Ready for Another Great Year
Elena Goddard ’16 and Miles Walker ’03 were the respective student and alumni speakers at the August 31 entering student convocation. Kelly Davidson
During the Labor Day weekend, a fresh crop of young faces took to the “Berklee Beach” on Massachusetts Avenue. Some played acoustic instruments and sang as others carried their belongings from their parents’ cars and vans into dorm rooms in the 160 Massachusetts Avenue building. And so Berklee’s annual fall ritual began again.
Desmond Scaife Jr. and Family, a 16-piece band, played a set of new and classic r&b songs for the convocation attendees. Kelly Davidson
At the August 31 convocation held in the Berklee Performance Center, Larry Bethune, vice president for student affairs/dean of students, reassured the entering class. “We are very careful in selecting who joins our community,” he said. “We chose you, and you belong here. You have a lot in common and a lot of differences. What we have in common binds us together, and the differences make us colorful, vibrant, and creative souls. Without these wonderful differences, Berklee might be a boring place. But I guarantee you: We want to be anything but boring.”
Lalah Hathaway ’90, the opening day keynote speaker, was interviewed by professor Bill Banfield and then sang with a faculty quartet. Kelly Davidson
“You’ve come to Berklee at a very exciting time in the life of the college,” Larry Simpson, senior vice president for academic affairs/provost, told the freshmen. “We’ve tried to create a most unique and supportive environment for you here so that your dreams can get bigger as a result of your engagement with this community.”
[Teaching is] “an important—maybe even sacred—responsibility,” president Roger H. Brown told faculty and staff during the September 5 opening day. “I know you’re up for it. Let’s have a great year.” Kelly Davidson
“No school can guarantee you success,” President Roger Brown noted. “What we hope to do is improve your odds for success. We want to help you figure out what your destiny is and get you prepared to be as successful as you can possibly be.”
Alumni speaker Miles Walker ’03, an MP&E graduate, is a multi-Grammy winner who has engineered recordings by Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Rihanna, and more. He shared thoughts on building lasting relationships at Berklee.
“Social media is a good way to connect with people all around the world,” he said. “But the relationships you make at Berklee spending hours and days working together on sessions or rehearsing for gigs may become the building blocks for your career. My best friend at Berklee was Brian Warwick, who is now an engineer in Los Angeles. We spent a lot of time working together—not texting—and formed a relationship that is strong to this day. We have worked on many records together. Make the most out of the connections made at Berklee to make something special happen.”
Three diverse student groups performed in the musical portion of the program. Drummer Noam Israeli led a jazz trio with Jin Young Park (piano) and Tabari Lake (bass) in a Latin-grooved version of Cole Porter’s “Night and Day,” Park’s original composition “Awkward Moment,” and Branford Marsalis’s “The Mighty Sword.”
ChoroBop, a Brazilian trio—with mandolinist Eduardo Mercuri, seven-string guitarist and bassist Flavio Lira, and percussionist Anne Santos—played a range of Brazilian music blending samba, choro, and neo-Latin grooves.
The final group, the 16-piece Desmond Scaife Jr. and Family, closed the show with new and classic r&b tunes running the gamut from Bobby Womack and Sam Cooke to Pharrell Williams and Bruno Mars. They closed with Scaife’s original song “Strong Black Man.”
On September 5, Berklee’s faculty, staff, and administrators gathered for the launch of a new academic year at Opening Day exercises.
Larry Simpson told the audience that this semester Berklee is planning for the largest student population in its history.
He also noted the passing of three former professors, and the hiring of 29 new faculty members, three new department chairs, and two new deans.
The event’s keynote speaker, Lalah Hathaway ’90, gave an onstage interview with Africana Studies professor Bill Banfield, discussing her Berklee experience and the needs of today’s music students.
They also touched on Hathaway’s work with George Duke and Prince, and about winning her first Grammy after more than two decades in the music industry.
When queried about the influence of her famous father Donny Hathaway, Lalah stated, “I walk in my own shoes, but it’s awesome to be a singer and be associated with someone, who in my opinion, is the greatest singer that ever lived.”
Hathaway also sang with a faculty band comprising Danny Morris (bass), David Gilmore (guitar), George Russell Jr. (keyboards) and Tony “Thunder” Smith.
After opening with her poignant ballad “Boston,” Hathaway scatted on “Summertime” and harmonized on the melody to “Straight No Chaser,” eliciting loud applause.
Watch Hathaway and faculty perform "Summertime" at Opening Day:
Among Roger Brown’s summary remarks were stories he’s collected from students about the transformational effect of faculty members on their lives. “Teaching is a noble and delicate art,” Brown said. “The art of teaching is knowing when students need a push, versus encouragement. We are not just teaching musicians, we are teaching human beings. It’s an important—maybe even sacred—responsibility. I know you’re up for it. Let’s have a great year.”
