MEET ALARIC
Building community using the arts as a catalyst.
Alaric
We are fundraising to aid Alaric, who received a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music's 2026 Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive. However, this prestigious award does not cover Alaric's food, housing, or other incidentals while he's in Boston. That's why we're stepping in!
Alaric first picked up the saxophone as an elementary school boy in Mississippi and has never stopped exploring new instruments, new ideas, and new possibilities. We've watched him grow and we know at this point it's vital for him to be around his peers - that's why it's so important we help him on his journey from his day to day farm life he has in rural Mississippi to the intellectual environment of Berkeley College this summer.
With admiration and joy, we've watched Alaric grow from an eager young 7-year-old in our first arts camp into a talented, hardworking young man whom we've proudly hired as a teaching assistant over the past several summers. He's also a baker and a farmer back home — proving that creativity and hard work go hand in hand!
HELP US HELP Alaric Get to THE Berklee College of Music this summer!
L-R: Carlos Uribe (visual arts), Jeremy Gaines (film), Kelvyn Bell (guitar), Alaric, founder Margaret Porter Troupe, Curtis Oliver, special guest artist Will Calhoun, Leslie Reese (poetry)
Throughout his summers as a kid growing up in rural Amite County, Alaric has been a camper in our program, where he met many distinguished and influential artists and teachers instrumental in helping him find his path in the arts.
They include our summer camp teachers and visiting artists such as percussionist Will Calhoun of the rock group Living Colour, Stephon Alexander, saxophonist and astrophysicist, Danny Glover, actor and human rights activist, Mississippi native & renown jazz vocalist, poet & biographer, Quincy Troupe, novelist Terry McMillan, among others. Every year in each discipline, Alaric excelled in all his endeavors. We are sure he will do the same at Berklee College of Music this summer!