Max Keenlyside, a second-year student in Holland College’s Music Performance program, has been offered an $18,000 renewable writing and composition scholarship to Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music.

Even though he is only 21 years old, Keenlyside has become a fixture in the Island music community, winning the PEI Music Awards’ Jazz and Blues Recording of the Year for his album Mostly Max, and performing solo and in ensembles all over North America. He said he is thrilled by the scholarship offer.

“It represents about half of the annual tuition costs for the program,” he said. “I’m considering some other institutions at which to finish my undergraduate degree, but Berklee is at the very top of my list. It would be a tremendous opportunity for me.”

Berklee’s chair of Harmony, Joe Mulholland, visited the Music Performance program recently, and met with SoPA instructors and Music Performance students. He said Keenlyside is exactly the sort of student the college looks for.

“We love to have musicians of Max’s calibre. His ability, dedication, and enthusiasm are just what we look for in potential students. The fact that Berklee has offered him such a substantial scholarship speaks to his commitment to his music,” he said.

For the past year, SoPA has been in discussions with Berklee regarding curriculum and potential articulation agreements. Right now Berklee is reviewing the SoPA Music Performance program to determine the terms of an articulation agreement. In the meantime, in order to determine at which level he would enter the writing and composition program at the school, Keenleyside will take placement exams.

SoPA’s Music Performance instructor Alan Dowling, himself a Berklee alumnus, sees the relationship between the two institutions strengthening in the upcoming years.

“Berklee’s interest in Max, and in the Music Performance program in general, lays the groundwork for an ongoing partnership. We already use Berklee curriculum materials in our core music courses, and hope to have an articulation agreement in place before the end of this school year,” he said.

The School of Performing Arts is a partnership between Holland College and Confederation Centre of the Arts.

In this picture: Music Performance student Max Keenlyside, left, gets a few tips from Joe Mulholland, Berklee’s chair of Harmony, during his recent visit to Holland College’s School of Performing Arts.