Composer Pat Irwin to Address ASCAP Day at Berklee on April 25

The Former B-52's Guitarist and Keyboardist Composed Film Scores including But I'm a Cheerleader and contributed to hit shows like SpongeBob SquarePants and Bored to Death.
April 20, 2012

The ASCAP Foundation is pleased to announce its support of ASCAP Day at Berklee College of Music taking place on April 25, 2012.  ASCAP composer and musician Pat Irwin will headline the day. Irwin was a 19-year veteran of the B-52's as guitarist, keyboardist, and saxophonist. He also scored for major film and television projects and was a prominent figure in New York's influential "No Wave" scene. Early in his career, Irwin performed and recorded with the Raybeats and 8-Eyed Spy in addition to collaborating with Phillip Glass. Irwin's latest endeavor, the band Command V, just released an eponymous CD and digital album on Mush Records.

Irwin's scoring career began in the 1990s, resulting in music for such animated programs as SpongeBob SquarePants, Rocko's Modern Life, Pepper Ann, and the Emmy Award-winning Class of 3000 (with Outkast's André 3000). His independent film work is extensive, composing for such cutting-edge films as Bam Bam and Celeste, But I'm A Cheerleader, and My New Gun. Currently teaching a film scoring workshop at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Musical Theater Program, Irwin recently scored HBO's Bored to Death and the film Pervertigo, which was selected for the 2011 edition of the IFP Narrative Independent Filmmaker Lab.

ASCAP Day is designed to provide both film scoring and songwriting students with information on current trends in their fields. Irwin will discuss his own career in classes with the film scoring and songwriting students, and ASCAP staff will be on hand to answer students' questions about the current state of the music business and performing rights organizations.  An additional special session with Pat Irwin, open to the public, will take place on April 25 from 1:00–2:45 P.M.  in the Steve Heck Room, 1140 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts.

"By establishing an ASCAP Day at Berklee, we show our support for young and emerging composers and songwriters at the college level," stated ASCAP and ASCAP Foundation Board President Paul Williams. "Today's Berklee students are tomorrow's ASCAP members. These students are taking a major leap of faith to try to make their art their lives. I want the question of what their future holds to have a positive answer."

Another highlight of ASCAP Day is the presentation of two tuition-based scholarships at Berklee: The ASCAP Foundation Film Scoring Scholarship at Berklee College of Music and the ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Scholarship at Berklee College of Music. Each scholarship recognizes talent, professionalism, musical ability, and career potential in film scoring and songwriting, respectively.  Recipients are selected by the Berklee Film Scoring and Songwriting faculties. 

Wayne Ingram, the 2012 recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Film Scoring Scholarship at Berklee College of Music, is a composer, producer, and performer. He began writing on piano 10 and taught himself guitar in his teens. Soon after, Ingram played with such celebrated artists as Mike Garson (keyboardist for David Bowie and others), Nick D'Virgilio (Spock's Beard), and Michael Wilton (Queensryche), as well as touring with the Cal Poly Jazz Band. He has produced albums for Genrorama and Alex Cook, which brought him to film scoring. Ingram composed for student films in his first year of college and enjoyed scoring so much that he moved to Boston to attend Berklee, where he majors in film scoring.

Caitlin Timmins is this year's recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Songwriting Scholarship at Berklee College of Music.  Caitlin began recording songs on her mother's GarageBand program as a child.  She sang so much in her Wisconsin hometown that she was chosen to sing the national anthem at all her high school's sports games. She released her first album, On The Bright Side, in 2009, and was soon after accepted to Berklee.  Since arriving, she has released a string of singles, including "The Lie," which was voted the number one song at Berklee's Performing Songwriter's Showcase and garnered her an invitation to perform at the school's "In The Round Series" alongside Berklee faculty. 

Pat Irwin and both scholarship recipients will be honored at a luncheon on April 25 which will be attended by Berklee faculty and ASCAP/ASCAP Foundation staff. ASCAP Day @ Berklee College of Music is supported by the ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Estate.  The two scholarships are also made possible by the Bart Howard Estate.

Founded in 1975, The ASCAP Foundation is a public charity dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, awards, recognition and community outreach programs for songwriters, composers, and lyricists. The ASCAP Foundation is supported by contributions from ASCAP members and from music lovers throughout the United States.