Emilio and Gloria Estefan Scholarship Awarded to Sergio De Miguel Jorquera

The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation® awarded the Emilio and Gloria Estefan Scholarship to 17-year-old piano student Sergio De Miguel Jorquera at a scholarship presentation at The Latin Recording Academy® headquarters in Miami. The scholarship has a maximum value of $200,000 USD and provides De Miguel Jorquera the opportunity to earn a four-year bachelor's degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston beginning September 2019.

The student from Vigo, Spain, was selected by the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation's Scholarship Committee from among a highly competitive pool of applicants consisting of hundreds of students from the Americas and the Iberian Peninsula.

As of today, the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation has donated a remarkable $5 million USD toward scholarships, musical instrument donations, and educational events in Ibero-America, in only five years since its establishment.

"It brings me great joy to award our fifth Prodigy Scholarship for a fully paid bachelor's degree at Berklee" said Manolo Díaz, Senior Vice President of the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation. "Through the impressive generosity of music icons such as Emilio and Gloria Estefan we are able to support the next generation of Latin music makers."

"We were amazed and totally impressed by Sergio's talent," said Emilio Estefan. "He is a gifted musician and we are very proud to help him achieve his dream of a musical education. We have seen first-hand what Berklee can do for young aspiring artists and will help him succeed through these formative years."

De Miguel Jorquera started playing piano when he was 4 years old. He studied at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Vigo, where he is a pianist for the school's jazz band. He also has participated in Berklee's Five Week Summer Performance Program in Boston in 2018 and 2017. His goal is to become a professional musician in order to create new musical directions, and promote and connect his roots to his work in a way that will allow him to give back to his community.

"I'm very thankful to the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation and Emilio and Gloria Estefan for giving me this great opportunity, which will help me achieve my goal of becoming a professional musician surrounded by the very best teachers and peers. I'm going to work hard at Berklee to become a good example and part of the Latin music world," said De Miguel Jorquera.

"Berklee is honored to have the support of industry trailblazers Emilio and Gloria Estefan," said Berklee President Roger H. Brown. "Their generosity, in tandem with that of the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation, will allow Sergio De Miguel Jorquera to join the next generation of Berklee students who will forge new connections and push boundaries in the music industry and beyond."

De Miguel Jorquera will join past winners of the Prodigy Scholarship, including:

- Saxophonist Silviana Itzel Salinas-Reyna, who recently graduated and received the first scholarship in 2015 co-sponsored by Enrique Iglesias.

- Self-taught pianist Jesús Molina-Acosta, who received the scholarship in 2016 co-sponsored by Juan Luis Guerra.

- Bassist Ernesto Núñez, winner of the 2017 scholarship co-sponsored by Miguel Bosé.

- Singer Nicolle Horbath, winner of the 2018 scholarship co-sponsored by Carlos Vives.

To qualify for annual financial assistance, De Miguel Jorquera must maintain a 3.5 GPA and fulfill the standards of excellence set forth by the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation and Berklee, which are evaluated each semester.

Photo credit: The Latin Recording Academy® / Photographer: John Parra - Gettyimages.com©2019

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