Faculty Notes: Fall 2021

Recent accomplishments, releases, and events by Berklee faculty.

September 17, 2021

Professor Teodros Kiros published two books, Self-Definition: A Philosophical Inquiry from the Global South and Global North and Conversations with Cornel West, which led to interviews on C-SPAN, The Glenn Show, Choralosophy, and African Ascent International, and at the Harvard and Berklee bookstores.

Associate Professor Rick McLaughlin released and played bass on Live at Berklee by the Lennie Tristano Centennial Quartet.

Assistant Professor Marty Walsh and his band released the album World Goes Round, recorded in 1989, on Viper Records Ltd, a New York label. It can be heard on all streaming platforms and will be released on vinyl soon. 

Enrique Hernandis Martínez

Enrique Hernandis Martínez

Associate Professor Enrique Hernandis Martínez wrote a book about music he composed in his hometown during the pandemic, Inspirat per Carcer, and he wrote a requiem for orchestra and choir, which will premiere in 2022.

Assistant Professor Jessye DeSilva released their studio EP Hover in January. DeSilva received glowing reviews from Audiofemme and Country Queer, and was named one of 10 LGBTQ+ artists you should know by American Songwriter, which praised DeSilva’s “razor-sharp lyrics, paired frequently with an almost ethereal vocal.”

For Women’s History Month, Professor Francine Trester composed “Voices from the Boston Women’s Memorial,” which she performed at the memorial with Carrie Cheron and Brianna Robinson. It aired on Boston Neighborhood Network and was supported by the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail and the mayor’s office. 

Shea Rose

Shea Rose

Assistant Professor Shea Rose produced the student and alumni hip-hop compilation The Identity Project: Vol. 1, with 15 songs created in response to the pandemic, U.S. presidential election, and protests for racial justice. It was made possible by the Office of Faculty Development and a 2020 Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship.

Professor Suzanne Hanser authored or coauthored four recent research investigations. Two were published in Music and Medicine, one was published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, and one was published in Journal of Music Therapy. The pieces dealt with the use of music therapy for dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and acquired brain injury. 

Associate Professor Nicholas Urie arranged a remote performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow'' for the Boston Pops’ Fourth of July broadcast featuring the viola section of the orchestra. He also arranged the music for the Metropole Orchestra's 5 Mei (Liberation Day) celebration. 

Night Vision

Night Vision

Professor Lauren Passarelli released the albums Night Vision and Love Wins with Professor Eugene Friesen, Assistant Professor Alizon Lissance, Professor Leanne Ungar, Kate Chadbourne, Tom Evans, Mike Bishop ’88, Mary Douyard, Michael Bean ’04, Leah Bluestein B.M. ’20, Doug Alexander ’76, and Michael Harmon.

Assistant Professor Steven Kirby’s book Jazz Guitar Improvisation Strategies (Berklee Press) was published in January. It is primarily targeted at intermediate guitarists who want to learn to improvise over the more sophisticated, changing harmony typical of jazz.

The 21-piece JCA Orchestra put out a new album, Live at the BPC, in October 2020. It features compositions by Assistant Professor David Harris, Professor Darrell Katz, Professor Mimi Rabson, and Professor Bob Pilkington, and has received much critical acclaim.

Professor Tom Stein released a new book, The Business of Music Management: How to Survive and Thrive in Today’s Music Industry, on Business Expert Press, an affiliate of Harvard Business Press. The book is being sold in collections as a textbook to over 500 colleges and universities worldwide. 

Daniel McIntyre

Daniel McIntyre

Associate Professor Daniel McIntyre scored music for Space Launch Live: America Returns to Space, an Emmy Award–winning special produced for the Discovery and Science channels. He also scored documentaries, themes, and background music for other shows over the past year. 

Professor Eli Epstein, veteran second horn of the Cleveland Orchestra, has created a multimedia version of his book, Horn Playing from the Inside Out. The e-book includes many videos, images, and sound recordings, as well as several links to Epstein’s pedagogical videos, which illuminate and enhance the text.

Jazelynn Goudy

Jazelynn Goudy

Assistant Professor Jazelynn Goudy became a member of Sydnie L. Mosley's dance company, worked as an assistant director on a documentary, completed a residency as digital media artist at Two Rivers Theater, choreographed Once on This Island for Speakeasy Theater, and is an artist resident at the CUNY Dance Initiative.

Rhoda Bernard, managing director of the Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs, created and facilitated several online courses in arts education for people with disabilities for the Kennedy Center. She will give the opening keynote presentation at Zukunftsmusik in Bern, Switzerland, in October.

Harmonyville

Welcome to Harmonyville

Professor Emeritus Jon Damian released Welcome to Harmonyville 01625, a new graphic novel about a good-natured town whose residents are chord symbols, infused with life from Damian’s illustrations and narrative.

Professor Bruce Gertz’s album Running in the Background of original compositions was released in August 2020. It features Woodwinds Chair Walter Smith III, Marvin Smitty Smith, Lawrence Fields ’08, and Vic Juris. The album got great reviews.

Composition Chair Richard Carrick's concert-length collaboration with choreographer Miro Magloire, Sea, was premiered by the New Chamber Ballet in Brooklyn in the spring. It is based on journeys to South Korea, France, Spain, and Tanzania. His ensemble Either/Or returned to performing live at South Street Seaport in Manhattan. 

Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Robert Lagueux recently had an essay, "Screaming Gets You Nowhere: Bernstein's Mass and the Politics of Peace,” published in Leonard Bernstein and Washington, DC: Works, Politics, and Performances (University of Rochester Press).

Professor Ellen Francese received the Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship for the project Creating Responsible Artists as Human Rights Activists: Full Participation in Artistic Representation, which grew out of a collaboration between her Service Learning LENS courses and The Confined Arts, which serves artists whose lives have been impacted by incarceration. 

Claire Marie Lim

Claire Marie Lim

Assistant Professor Claire Marie Lim was awarded the Queens Art Fund Grant from the Queens Council on the Arts in New York in support of an album of electronic music, Destiny, to be released in December. It was created in collaboration with female-identifying and nonbinary youth of Asian descent in Queens.

Professor Kris Adams performed in and around Perugia, Italy, in August and recorded vocals for a CD project at the Bird’s Eye Jazz Club in Basel, Switzerland.

Associate Professor Ady Cohen continues to compose music for Disney's Baby TV, broadcast in 140 countries. During the pandemic, he created the music and sound design for the third season of the animated series Rocco. He also wrote the score for the documentary feature film A Lullaby for the Valley.

Assistant Professor Tim Hall released a single, "Dad Did.” His band, STL GLD, has been collaborating with the Boston Symphony Orchestra through a series of digital performances and interviews, and Hall was asked to join the Board of Trustees for the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. 

Tim Ray

Tim Ray

Professor Tim Ray released a CD in 2020, Excursions & Adventures (Whaling City Sound), featuring Berklee faculty Terri Lyne Carrington and John Patitucci. Ray was also the pianist and musical director for the legendary Tony Bennett from 2017 until his retirement this past August.

Professor Jan Donley’s newest and continuing art is showing at Stewart Clifford Gallery in Provincetown, and her video artist statement won a 2021 Non-Broadcast Gold Telly Award.

Professor Kevin Siegfried produced a concert video for Homegrown at Home, a concert series presented by the American Folklife Center and the Music Division of the Library of Congress. It premiered August 25 and is posted at loc.gov and on the Library of Congress YouTube channel

Tomo Fujita

Tomo Fujita

Professor Tomo Fujita debuted his new John Mayer PRS Silver Sky guitar alongside nationally touring funk band Pigeons Playing Ping Pong for 1,200 screaming fans at Northlands in Swanzey, NH, on July 16. By the end of his 40-minute guest appearance, the crowd was chanting, “Tomo! Tomo! Tomo!” 

Professor Nancy Zeltsman released a video, Bunkers of Alvira, by Andrew Patzig. Through Threshold Music Project, she's commissioned five duos for marimba and Pearl malletSTATION, including one by Assistant Professor Jennifer Hruska.

Associate Professor David Valdes’s book Spin Me Right Round was named one of the most anticipated fall books by Kirkus Reviews. Spin Me Right Round will be released by Bloomsbury on November 2.

Rhonda Rider

Rhonda Rider

Professor Rhonda Rider was featured in summer festivals including Harvard Music Festival, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Asian Youth Orchestra, the Cello Seminar, Emerald Coast Festival, Summer Strings Academy for Girls, and Chosen Vale.

Professor Bruno Råberg released The Prospector, a collaborative recording with Ear Training Chair Allan Chase on saxophone and drummer Austin McMahon that features compositions by all three members. 

Associate Professor Nando Michelin will release a new CD, Letters from the Quarantine, featuring several alumni. In September, he is recording El Universo Musical de Eduardo Mateo, featuring Professor Bruno Raberg, Assistant Professor Bertram Lehmann, Martin Guas ’20, and other musicians. 

Susan Hagen

Susan Hagen

Assistant Professor Susan Hagen has performed five virtual solo recitals raising money for charity; recorded over 50 solo pieces, and music for friends; given six international master classes; commissioned four collections of music; judged international competitions; presented for the International Society of Bassists; and cofounded the League of Women Bassists.

Associate Professor Margaret Phillips became the first Certified Music Practitioner on the bassoon. Playing bedside as part of a palliative care team, she is trained to play for all patient conditions. Phillips specializes in dementia and end-of-life therapeutic music.

Rick DiMuzio

Rick DiMuzio

Professor Rick DiMuzio released Time Travelers, his second album as a leader. While it highlights his tenor and soprano saxophone playing, it also showcases his compositional skills with nine original pieces, ranging from jazz trio to quintet. Associate Professor Mark Shilansky is featured on piano.

After 15 years teaching in the Ensemble and Percussion departments, on July 6 Mark Kohler was named assistant chair of the Percussion Department.

Assistant Professor Dan Shore’s opera Freedom Ride premiered in February 2020 with a sold-out run at Chicago Opera Theater.

Judith Eissenberg

Judith Eissenberg

Professor Judith Eissenberg is a founding member of the Lydian String Quartet, which was awarded a grant for a new work by composer Kurt Rohde. This commission has been made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Assistant Professor Joo Park and her students presented six original works inspired by artworks of an esteemed sculptor, Andy Moerlein, in May’s Boston Sculptors Gallery Exhibition. Park’s composition “Anoroc Cycle” was selected by New York City Contemporary Music Symposium and performed at Columbia University in April.

James Donahue

James Donahue

Associate Professor James Donahue recorded many socially distanced video events with the Handel and Haydn Society. He also graduated from the University of Southern California’s Iovine and Young Academy with a Master of Science in integrated design, business and technology.

Berklee Online faculty member Peter Bell ’81 released his first solo album, Just Sayin’, in September, coproduced with David Mash B.M. ’76 and featuring current and former Berklee faculty members, alumni, current students, and other artists. It is available on most digital music distribution sites and at peterbellmusic.com.

Professor Laszlo Gardony is featured on two album recordings, both to be released in early 2022. The first one is New York flutist/composer Christian Artmann's new Sunnyside Records album, featuring Percussion Chair Yoron Israel and Associate Professor John Lockwood, and the second is a duo recording with Greydisc Records guitarist Kevin Kastning ’86.

Professor Susan Rogers completed a work of popular nonfiction for W. W. Norton publishers. Titled This Is What It Sounds Like, the book describes music-listening from three perspectives: record producer, neuroscientist, and nonmusician. It is slated for release in September 2022.

Chris Bergson

Chris Bergson

Associate Professor Chris Bergson released a new solo album, All I Got Left, a collection of songs inspired by the pandemic, which received four stars in Mojo magazine praising Bergson's "elegant slide chops." 

Professor Victor Wallis published "Technology and Ecosocialism," in Perspectives on Global Development and Technology 20 (2021), and "Lifelong Fighter for Prisoners' Rights: Hugh Ray Lyons, Jr., Presente!" in San Francisco Bay View in January.

Jim Dalton

Jim Dalton

Professor Jim Dalton's compositions have been published in two new anthologies: The Complete Mandolinist Vol.2 (MelBay) and Hushed: 21st Century Lullabies for Guitar (American Composers Alliance). His classical ukulele composition, Three Meditations on Heraclitus, was premiered, recorded, and published in England.

Assistant Professor Simone Scazzocchio worked as music director, composer, and orchestrator with ROTU Entertainment for the virtual reality video game Ionia. The music team included Alex Yewon B.M. ’20 and Suhyun Kim B.M. ’20. Ionia is being released on Steam, Facebook, Oculus Quest 2, Rift, and Playstation VR.

Professor David Scott explores jazz and Americana with his new album, Thornewood. Reconciling his Nebraska upbringing and his East Coast adulthood, he sings original songs inspired by hard bop and by the Great Plains. He also performs unique arrangements of songs from the Great American Songbook and more. 

Associate Professor Mark Simos authored the chapter "The Wise Listener: A Listener-Centered, Experiential Protocol for Songwriting Technique,” in Action-Based Approaches in Popular Music Education (F-flat Books). Both e-book and paperback editions of the book can be purchased at steveholleymusic.com

Rebecca Cline

Rebecca Cline

In May, Associate Professor Rebecca Cline gave a live streaming clinic (in Spanish) on jazz improvisation at the 15th annual JazzFest, sponsored by the Department of Jazz and Caribbean Music of the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico.

Professor Rick Peckham’s Modal Voicings for Guitar, released recently by Hal Leonard/Berklee Press is a best seller and has been getting positive reviews. Instrumental accompaniment for the demonstration tracks is provided by Professor Fernando Huergo and Mike Clarke B.M. ’72, drums. 

Professor Julius P. Williams was appointed cochair of the League of American Orchestra Conductors’ constituency commitments. He was also commissioned by the Boston Children’s Chorus for the rededication of the Shaw/54th Regiment Memorial, dedicated to the men and women who fought to end slavery in America. 

Assistant Professor Yulia Musayelan released two albums as a leader in the last year: Unsaid (Next Level, 2020) and Oblivion (ZOHO, 2021). Both were recorded at Guilford Sound as part of the 2019 Recording Residency Grant from Berklee's Office of Faculty Development, and feature Musayelyan in collaboration with several Berklee faculty members.

Bertram Lehmann

Bertram Lehmann

Assistant Professor Bertram Lehmann garnered critical recognition with two large ensemble recordings. DownBeat gave The New Immigrant Experience, by the Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble, four and a half stars. And All About Jazz gave Mehmet Ali Sanlikol’s jazz suite The Rise Up, commissioned by saxophonist Dave Liebman, the same rating.

Assistant Professor Jason Yeager is completing a suite inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's novels, with support from a Faculty Development Grant. He'll perform this music with a quartet featuring Jerry Bergonzi at atac: downtown arts + music in Framingham, Massachusetts, on October 1 at 8:00 p.m.

Professor Beth Denisch’s Fire Mountain Intermezzo will be performed by the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and livestreamed on October 9 at 8:30 p.m. ET as part of the international project The [Uncertain] Four Seasons Vivaldi X Climate Change Concert with Assistant Professor Geneviève Leclair, conductor.

Associate Professor Ned Rosenblatt's vocal jazz ensembles won numerous DownBeat Student Music Awards, including those for asynchronous small vocal jazz group and asynchronous large vocal jazz ensemble.

Kevin Harris

Kevin Harris

In 2021, Associate Professor Kevin Harris gave several performances and online master classes and workshops, including Thelonious Monk and Erroll Garner vs. Columbia Records; The Concern of an Improvising Musician; Protest Music, National and International; and Spirituality in Jazz. He was also a co-organizer of the Mission Hill Arts Festival.

Professor JoAnne Brackeen, 2018 NEA Jazz Master, did Zoom workshops for Jazz at Lincoln Center and Gail Boyd’s Alternative Venues for Jazz, and will be doing more in New York City and Michigan. She’s also creating new jazz compositions and will be in concert in London, Denver, and New York.     

Yoko Miwa Trio

Yoko Miwa

Associate Professor Yoko Miwa reached no. 1 on the JazzWeek radio chart with her new release, Songs of Joy, and received over 6 million streams on Spotify. Her trio performed as part of the International Jazz Day broadcast worldwide.

Professor Herman Hampton has published Diverse Works: Eight Programs on Diversity Developed for Berklee College. For Courses of Study and Enlightenment.

Associate Professor Tiffany Chang received an inaugural Opera Grant for Women Stage Directors and Conductors from OPERA America in 2021. She makes her debut with Portland Opera and Opera Columbus this season.

Garrison and Dahlgren

Garrison and Dahlgren

Professor Winnie Dahlgren conducted the Grammy-winning big band Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra at Matthew Garrison’s venue, ShapeShifter Lab. The performance and recordings of Garrison’s music, arranged by Dahlgren, will be presented in the Matt Garrison app.

Assistant Professor Thomas Palance, artistic director of the Orchestra on the Hill, performed a virtual and live collaborative effort called Emergence in May and September. These concerts premiered all original compositions involving dancers, poetry, visual art, and film.

Assistant Professor Geneviève Leclair conducted a streamed performance of Laura Kaminsky’s opera As One with Orchestre Classique de Montréal, as well as a small provincial tour with Symphony New Brunswick. This fall she’s in a concert with Concord Orchestra, and a production of The Nutcracker with Spartanburg Philharmonic and Ballet.

Approach by Claudia Ravaschiere and Michael Moss.

Approach by Moss and Ravaschiere

Assistant Professor Michael Moss, his wife, Claudia Ravaschiere, and their son used 3D printers to make face shields for first responders in New York and Boston. One of the couple’s public art pieces in NYC had its exhibition extended permanently. Moss has also been creating a saxophone/keyboard electronic digital instrument. 

Professor Neil Leonard released Sonance for the Precession, an LP based on his sound installation, presented by the Williams College Museum of Art. It's coproduced by Joe Branciforte B.M. '07.

Associate Professor Jacques Schwarz-Bart released the album Soné Ka-La 2: Odyssey this spring, which JazzTimes and the Financial Times reviewed.

Karen Carr

Karen Carr

Assistant Professor Karen Carr released a self-titled debut album that is already earning coverage. Singles include "Long Time Coming" and "Sometimes." Carr has worked as a backup singer, a jingle performer, and a one-off gig act in the greater New England area for over three decades.

Assistant Professor Sissy Castrogiovanni released an album, TERRA, featuring several Berklee faculty members. TERRA was featured in JAZZIZ Magazine. In October, the official video for the song "'A Panza" is premiering in Italy's Jazzit magazine. Castrogiovanni will launch a European tour featuring the album in March 2022.  

Professor Kat Reinhert held a release show for her album Dead Reckoning at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City on October 5. Additionally, she and Sarah Gulish (Fflat Books) are launching a fully on-demand course in songwriting through their company, Songwriting for Music Educators, on October 15.

In April, Phil Lima, assistant chair of the Voice Department, premiered composer Steve Murray’s When Death Came for Us in a hybrid recording project with Albany Pro Musica and PBS affiliate WMHT. He also appeared as soloist with the Plymouth Philharmonic in September, singing sea chanteys arranged for him by Professor William Cutter

Professor Lisa Thorson presented Jazz Singing: The Sources, Sounds and Pathways to Personal Style, a combination lecture and master class on the history of jazz and blues singing and improvisation for the LoVetri Institute for Somatic Voicework at Baldwin Wallace University in July.

Professor Ana Guigui’s original pandemic cabaret solo show, Where Do We Go From Here?, earned a Best of the Fest award at the 10th anniversary Whitefire Theatre Solofest in Los Angeles.

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