Blake High School senior Karlea Lynné Boswell-Edwards has been accepted to Berklee College of Music with a scholarship.
Karlea Lynne´ Boswell-Edwards jokes that she hasn’t always been a good singer. Growing up, the Bealsville resident would sing along to the radio in the car. Her siblings would yell over her, telling her she needed lessons.
As Boswell-Edwards’ voice got better, her audiences grew bigger. The 18-year-old Blake High School senior has spent the majority of the last two years performing jazz vocalist gigs around the Tampa Bay area. She used $1,000 dollars of her earnings for the down payment of her college tuition — at Berklee College of Music.
Fly Me to the Moon
Boswell-Edwards was sitting in her musical theater class — her major of choice at Blake — when she found out that she had been accepted to Berklee.
Her heart was pounding. It was December. And while most of her fellow classmates were still working on applications, Boswell-Edwards had her congratulatory letter in front of her. She had received it 30 days early — one of only 100 other applicants who were given early admittance.
“That was weird to get it early,” Boswell-Edwards said. “I was crying. A lot of my teachers told me I probably wouldn’t get in.”
But she had.
On top of being admitted to the prestigious school, she’d also been given a scholarship covering 50% of her tuition for all four years, provided that she maintained at least a B average.
“I jumped up and asked to be excused,” Boswell-Edwards said.
She left the musical theater classroom and rushed to the jazz class on the other side of the building.
Early in Boswell-Edwards’ high school career, jazz band teacher Carmen Griffin heard her sing and asked her to perform with the jazz band. It didn’t take long for Boswell-Edwards to fall in love with the musical genre.
It was Griffin who helped kickstart Boswell-Edwards’ now-countless singing gigs across Tampa.
It was Griffin who wrote Boswell-Edwards’ glowing letter of recommendation for Berklee.
It was Griffin who Boswell-Edwards ran to in the band building, bursting with the good news.
“She was conducting,” Boswell-Edwards said. “I asked her to stop. I was overcome with excitement.”
But unlike Boswell-Edwards, Griffin wasn’t surprised to hear about the standout jazz singer’s acceptance.
Griffin never doubted her, even when Boswell-Edwards doubted herself.
When I Get Low, I Get High
A few days before Christmas 2014, Boswell-Edwards’ father, Louis Anthony Boswell, died unexpectedly.
“We always got along,” Boswell-Edwards said. “He always said I couldn’t move to the city because I was a country girl.”
Boswell-Edwards’ mother, Karla King, said losing him was hard on Boswell-Edwards.
“She went into a deep depression and got the flu,” King said. “She had just seen him a day or so before.”
King said that after her dad’s death, Boswell-Edwards became quieter, more introverted.
When her talent led her to get title roles in school productions, other students started to bully her as an intimidation tactic. She withdrew more.
“Her daddy was like her hero,” King said. “He was a good dad. As long as he was alive, she wouldn’t want for anything. She was his only child, and he thought he couldn’t have children. I think his death thrust her into singing.”
As Griffin began encouraging Boswell-Edwards to take on more and more gigs, Boswell-Edwards never mentioned her father had died. Music was her coping mechanism, one she alluded to in her college scholarship applications.
“I wrote that my art is special because it is repaired art,” Boswell-Edwards said. “It is like broken glass that we have glued back together. And she (Griffin) put me back together spiritually.”
It Was Written in the Stars
Boswell-Edwards is an old soul. A classic jazz vocalist. No fancy gimmicks or dramatic stage tricks, just surprising vocals from an unassuming source.
The musical world has taken note.
In January, Boswell-Edwards was selected as the Florida Music Education Association’s vocalist for the all-state jazz band, where she performed with the band in front of over 1,000 people.
That high honor was only the start.
In February, Boswell-Edwards visited Berklee, where she was won the school’s first-ever Jazz Singers Showcase.
"Karlea’s tenacity about things … one day the world is going to know her name. It’s her love for what she does … She’s different. She has her own way, her own vibe, her own world.”
— Karla King, mother of Karlea Lynne´ Boswell-Edwards
Her journey started when she was picked as a top 10 finalist from a YouTube video she submitted to the competition. Her mom and sister scraped up money for her to go to the event in Massachusetts. There, she was given two songs to perform and was critiqued by former American Idol coach Debra Byrd.
When she was named the top winner and was told she would perform that afternoon with the Berklee College of Music Jazz Orchestra. She was also awarded full tuition to one of Berklee’s five-week summer programs.
When Karlea was announced the winner, she started to cry.
“I don’t see Karlea cry a lot,” King said. “She just cried. It brought me to tears because she never cries. I thought, ‘Wow, she really wanted it.’”
Boswell-Edwards performed in front of 5,000 people with the Berklee College of Music Jazz Orchestra. It was her biggest performance.
Before she went on stage, Boswell-Edwards took off her glasses. She didn’t want to have to look at the audience
while she performed. With 5,000 strangers blurred in front of her, Boswell-Edwards was able to really get into her performance.
“I try to stay very humble because I know that’s a part of why I got my blessing,” Boswell-Edwards said. “I did not experience (hardships) to break me down. I experienced them to become what I aspire to be. I have a goal. And I’m trying to get that goal. I plant that goal, and I water that goal.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
