Victoria musician Quinn Bachand has won a full scholarship, worth more than $250,000, to the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Bachand, 18, has been awarded the Slaight Family Scholarship, given annually to a gifted Canadian musician attending Berklee.
Students receive $64,000 a year for each of the four years of the program, covering tuition, room and board and a laptop computer.
For his audition in December, Bachand played After You’ve Gone and other songs, switching among guitar, violin and banjo.
“It was kind of nerve-wracking because I’ve never really auditioned for anything in my life,” he said.
Bachand, who has just graduated from Reynolds Secondary School, fronts the gypsy jazz band Brishen. A recent winner of the Saga DjangoFest Award, he toured with Ashley MacIsaac and Natalie MacMaster while still in his early teens.
This summer, he will perform on the Canadian festival circuit with violinist Jaron Freeman-Fox, followed by a fall tour with his sister, violinist Qristina Bachand.
Quinn Bachand will perform 7:30 p.m. Friday at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church for the second annual West Coast Django concert.
He and Qristina will perform on June 14 at Oak Bay United Church.
