Benefit concert to be held in Royal Oak in memory of Berkley graduate

BERKLEY — A special benefit concert honoring a former Berkley student who died by suicide will be held later this month.

The concert held in memory of Alyssa Marie Zino will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at the First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak, located at 529 Hendrie Blvd.

Zino was a 2018 graduate of Berkley High School, where she was heavily involved in the band program and played clarinet. She attended Kalamazoo College but died by suicide in February 2022 during her senior year.

“She was just a funny, smart, loving girl,” Zino’s mother, Mary Robertson, said. “She was a delight. She really was. I mean, she was well liked by teachers and well liked by peers and just a really delightful human being and a kind person.”

Helping others was a strong interest for Zino, according to her mother. She interned with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and had a lot of interest in social justice.

“She was just kind of a fierce advocate for others,” she said. “I think she would like this. I hope she would.”

Robertson said there are three goals to the concert: to honor her daughter’s memory, to raise funds for the Berkley Schools music program and to raise awareness for suicide prevention.

“She was lucky enough to be able to have private lessons, and we were able to get her a nice clarinet, and she was able to go to some summer camps, and I want other kids who might not be able to do that to have those chances, because it really makes a big difference,” she said.

A specialist in suicide prevention, Mayim Meyers, from Jewish Family Service, will be on-site before and after the concert to distribute literature and answer questions.

Robertson said music was central to Zino’s life, and Robertson knows what a big difference music can make in many kids’ lives.

“There are plenty of kids that the arts are kind of where they find themselves,” she said. “Like the academic world may not come so easily, but the arts are where they can feel like they’re good at something and be able to express themselves, and it’s just so important.”

Alan Posner, the band director at Bloomfield Hills High School, previously taught Zino when he was working for Berkley Schools. Posner called Zino one of his best students who was incredibly skilled and driven.

“She always had a very dry, dry sense of humor and personality, but also very focused. When I left Berkley … she gave me a couple jokes because she always thought I had the worst jokes ever. So she thought I should get some better jokes. So I thought that was always really funny and touching, that she would give me a present and that’s what it was.”

Posner, who considered Zino a friend, said music was very important to her and an outlet for how she expressed herself.

“She always wanted to perform at a very high level,” she said. “When the band didn’t do well or she wasn’t doing well, she was tough on herself, but she always strived to do her best. I think it was a release for her as well, like a way to cope with stress and anxiety that I know she dealt with. … You can tell she really loved it and really engaged with it at a very high level.”

Donations will act as tickets for the concert, and proceeds will go toward the music program for Berkley Schools.