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Commencement 2002
By Rob Hochschild
Berklee.edu Web Site Editor
May 2, 2002
Listen to an interview with Shirley Horn on the NPR program, The Connection, conducted on Thursday, May 9, 2002. You can catch the archived show at The Connection.org.
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Shirley Horn (top) and
David Foster |
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Two masters of the popular song will receive honorary Doctor of Music degrees from Berklee when the Class of 2002 graduates on Saturday, May 11. The night before receiving their honors, jazz vocalist and pianist Shirley Horn and producer and composer David Foster will watch as students pay tribute to the honorees in a Berklee Performance Center concert. The tribute, which begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 10, will be webcast live.
One of the few jazz vocalists who accompanies herself with equal skill on piano, Horn puts her stamp on standards by combining what Wynton Marsalis calls "great rhythmic imagination, melodic sensibility...and superior harmonic knowledge in her singing and her piano." Those remarks are taken from the liner notes of "You Won't Forget Me," a 1991 Verve release recognized as one of Horn's finest. Her eleventh recording for Verve, "You're My Thrill," has received critical raves since its release last year. She has collaborated with many music greats during her 40-year career, including Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Kenny Burrell, Clark Terry, and Toots Thielemans.
The sound of adult contemporary music would be completely different without the contributions of David Foster. He is the genius behind a long list of hit records, including Natalie Cole's "Unforgettable" and Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." In addition to producing those songs and artists, Foster has produced recordings for Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, the Corrs, and Chicago. He has won 14 Grammy Awards, including three for Producer of the Year. Beyond his work in the studio, Foster has also written several chart-topping singles, including the movie hit "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" and "The Glory of Love," for Peter Cetera. Some of Foster's other compositions have found their way on to albums by Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Earth, Wind & Fire, Herbie Hancock, and Boz Scaggs.
Horn and Foster join a list of music luminaries who have received Berklee honorary doctorates, including Duke Ellington, David Bowie, Sting, Dizzy Gillespie, alumnus Quincy Jones, and Bonnie Raitt.
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