Berklee Celebrates "BMI Day"On Monday, November 6, BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) celebrated the 25th annual "BMI Day" at Berklee College of Music with award–winning composer and producer Trevor Gureckis and BMI’s Vice President, Creative, Film, TV, and Visual Media Tracy McKnight. At the event, McKnight and chair of Screen Scoring Sean McMahon co-presented this year’s BMI Film Scoring Scholarship to student composer Melquiades Álvarez Cobos, currently in his seventh semester at Berklee.The first BMI Film Scoring Scholarship was presented in 1998 by composer Michael Kamen. It is awarded each year to a student selected by the Screen Scoring Department based on the student’s musical ability, financial need, and potential for career success."The Screen Scoring Department’s relationship with BMI is one of the most important relationships we have, and BMI Day is always a highlight for our department on campus,” said McMahon, department chair. “We are so grateful for all that BMI has done for Berklee’s screen scoring students for almost 25 years, and appreciate Tracy’s presence on campus to present the annual BMI award to Melquiades Álvarez Cobos, a promising, up-and-coming composer.”“BMI takes great pride in its longstanding relationship with Berklee College of Music and fostering the next generation of composers,” said McKnight. “We recognize the importance of access to quality education and resources in developing their careers and the BMI Film Scoring Scholarship underscores our commitment to investing in the future of student composers and to celebrate their achievements, their growth, and their contributions to the world of visual media.”“I am so incredibly grateful to be the recipient of the BMI award this year and all the opportunities that come with it,” said Álvarez Cobos. “These past couple of years have been truly stormy and difficult to overcome on a personal level, so I wanted to thank my mentors and teachers who have believed in me regardless—your support and guidance have meant the world to me. With this award, I am very excited to pursue my dream of further developing my skills in film and media scoring through production, orchestration, and composition work in Los Angeles.”Photo (L-R) Berklee’s Ron Savage and Sean McMahon, composer Trevor Gureckis, scholarship recipient Melquiades Álvarez Cobos, BMI’s Tracy McKnight, Berklee’s David Bogen and Jeffrey Sawada gather for a photo during the annual ‘BMI Day’ at Berklee College of Music on November 6, in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo credit: Kelly Davidson.

ABOUT BMI:Celebrating over 80 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in over 22.4 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI’s repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com, follow us on X and Instagram @BMI or stay connected through Broadcast Music, Inc.‘s Facebook page. Sign up for BMI’s The Weekly and receive our e-newsletter every week to stay up to date on all things music.