Faculty
 |
"I make a living doing the things that I teach in class. I write arrangements of jazz and pop music for recordings, concerts, and television broadcasts. I speak passionately about the subject because it is not a theoretical exercise for me; I am living it. I try to make my classroom reflect my reality in the professional world. I assess my students given where they are in their education, but I also try to assess them as someone outside the Berklee community would. They’ll get two grades from me on their projects: the student grade and the grade they would get outside of Berklee. I like to think of myself as their client. From week to week I am commissioning them, and I expect them to wow me every time."
Read More |
Eric Stern, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Composition Department"In the classroom we try to explore leadership issues in conducting, as well as technical issues: the intangible qualities that allow an individual to convey his or her ideas to a group. Paramount are musical preparedness, physical practice, and expressive skills. We try to get everyone up on their feet every week, conducting me at the piano, as well as the NOTION playback software. It is particularly exciting when a student conductor takes a musical idea in a direction no one expected, choosing a different tempo or a different way of feeling a phrase. These moments bring together the elements of musicality and leadership with a satisfying clarity."
Read More |
Victor Bailey, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"Teaching is all thinking, but performing is different. When it’s right, performing is an out-of-body experience and thinking goes out the window. You just let it happen, like riding a bike. There is always fresh inspiration even week to week when I perform, which is an outgrowth of being well rounded and ready to play anything. And there’s a difference between playing an instrument well and playing music well. Some people have an incredible amount of technique and can do unbelievable things—by themselves. But when they have to jam with a band they have no idea what to do. It’s like a guy on the basketball court who has all the moves and looks really great, but the ball never goes into the hoop."
Read More |
- Vibraphonist and composer
- Guest appearances with the World Festival Orchestra under the direction of Paquito D’Rivera, the Milan Svoboda Orchestra in Prague, sold-out shows at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and in Tel Aviv, and as soloist with the Carlos Chávez Symphony Orchestra in Mexico City
- Solo appearances with the 85-piece Banda del Puerto in Valencia, Spain, under the direction of award-winning conductor Isidro Coll Ballesteros, as well as the Granada Symphony in Spain
- Recordings and performances with his own group, as well as with artists such as Paquito D’Rivera, Claudio Roditi, and Giovanni Hidalgo
- Named one of the Outstanding Latin Jazz Artists of the Year by Latin Beat magazine Black Bean Blues named one of the best Latin jazz recordings of the year by Modern Drummer magazine
- Named "the genre's leading vibraphone practitioner" and "one of today's most resourceful composers" by Jazziz magazine
- Clinician for Yamaha and Vic Firth
 |
- Entertainment and technology attorney
- Experience advising music artists, record labels, managers, publishers, and producers, as well as Internet search providers and content distribution and technology companies
- Coauthor of the book Music Law in the Digital Age, as well as several articles on copyright
David Nordlund, Instructor
DEPARTMENT : Global Studies – ValenciaDiego Lopez, Instructor
DEPARTMENT : Global Studies – Valencia |
- Composer
- Awards include the City of Alicante Award, Villa de Benidorm First Prize and Special Prize by audience rating, Fallera of Valencia Prize, Tolosako Musika Banda First Prize, Hellenikon Idyllion Award for the Olympic Games in Athens, Fallera of Valencia Prize, City of Madrid" Prize,
- Head of the Composition Department in the Professional Conservatory of Valencia
- Publications include two harmony books, Ejercitacion Armonica Vol. 1 and 2, released by Rivera Editores