Alum

Jeanine Cowen

Position
Acting Assistant Chair
Affiliated Departments
Expertise
video game audio
Telephone
617-747-8675

For media inquiries, please contact Media Relations

In addition to teaching, Jeanine Cowen works actively as a freelance composer, music producer, and sound designer. She has received critical acclaim for her studio, television, independent, and interactive projects, which focus primarily on the intersections of music and visual medias.

Cowen trained at Northwestern University as a classical percussionist and graduated from Berklee with a dual degree in film scoring and music production and engineering.

Career Highlights
  • Composer for film and video games, music producer, orchestrator, and conductor since 1986
  • Past positions include those on development teams at the Education Development Center, Inc.; Turning Point Software; and Turbine Entertainment
  • Engaged at all levels of sound development on projects that include Hasbro's Mr. Potato Head, Microsoft's Fine Artist and Creative Writer, and Midway Games' Lord of the Rings Online, a multiplayer online role-playing game
Education
  • B.M., Berklee College of Music
In Their Own Words

"My teaching style has always been one that encourages self-reflection and discovery. I like to push my students to be self-motivated. For me, it isn't about the grades they will receive but rather the knowledge and skill set they can build on. Assignments always have the capacity to be completed to the level the student is capable of, and by witnessing other students' work, they can see different approaches to the same task. I'm never expecting to see students complete their assignments in exactly the same way as their peers."

"The great thing about Berklee is that we end up with very diverse class populations. When you gather a group of people from different cultures and life experiences, it enriches the educational experience. Some of the students get exposed to higher-level conversations through their classes, whereas students who have been working in the industry for some time get the experience of learning in a much more structured fashion. It is amazing to be present when a piece of the puzzle falls into place for a student and suddenly things they've been doing make sense conceptually."

"I've been very surprised by the personal connections I've been able to make with my students. Class time frequently includes lively conversations about music and the industry. I find the students to be very motivated and sincerely interested in the material. Students work incredibly hard on their class work, and it shows."

"Berklee has always had a special way of looking at music, and our students translate that into some pretty spectacular learning opportunities."