Jennifer Holliday Bob Kramer Studio

A "bit of a nonmusician." That's how rock icon David Bowie, speaking at Berklee College of Music's 1999 Commencement, described himself. Of course, many Class of '99 graduates would undoubtedly love to become the kind of "nonmusician" Bowie is. But Bowie has never confused technical virtuosity with musical creativity.

"What I found that I was good at doing, and what I really enjoyed the most, was the game of 'what if,'" Bowie explained. "What if you combined Brecht-Weill musical drama with rhythm and blues? What happens if you

transplant the French chanson with the Philly sound? Will Schoenberg lie comfortably with Little Richard? Can you put haggis and snails on the same plate? Well, no, but some of the ideas did work out very well."

Bowie, who received an honorary degree along with saxophone master Wayne Shorter, was just one of many esteemed visitors who came to campus in the past year, sharing their thoughts and experiences with the college and its students.

In October, there was Tijuana Brass leader and A&M Records founder Herb Alpert, in town for the dedication of the newly renovated media center and library. Thanks to the Herb Alpert Foundation, the media center has been named for tenor saxophone great Stan Getz, with whom Alpert formed a close friendship late in the jazzman's life.

"Stan was a special musician and a caring friend," Alpert said as he received a plaque from President Lee Eliot Berk commemorating the naming grant. "He once told me he never played a note he didn't mean. Not many can say that."

Alpert came to campus with his wife, singer Lani Hall, and Alpert Foundation President Kip Cohen. Getz's former wife Monica and his daughter Beverly Getz McGovern were also among the honored guests. McGovern came bearing one of Getz's tenor saxophones, which Berklee faculty member George Garzone—who had himself recorded a tribute CD to Getz—played in a quartet led by Executive Vice President Gary Burton. The horn will be on loan for display at the new Stan Getz Media Center and Library.

Naming the library for Getz "seemed like a perfect fit for us as well as for Herb," says Burton, who spent three years in Getz's band. "But I hadn't realized it would become quite as personal as it did."

In November, former CBS Records chief executive Walter Yetnikoff came to Berklee to share his views on the wave of mergers sweeping the recording industry. Delivering the sixth annual James G. Zafris, Jr., Distinguished Lecture in Music Business/Management, named in honor of the former chair of Berklee's Board of Trustees, Yetnikoff, who now runs his own Velvel Music Group, expressed his concern that "corporatization" was stifling artistic creativity in the music industry.

Wayne Shorter and David Bowie Bob Kramer Studio

Noting that a handful of record companies dominate the music market and that radio station conglomerates increasingly control the airwaves, Yetnikoff wondered aloud, "Would Bob Dylan be played on radio today if he were a new artist?" But Yetnikoff also told students to be on the lookout for new and unforeseen opportunities, reminding them of the words of St. Augustine: "The most important things happen when we are most confused."

Corporate consolidation on every level— recording, radio stations, even booking—is one of the key trends in the music industry today, notes Chair of the Music Business/Management Department Donald Gorder. And no one, says Gorder, speaks on that subject with more authority than Yetnikoff, who nurtured the careers of Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, and Billy Joel—and also engineered the sale of CBS Records to Sony.

"He's seen it from both sides," says Gorder, who calls Yetnikoff "a true icon of the industry."

Last fall, singer and actress Jennifer Holliday shared the story of her battle with depression as part of the first annual Depression Awareness Program, sponsored by the six-college Pro Arts Consortium. Unable to handle her overnight success in the hit Broadway musical Dreamgirls, Holliday withdrew from society, went on eating binges, and ultimately attempted suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. But with professional help, she battled back.

"I am victory standing before you," Holliday declared before a packed house in the David Friend Recital Hall.

"Sometimes we get so caught up in our own interests that our feelings and emotions become hidden even from ourselves," says Susan G. Berk, wife of President Lee Eliot Berk and cochair of the event, which was held in conjunction with National Depression Screening Day. "We become increasingly isolated, like a skyscraper ready to tumble over. I was so pleased when Gary Burton agreed to cochair the event with me. His concept of an artist-presenter like Jennifer, together with the participating doctors and clients, made for an extraordinarily successful event. Jennifer was so expressive and convincing, and best of all, she is eager to return and be even more involved in reaching out to our college community."

The highlight of Berklee's Black History Month Celebration in February was a visit by cable-television programming pioneer Robert L. Johnson. As founder and chief executive officer of BET Holdings II, Johnson launched not only Black Entertainment Television, which reaches 55 million homes in the United States, but also BET on Jazz: The Cable Jazz Channel. The 24-hour music channel, which is available internationally as well as on U.S. cable television systems, offers "the visuals of jazz" as well as "the audio of jazz," Johnson told his Berklee audience for the second annual Dr. Warrick L. Carter Lecture.

The Urban Outreach Orchestra Bob Kramer Studio

"Robert Johnson is utilizing his outstanding entrepreneurial ability and spirit to promote jazz internationally through television. Music lovers and musicians around the world are enjoying the fruit of his efforts," says Dean of the Professional Education Division Lawrence McClellan, Jr.

The Black History Month lecture is named for Berklee's former provost and vice president for academic affairs, who retired in 1996. Carter was instrumental in developing the college's community service program and in promoting diversity on the Berklee staff.

Arts Academy becomes a reality

Years in the making, a new Boston high school for the visual and performing arts opened its doors last fall. The Boston Arts Academy was a long-sought goal of the six-college Professional Arts Consortium that was achieved under the leadership of Berklee President Lee Eliot Berk (the other participating colleges are the Boston Conservatory of Music, Boston Architectural Center, Emerson College, Massachusetts College of Art, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts). President Berk sits on the governing board of the pilot school—a public high school run as part of the Boston school district but with considerable freedom from bureaucratic constraints—and Berklee's Director of Education and Community Partnerships J. Curtis Warner has been hip-deep in bringing the dream to reality.

"Extending arts education opportunity is such an important way for Berklee and the other arts colleges, which are all Boston-based, to give back to the youth of their Boston community," says Warner. "And now that the school is up and running, ever broader areas of Berklee are becoming involved to assure that the music students receive the very best possible education."

Under the guidance of a liaison committee led by Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students Larry Bethune, Assistant Vice President for Special Programs Rob Rose, and Warner, many divisions, departments, and offices are finding ways to hook up with the new performing arts school in the Fenway, just blocks away from the Berklee campus. Berklee faculty members have served as guest speakers at the school, and work-study students from the community affairs office have been sent over to help out. A tuition-benefits agreement now allows arts academy teachers to take some Berklee courses free of charge. And the Music Education Department is discussing the creation of a yearlong education internship at the arts academy, in place of traditional student teaching.

But most heartening, says Warner, is seeing the new school in action. "To see the degree of energy that's over there is great," he says. Even in its first year, and containing only ninth- and tenth-graders, the school's performing groups were already in great demand—and were up to the challenge. At the Boston Arts Academy's dedication ceremony last October just seven weeks into the school's existence, the school choir "sang a cappella, in four-part harmony," says Warner. "It was awesome."

Lawrence McClellan, Jr., and Robert L. Johnson Bob Kramer Studio

Building BIN

The Berklee International Network for Contemporary Music Education continues to grow. In the past two years, three new schools devoted to jazz and popular music have joined the network, bringing the number of BIN partners to 13.

Within the last year, the Conservatorio Musical Souza Lima, in Sao Paulo, Brazil; the Seoul Jazz Academy, in Korea; and the Academia de Musica Fermatta, in Mexico City, became members of the far-flung group of Berklee affiliates. These schools represent important sites on the musical map, and their joining makes BIN more geographically complete, says Associate Vice President for International Programs Larry Monroe.

"All three represent important relationships for a variety of reasons," says Monroe.

Founded under the leadership of President Berk in 1992, the Berklee International Network now includes 14 schools of contemporary music around the world.

"We have received countless inquiries over the years from alumni and others who wanted us to open international branch campuses," says President Berk. "We realized the best way to foster an expansion of contemporary music education opportunity was to reach out to the leading schools around the world."

For new BIN schools, membership in the network provides a boost from abroad. Take Mexico City's Academia de Musica Fermatta, which joined the network in February. Founded by musicians Juan Carlos Paz y Puente and Mario Santos, Fermatta sees BIN as a resource supporting its contemporary music mission, which gets little credence from traditional conservatories.

"Fermatta gains credibility by having the acceptance of Berklee," says Sibila Reyes of Academia de Musica Fermatta. "We also have the possibility of exchanges with students, teachers, and Berklee staff, and also with all of the other BIN partners. It's a great way of being in touch with things that are happening with musicians around the world."

Last summer, Berklee hosted 16 faculty members and administrators from BIN schools for a week of development activities, which had these international educators exploring everything from improving instrumental study programs to planning music libraries. Next year, BIN will hold its biennial summit of member schools in Athens, Greece. Also in the planning stages are some forays into distance learning, which would allow students at BIN schools to receive and participate in lectures originating from Berklee.

"The Berklee International Network has successfully completed its first phase of becoming established," says Monroe. "We are now beginning to see the many exciting possibilities that are increasingly presenting themselves from our shared interactions. Along the way, we are all learning a lot from each other."