Pop Artist Ghita, a Berklee Student, to Open for Maroon 5 at Morocco's Festival Mawazine Rythmes du Monde on June 6

Pop Artist Ghita, a Berklee Student, to Open for Maroon 5 at Morocco's Festival Mawazine Rythmes du Monde on June 6

BOSTON, May 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --



Pop artist Ghita, a Berklee College of Music student from Casablanca, Morocco, will
open for superstars Maroon 5 at the 14th annual Festival Mawazine Rythmes du Monde
[http://www.festivalmawazine.ma/accueil ] in Rabat, Morocco, on Saturday, June 6. The
concert is on the closing night of the nine-day festival that has drawn one million people
in past years. In addition to Maroon 5, headliners include Jennifer Lopez, Pharrell
Williams, Avicii, Sean Paul, Usher, Akon, and Placebo.



(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150520/744177 )




Ghita's initiative helped her secure the coveted slot. Through social media, one of
her songs caught the attention of a Moroccan radio station. Festival Mawazine organizers
heard the song and invited her to submit videos - including "The Wave
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R48rC6hw_k8 ]" - for consideration. "I am a very driven
person and I kept pursuing the bigger opportunity until they realized where my ambitions
were," said Ghita, who subsequently gained approval from Maroon 5's management to open for
them.



She had attended the festival in the past. "I was in the crowd three years ago to see
Kanye West and it blew my mind. I knew I wanted to be on stage but I would never have
imagined this," she said. "This is by far the biggest opportunity I've had. I've learned
so much already and I feel blessed to be able to open for an international pop star in my
own country."



At the festival [http://www.festivalmawazine.ma/artistes/ghita ], Ghita will perform
original songs from the group's forthcoming debut EP. The EP was recorded in Los Angeles
and is a collaborative effort performed and produced by Berklee students and alumni.
Ghita, who wrote or co-wrote all of the songs, describes the sound as pop with a
summertime feel with a combination of Middle Eastern, Indian, and Arabic rhythms. While
she hadn't done any songwriting before coming to Berklee, the atmosphere at the college
and Melissa Ferrick's Lyric Writing class inspired her to work towards writing one song
per day.



Ghita's band is composed of Berklee students from around the world. Jakob Rabitsch, an
Austrian keyboardist and producer, has arranged music for Dancing with the Stars and won
several band contests in Vienna and in the U.S. Johannes Gritschacher, a drummer and
producer from Seeboden, Austria, has received accolades including the Drummer of Tomorrow
award and the Kiwanis Award for Exceptional Talents. Elin Sandberg, a bassist from
Uppsala, Sweden, is skilled on both upright and electric bass, and has worked with Terri
Lyne Carrington and Hozier. Guitarist Juan Carreno, from Bogota, Colombia, has worked with
Lenny Pickett and Kirby Lauryen, and has also been developing his producing skills.
Guitarist Ed Graves, from Bath, England, has recorded with alt-J and performed live with
the Boston Pops.



Ghita: Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/ritamkmusic ]



Soundcloud [https://soundcloud.com/lalarita ]



YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC46zdOn6ZRKhhFyGXoKYvNA/videos ]



Berklee College of Music [http://www.berklee.edu ] was founded on the revolutionary
principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study
and practice of contemporary music. For 70 years, the college has evolved to reflect the
current state of the music industry, leading the way with baccalaureate studies in
performance, music business/management, songwriting, music therapy, film scoring, and
more. With a focus on global learning, Berklee in Valencia, Spain, hosts the college's
first graduate programs, while Berklee Online serves learners worldwide with classes and
degree-granting programs. The Berklee City Music Network provides after-school programming
for underserved teens in 45 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. With a student body
representing nearly 100 countries and alumni and faculty that have won more than 325
Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music
of today-and tomorrow.






Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150520/744177


Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150520/744177
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Berklee College of Music

CONTACT: Berklee College of Music, Margot Edwards, +1-617-747-2004, medwards@berklee.edu


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