Northport Woman Wins Berklee/BMI Scholarship

BOSTON, MA — A Northport woman was recognized for her musical excellence earlier this month. Dayna Ambrosio, a senior at Berklee College of Music, received the Broadcast Media, Inc. Film Scoring Scholarship on Nov. 4, the school announced.

Doreen Ringer-Ross, vice president creative for film, TV and visual media at BMI, visited Berklee to celebrate the college’s annual "BMI Day" with acclaimed composer Harry Gregson-Williams to present the 2019 BMI Film Scoring Scholarship to Ambrosio, a student composer.

The first BMI-sponsored Film Scoring Scholarship was first presented in 1998 by composer Michael Kamen. It is awarded each year to a student selected by Berklee’s Film Scoring Department based on the student’s musical ability, financial need, and potential for career success.

A passionate gamer from a young age, Ambrosio grew up in Northport with a love for the music and sounds that shaped her favorite video games. As a high schooler, she picked up piano as a hobby and began to lose herself in the music by creating her own compositions. She spent hours composing for fun and became enthralled by the movie scores of films she enjoyed. Her love of composition and piano led her to study at Berklee College of Music.

At Berklee, Ambrosio discovered her talent for scoring games; in her application letter, she wrote "everything began to fall into place…homework was my passion, and passion was
homework." She has scored over 15 student games and was chosen to present the game "Ready? Set. Haiya" (2019) at Dereamhack Dallas and Indicade International Festival of Independent Games in California this year. Ambrosio plans to attend graduate school for film scoring after graduating from Berklee in May 2020.

"The Film Scoring Department is tremendously appreciative for all that BMI and Doreen Ringer-
Ross have done to support our students over the past two decades and more," said Sean
McMahon, chair of Berklee’s Film Scoring Department. "BMI Day is always a special day here at Berklee, and we are thrilled to host A-list composer Harry Gregson-Williams on campus and present the BMI Award to Dayna Ambrosio this year."

This year’s BMI composer honoree, Harry Gregson-Williams, has scored over 100 films along with top television programs and video games. He delivered the keynote for BMI Day, presented the scholarship alongside Ringer-Ross, and led a recording session with a student orchestra in Shames Studio at 160 Mass Ave. Gregson-Williams composed the soundtracks for "Shrek," "The Martian," "The Chronicles of Narnia," and many more films in his lengthy career.