changed at the same time I did, as a part of me.

I always took music lessons besides general education, which I finished with high grades,
and I even went a step forward and got accepted into both a demanding major in
Environmental Sciences in the main University of Madrid and to the Superior
Conservatory of Jazz in Pamplona (Spain). At that turning point, Berklee came into my
life and offered me a possibility of pursuing my desired career in the best environment
possible and under the best conditions. Even though it meant to leave behind not only my
hometown, country, family and friends but also an already secured Superior Education,
the choice was already made; I was coming to the United States.

This decision changed my life, ever since then I’ve been more and more involved in the
life at Berklee, meeting and collaborating with amazing students and professors from all
over the world and constantly evolving as a musician and as a person by interacting with
them. I always know that I made the right decision of coming here when I acknowledge
that this is something you can only find at Berklee. That’s why I am so grateful for the
fact that I am part of this community.

In addition to being a Dean’s list student and balancing two intensive majors, I take
advantage of my privileged environment and I get in touch with as many students as I can
being part of their projects. I have played in more than 60 recording sessions and more
than 40 Recitals and Senior Recitals in these four Semesters at Berklee, including
performances at the Berklee Performance Center or the David Friend Recital Hall.

In addition, I take the initiative to enhance my education outside the classroom. I am

actively involved in various projects within the Berklee and Boston community what has
taken me to make gigs and performances with all kinds of music ensembles such as Jazz,
Latin Jazz, Funk Fussion, Middle Eastern, Flamenco, Afro-Pop, etc all around the Boston
area. Given my classical background, I auditioned and was accepted to be a part of the
MIT Symphonic Orchestra with whom I performed last year.

I feel that being a Music Educator is a great opportunity. It is also a great responsibility
but gives me the chance to actually do something about the situation of music in the
society where we live. If there is a way to change things, Education is the starting point,
that’s why I am trying to become a teacher.

In the past few years I have performed and written music in various styles of music,
toured across Spain and abroad and have gained considerable studio recording
experience. Besides my musical education I was part of the Madrid Youth Orchestra’s
roster for 5 years and also of the Chamartin Symphonic Orchestra, performing in
prestigious venues in Spain such as the National Auditorium (Madrid), Auditorium of
Zaragoza, Auditoriums of Mostoles, Getafe, Fuenlabrada, San Sebastian de los Reyes
(Madrid), Auditorium of Merida, or Sala “BarCo” (Madrid) among others and touring
Italy, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria.

I have always been exposed to a wide array of different cultures and their music, and that
variety helped me to form the group Jazzlibitum. Built around the prestigious “Escuela
de Musica Creativa”, this Madrid-based band combined jazz harmonies and composition
techniques with advanced rhythmical and improvisational concepts and all kinds of
electronic experimentation. Jazzlibitum performed extensively around Spain gaining a
great recognition by the audience and has helped me to find my own way of expression
through a new perspective of jazz funk fusion music.

At the moment I look forward to dig deeper in Berklee community’s roots and get the
most out of my major’s teachers and fellow students to improve the level of both my
performing and composing/arranging abilities to become a reference in the field. As an
international student, the only other form of financial aid I am eligible for is Student
Employment (what I am already doing), so the support I receive from the Office of
Scholarships is essential to continue my studies and personal development at Berklee and
at Boston.

Once again, thank you for investing your time in considering my application. I look
forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Mario Carrillo