BOSTON, October 8, 1999 -- On Friday, October 15, 1999, the Music Technology Division of Berklee College of Music will present two workshops and a concert by two highly renowned artists in their fields. The 8 p.m. concert, presented by saxophonist and computer music pioneer Bruno Spoerri at 22 The Fenway, will be free and open to the public. Questions about the major residencies and the concert can be directed to Kristie Roldan, (617) 747-2408.

Critically acclaimed, Grammy-winning producer and engineer Frank Filipetti will be in Music Production and Engineering Studio "A" at 150 Massachusetts Avenue beginning at 11 a.m. His past works have included the Grammy-winning albums Hourglass by James Taylor (Best Pop Album, Best Engineered Album) and Passion, the original cast recording (Best Soundtrack Album.) He has also engineered the video and album series of Pavarotti and Friends concerts and worked on albums by Carly Simon, Al DiMeola, KISS, Hole, Gato Barbieri, and Elton John.

At the forefront of the 5.1 remixing revolution (including DVDs of Meatloaf's VH-1 Storytellers performance, David Grusin's West Side Story album, and Hourglass), Filipetti is featured on the cover of the September 25, 1999, edition of Billboard Magazine for an article about Surround Sound mixing. His current projects include forthcoming albums from Barbra Streisand and George Michael.

A pioneering musician in electronic music and co-founder of the Swiss Society for Computer Music and a leading Swiss jazz saxophonist, Bruno Spoerri will present his fusion of jazz and technology in a Music Synthesis Department workshop at 22 The Fenway in Room F-12 from 4 to 6 p.m., and then a concert entitled "Computer-assisted Jazz (CAJ) with Saxophones, Synthophone, David Rokeby's Very Nervous System, Guitar, Percussion and Drums" in F-12 from 8 to10 p.m.

Bruno Spoerri plays alto and soprano saxophones and the Synthophone, a MIDI saxophone built by Softwind Instruments, of Bern, Switzerland. Spoerri also uses David Rokeby's unique video-driven music system, a Macintosh computer with MAX/MSP, samplers and synthesizers. The group includes Christy Doran on electric guitar with various electronic devices; and Reto Weber on drums and African and Brazilian percussion instruments, some of which are inputs devices to the computer. The group's music is improvised, merging their jazz roots with influences from rock and folk music from all over the world. New electronic devices and interactive computer programs help to develop spontaneous interactive compositions.

The group has performed in India, Africa, Indonesia, Europe at the Montreux and Zurich Jazz Festival, Canada, and in the US at Princeton and Colgate Universities and the Knitting Factory in New York. Their new CD Shake, Shuttle and Blow has just been released on Enja Records.

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For editorial information, contact:

Toni Ballard
Office of Public Information
Berklee College of Music
(617) 747-2247
Fax: (617) 247-8788
tballard@berklee.edu