Berklee College of Music has named Krystal Prime Banfield vice president for Educational Outreach, Social Entrepreneurship. She previously held the position of associate vice president.
In her new role, Banfield will be leading efforts for the Berklee City Music and Berklee PULSE programs, as well as Berklee City Music PULSE on-the-road workshops, and trainings for youth and teachers. Berklee’s City Music programming provides theory and musicianship classes, ensembles, one-on-one instruction and mentoring, and performance opportunities to thousands of youth across the U.S. and Canada. Berklee PULSE Music Method is a unique and innovative online music education portal that enables students to study, jam, and practice using interactive modules and an ever-expanding collection of popular music.
“With a global reach exporting our models for excellence in music through PULSE, creative youth development, and teacher training, I am energized and excited to lead EOSE in working collaboratively with areas of the college to increase funds for scholarships,” stated Banfield, “as well as broaden the education in music programming to contemporary expressive disciplines in dance and musical theater, creative entrepreneurship, production and engineering.”
Since 2006, she has held several positions at Berklee, including dean of Berklee City Music, where she launched the program’s train-the-trainer initiative with outside funding. The initiative instructed teachers who work with youth primarily from underserved communities in Cape Town, South Africa, and in communities through Berklee Global Initiatives in Bogota, Columbia, Santiago, Chile and Guadalajara, Mexico.
In 2016, Banfield was awarded the Amtrak Pioneer Award, created in celebration of Black History Month to honor African American leaders who have made impactful contributions to the city of Boston and the greater community. That same year, she received the New England Women’s Leadership Award from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, which has been celebrating inspiring women for the past 25 years.
Prior to coming to Berklee, Banfield was a voice instructor at St. Paul Conservatory of Music and an adjunct voice professor at the University of St. Thomas, and has performed as a soloist and chorister at the American Embassy in Havana, Cuba and in Bavaria, Germany.
A Detroit native, Banfield holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Howard University, a Master of Music from Indiana University-Bloomington, and a Doctor of Education with concentrations in curriculum development, critical pedagogy, and educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas-Minneapolis.
