Quitman McBride III, who has made a name for himself on local stages, is working to raise money to pay tuition at a prestigious performing arts college

Quitman McBride III has been in the spotlight since he was old enough to stand on a stage, and his natural talent has grown and matured through the years.

McBride just graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High School and is feverishly preparing for college, like many pending freshman.

McBride is preparing to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, one of the top performance schools in the nation. Boasting alumni like John Mayer, Quincy Jones and Steve Vai, Berklee has a 65-year tradition of creating superstars.

Quitman now has the opportunity of becoming one of them.

"There were about 9,000 students that auditioned this year for about 600 spots," McBride said. "I went to Boston, I auditioned with a song of my choice and then I interviewed with one of the staff members from Berklee.

"I came back home, and I received a letter in the mail as well as e-mail telling me I had been granted early acceptance to Berklee."

McBride has been active in the theater community since a young age and has performed in many productions under the direction of Mike Dumey.

Joseph, played by Quitman McBride III, sings about his "coat of many colors" with his brothers in a scene from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical was presented by Central Junior High students in 2006. (Fred Lynch)

"I had Quitman [in my productions] since the seventh grade, and he has been instrumental," Dumey said. "In eighth grade, he played the leading role of Joseph in what was the equivalent of a full-blown Broadway show. It's all sung; there are no speaking parts. To this day, people still stop and talk to me about the great job he did, and that was four years ago."

McBride has showed off his voice in more than theatrical prodcutions.

"Quitman's brought down the house every year with his rendition of 'Carol of the Bells' at the Sounds of the Season concert for Southeast Hospital," Dumey said. "He just took a Trans-Siberian Orchestra recording and did this amazing vocal arrangement, so I'm sure that's what caught much of Berklee's eye."

McBride selected that performance for his audition at Berklee.

"It's not just Quitman's incredible vocal talent, per se, but his ear and his creativity with arranging" that make him stand out, Dumey said.

McBride said his family and friends shared his excitement of being accepted to Berklee, but he knew that time was short to start saving for the school's tuition.

Berklee "is such a private school that they don't have a lot of scholarships available, but with the performance that he did, he received a $14,000 scholarship," said Quitman's father, Quitman McBride Jr. "But it's nowhere near what he needs to go."

Expenses for an on-campus student at Berklee are about $52,000 per year.

"He's close; with other scholarships and stuff he's near $30,000 right now," McBride Jr. said. "He's a teenager, and when he found out he was accepted and didn't have enough money to go to that college, he put a 'For Sale' sign in his car window to sell his car to take that money to apply it toward school."

In his pursuit of raising money for college, McBride is having a concert at 7:30 p.m. June 21 at the Plaza Conference Center, 3257 William St. behind the Holiday Inn. Admission is free, though donations will be taken all night long. A Quitman McBride III Educational Fund has been set up at Bank of Missouri for donations.

"Without giving too much away, one of the songs is the same song I performed at my audition," he said.

McBride said the concert will hit as many genres of music as possible, with songs from jazz to gospel to Broadway and more.

"It's just amazing that he can do all of these spectrums of music and do every one of them justice," Dumey said. "It will be a full experience for everyone there during Quitman's performance."

McBride is working on a website but can be contacted through Facebook for anyone wanting more information about the concert or his college pursuits.