Great American Songbook: Girl on Fire—The Music of Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
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The Great American Songbook: Girl on Fire—The Music of Alicia Keys concert is part of the inauguration events for Dr. Erica Muhl as Berklee’s fourth—and first female—president. Experience a joyous evening of live music presented by over 100 Berklee students from 35 countries, celebrating the rich musical canon of legendary singer-songwriter, pianist, actress, director, producer, author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Alicia Keys.
A classically trained pianist, Keys is a 15-time Grammy Award–winning musician who exudes both originality and a faithful nod to the greats with her distinctive, soulful vocal style and ebullient spirit. Sharing her impeccable craft for writing classic R&B love songs, jazz-inspired neo-soul melodies, soaring ballads, feel-good motivational anthems, and funky grooves with hip-hop and electronica flourishes, Keys has connected with a wide and eclectic audience, earning accolades around the world.
As a devoted and influential activist, Keys’ socially conscious lyrics tackle a broad range of issues, from women’s empowerment, race, and sexuality to voter registration, the criminal justice system, and the global fight against HIV/AIDS, proving her to be one of the most important musical voices and authentic entertainers of the 21st century.
Produced by Maureen McMullan ’09, this interdisciplinary concert brings together an outstanding global collective of vocalists, instrumentalists, arrangers, track producers, dancers, and VJ designers, as well as a beatboxer, spoken word poet, and EDI artists using Ableton Push 2 and Mi.Mu gloves. Together they will share their unique blend of artistry, cultures, and inspired interpretations of Keys’ repertoire. From intimate acoustic treatments to fully orchestrated arrangements, the concert is not just the product of hours of rehearsals, boundary pushing, and fine tuning, it is an exploration of our students’ individual expressivity, diversity, and creative collaboration.
The concert also will feature an innovative collaboration with students from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee's groundbreaking new Bachelor of Fine Arts in Commercial Dance program, featuring the work of guest choreographer and associate professor Raul Cruz.
Intermingling brand new songs with some of Keys’ signature hits, the setlist will include “A Woman’s Worth,” “No One,” “You Don’t Know My Name,” “Heartburn,” “Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down,” “If I Ain’t Got You,” “Girl on Fire,” “Underdog,” “A Beautiful Noise,” “Brand New Me,” “Butterflyz,” “New Day,” “Superwoman,” “Not Even the King,” “Fallin’,” “Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart,” “Looking for Paradise,” “How Come You Don’t Call Me,” and many more.