BMI Foundation, Pepsi Blue Carpet Bash Announce Scholarship Recipients
The BMI Foundation and Pepsi Blue Carpet Bash have announced the winners of the 2008 Music Enrichment Fund Scholarship, an annual competition for young songwriters and composers. Scholarships are awarded to the best three songs or instrumental compositions in any Latin genre.
Daniel Diaz, a 23-year-old native of Mexico and a Berklee College of Music-trained singer/songwriter, received the grand-prize scholarship in the amount of $10,000 for his song “Todo Lo Que Necesito” (Everything That I Need). Additional scholarship recipients include Daniela Blau and Pablo Latapi, who were each awarded $5,000 for their winning compositions. Latapi, a Mexican singer/songwriter and guitar player, who also attends Berklee, won for “Imposible” (Impossible), while Daniela Blau, a 21-year-old native of Costa Rica and a student at Boston’s Simmons College, won for her song “Huellas de Ti” (Your Footprints).
“The BMI Foundation is looking forward to awarding these songwriters for their extraordinary talent; they each exemplify the quality of drive needed to excel in the Latin musical genre. We have faith in their abilities and are proud to acknowledge them with this scholarship,” said Porfirio Piña, BMI’s Foundation Latin Scholarship Director.
Generously funded by Pepsi, the 2008 Music Enrichment Fund Scholarship provides a platform for young songwriters and composers to showcase their talents to industry leaders while gaining exposure and funds to apply to their music instructions.
All entries were reviewed by a panel of professional judges in the Latin entertainment and media space, which include influential executives such as Sony ATV Music Publishing’s Claribel Cuevas; Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter, Daniel Freiberg; Sony BMG Music executive Loren Medina; Warner Chappell Music Publishing’s Ruben Parra; Kinetix Communications CEO and veteran Latin marketing guru Tony Martinez; and BMI’s Marissa Lopez.
The BMI Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1985 to support the creation, performance, and study of music through awards, scholarships, commissions and grants. Tax-deductible donations to the Foundation come primarily from songwriters, composers and publishers, BMI employees and members of the public with a special interest in music. Because both the Foundation staff and the distinguished members of the Advisory Panel serve without compensation, over 95% of all donations and income are used for charitable grants.