Faculty Notes: Fall 2022

Berklee Boston

Esin Aydingoz is the new assistant chair of the Screen Scoring Department.

Professor Larry Bell completed two CDs for release in the fall. The first, Thoughts and Prayers, was the result of a faculty recording grant. The second is the double CD Twenty-Four Preludes and Fugues. One of the four pianists on this recording is Professor Jennifer Elowsky-Fox.

Associate Professor Sergio Bellotti is a new member of the Recording Academy and joins the countless creators and professionals who serve, celebrate, and advocate for our music community year-round. 

Associate Professor Catherine Bent did a concert tour in São Paulo, Brazil, and gave workshops entitled "Tem violoncelo no choro." She also delivered shows in Brasília with Berklee student Ian Coury. In Rio de Janeiro, she performed with Choro na Rua and other local groups.  

Rhoda Bernard, assistant chair of the Music Education Department, will deliver keynote addresses on arts education and students with disabilities this fall at conferences in Kentucky, Washington, and Nebraska. She is also leading workshops at the LEAD and Arts Schools Network conferences, and at numerous school districts and arts organizations.

Michael Bierylo, chair of the Electronic Production and Design Department, authored the chapter "The Electronic Digital Instrument: What Does It Mean to Develop Musical Skill with a Computer?” in the book Commercial and Popular Music in Higher Education. Visit tinyurl.com/ya7axfte. 

Amparo Edo Biol, chair of the Contemporary Writing and Production Department, was named composer in residence at the Spanish Brass Festival Alzira, where her newly commissioned composition for brass quintet, Barandat, was premiered. 

Professor JoAnne Brackeen was interviewed for the JazzTimes article “Before and After” in its October issue. She was also interviewed by Isabelle Leymarie for an upcoming book on jazz artists.  

Professor Freddie Bryant received the Chamber Music America New Jazz Works grant in 2019. Due to COVID, his work, Upper West Side Love Story, premiered this year. It features 16 songs and documents the history, change, and gentrification of the historic neighborhood he grew up in. Visit upperwestsidelovestory.com.

Richard Carrick, chair of the Composition Department, was a visiting professor at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, offering master classes as well as lectures on his works for dance, improvisers, and graphic scores. Carrick premiered three new works for piano there. His work Nadia Boulanger also premiered in New York City.

Assistant Professor Cristi Catt traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas, in July to perform with Blue Thread, a group she cofounded to explore ballad migration and shared stories. The group’s concerts wove together Hindustani, Carnatic, Portuguese, Sephardic, Slavic, Celtic, and American song traditions and were made possible by the Walton Family Foundation.

Assistant Professor Orlando Cela released an album, Miniature Symphonies, featuring new works by Yoko Nakatani, Brittney Benton, Quinn Mason, and Kevin Scott that were commissioned for the project. 

Assistant Professor Eric Cornell premiered Anne of Green Gables: A New Musical. He is the lead producer of its commercial production and has been developing the show at Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut. He is also general manager for a two-year international tour of The Sound of Music.

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

Kris Davis, associate program director of creative development for the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, was named pianist of the year in the 2022 DownBeat Critics Poll. She also won the North Sea Jazz Festival Paul Acket Award this year. 

Professor Bob Doezema received the Professional Writing and Music Technology Division’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his powerful impact on many generations of students, his contributions to Berklee’s curriculum, his mentorship to fellow faculty, and his deep musicianship. Doezema retired from Berklee this spring after 46 years of service. 

Professor Jan Donley’s art was chosen to be featured at the Jamaica Plain branch of the Boston Public Library.

Associate Professor Derek Fawcett performed release shows for "Runnin' Outta Somedays" and "Sticks & Stones" at Rockwood Music Hall, and presented at the Association for Popular Music Education in Detroit. Visit linktr.ee/derekfawcett.

Professor Tomo Fujita started writing a monthly two-page column in Guitar Magazine (Rittor Music in Japan). He also posts related videos on YouTube, is working on a new album, and appeared at a showcase in Nashville. Visit tomojustfunky.com. 

Professor Laszlo Gardony released an album with guitarist Kevin Kastning. Gardony’s album with Associate Professor John Lockwood and Percussion Department Chair Yoron Israel, Close Connection, will be released in December. They will perform on December 8 at Birdland Jazz Club, and on January 26 at David Friend Recital Hall.

Professor Bruce Gertz won an award for “Song for Crumbles'' in the International Songwriting Competition’s Cut the Chord category. A contributing editor for, and advisory board member of, the International Society of Bassists, he wrote articles about Steve Swallow and Ron Carter. He also released his 21st album, Gently Said.

Professor Rich Greenblatt visited Ghana for three weeks to play the music of the Ewe, Ashanti, Ga, and Dagara peoples of West Africa.

Assistant Professor Benny Grotto was the producer and recording engineer for a Death Ray Vision album on Metal Blade Records. The band is a side project of Mike D'Antonio from Killswitch Engage. Grotto is also the drummer in Associate Professor Hayley Thompson-King’s band. 

Assistant Professor Susan Hagen has recorded and/or performed 99 pieces, including 50 premieres, since March 2020. Most of the pieces were for solo double bass. She has given eight solo recitals online that have raised over $3,000 for charity. 

Darla Hanley, dean of the Professional Education Division, joined the Arts Schools Network (ASN) Board of Directors, and presented her book Jazz Is Elementary at the ASN conference. She’s also invited to present the book at the Jazz Education Network Conference, the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference, and at California State University, Northridge.

Associate Professor David Harris joined the Boston Modern Orchestra Project as jazz trombone soloist for the opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Anthony Davis. Following a performance at the historic Strand Theatre, the orchestra recorded the work, which will be released in 2023.

Professor Gaye Tolan Hatfield won a 2022 Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Original Song category for “Grateful for It All,” cowritten by Associate Professor Brad Hatfield and Jeff Meegan.

Assistant Professor Steve Heck recently finished the 14-track country-influenced pop album Midwest Memories. The album’s band includes professors Casey Scheuerell, Joe Santerre, and Norm Zocher; Associate Professor Bob Patton; and faculty member Mike Duke. The project started in 2002. 

Assistant Professor Ralph Jaccodine was voted into the Recording Academy as a professional member of the academy’s Philadelphia branch, which is close to his hometown of Allentown, PA, where he was a musician and concert promoter. 

Assistant Professor Andrew Jarboe's book Indian Soldiers in World War I (University of Nebraska Press) won third place in the Society for Army Historical Research (SAHR) Templer Best First Book Prize competition at the National Army Museum in London.

Associate Professor Matt Jenson is a member of the band Groundation, which released the album One Rock. The band did a five-week European tour and will tour again this fall. Visit groundation.com. Jenson is also developing his online educational platform, Art of Reggae. Visit artofreggae.com.

Professor Jimmy Kachulis’s concert pieces have received prizes in various competitions, including the TUTTI Festival in 2022 and the International Trombone Festival in 2019, 2021, and 2022. His work has also been performed by the Veridian String Quartet, the Odin Quartet, Azimuth Orchestra, the Boston New Music Initiative, and more.

Professor Jim Kelly taught at the Berklee clinics at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy. This is the 35th anniversary of Berklee’s involvement; Kelly took part in the first Berklee event there and has taught at the festival more than 25 times.

Associate Professor Bruce Kilstein’s short story "The Recipe for Making Blood" was published in the spring issue of Blackbird magazine. Visit blackbird.vcu.edu/v21n1. 

Hae Joo Kim, assistant chair of the Professional Music Department, was a panelist on “From K-Pop to K-Explosion: Lessons from Korea’s Creative Economy” at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2022.

Assistant Professor Julie Kinscheck released a new book, Vocal Training for Praise Singers. She exhibited at the World Discipleship Summit in Orlando and presented at the Worship Innovators Conference in Chicago. She also led the first New Voice Faculty Improv Spotlight concert at Berklee. Visit julieksings.com.

Professor Teodros Kiros wrote two books, Self-Definition: A Philosophical Inquiry from the Global South and Global North and Conversations with Cornel West, as well as a review of George Yancy in Black Studies and a review of Charles Mills on race in the CLR James Journal. 

Associate Professor Erica Knowles and her team from the Berklee Psychology of Music Research Lab presented their study “Auditory Statistical Learning in Classical and Jazz Musicians” at the 2022 conference of the Society for Music Perception and Cognition. 

Professor Barbara LaFitte was the chamber music librarian at the Aaron Copland Library at Tanglewood Music Center for its summer program. In addition to fulfilling her responsibilities to her 12- and five-week students at Berklee, she prepared chamber music for the TMC fellows, meeting musicians from around the world.

Professor Lori Landay is a visiting fellow at the MIT Open Documentary Lab during her sabbatical leave this academic year. Her project, Moving Realities: Capturing and Creating Motion and Emotion in Interactive 3D Environments, will produce virtual and augmented reality experiences accessible on the web.

Assistant Professor Steve Langone performed concerts with the Boston Pops and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra; toured with Greg Piccolo and Heavy Juice; and released new works with Professor Claudio Ragazzi, Shawnn Monteiro, Marc Albanese, and Andrés Enrique.

Assistant Professor Claire Marie Lim presented at the Audio Engineering Society's 152nd convention, sharing a paper she wrote about grid performance controllers and hardware in live electronic music performance. This event was made possible through a partnership with the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague.

Assistant Professor Ming Yuan Low finished his first year of teaching full-time in the Music Therapy Department. This summer, he competed in the Club Crew World Championships in Florida with his old team, Pennsylvania Dragon Boat Club, and is on the Boston 1 Dragon Boat Team.

Professor Nancy Marshall released the new album Sing Praises!, coproduced with Rob Rose, former vice president of special programs.

Associate Professor Nando Michelin released the album Letters from the Quarantine, featuring Berklee alumni, and is working on a new album, The Magical Universe of Eduardo Mateo, featuring Uruguayan musicians. All proceeds from this album will go toward treatment for mental health and autism in Uruguay.

Professor Jane Miller, director of Berklee’s Guitar Sessions summer program, authored an article in the September/October issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine. The music library Mpath Music is releasing an EP of her compositions for media. 

Associate Professor Yoko Miwa was nominated for a Rising Star award for piano in the 2022 DownBeat Critics Poll, and performed at Dizzy's Club at Lincoln Center with her trio.

Associate Professor Amanda Monaco performed at the Rochester International Jazz Festival with her all-female sextet, Lioness, in June.

Professor Tiger Okoshi was an artistic director for the Youth Jam Session, created by the Sapporo Art Park organization, in Hokkaido, Japan.

Assistant Professor Valerie Orth received a Berklee Faculty Fellowship for her work with Palestine Beats, an educational program in the West Bank that she helped create. It combines songwriting, music technology, and nonviolent communication.

Instructor Sarpay Özçağatay published six method books for flute and C instruments in recent years: the five-volume UNLOCK series, and JAZZ LICKS Comprehensive Studies for Flute & C Instruments. The first volume of his UNLOCK series is the best-selling flute book in its category on BookAuthority. 

Professor Lauren Passarelli released the original EP The Highest Moon and collaborated with Kate Chadbourne on their album Book of Your Heart, which features guest artists Mike Bishop, Leah Bluestein B.M. ’20, Mary Ramsey Douyard, and Professor Leanne Ungar.

Professor Marcello Pellitteri performed in Europe with New York Voices, with the legendary Brazilian guitarist Toninho Horta, and with his own Elektric Eclectic Band, which includes Francesco Guaiana B.M. ’01.

Associate Professor Luis Perdomo is featured on recordings of Music of the Americas by saxophonist Miguel Zenón B.M. ’98, and on trumpet master Tom Harrell's album Oak Tree. In addition, he performed with his trio at the Zinc Bar in New York City in August. 

Marco Pignataro, managing director for the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, was the musical director for JazzBoston’s JazzNow recording series and for the Swedish Tallberg Foundation recording for climate change advocacy. He released a record in April, Marco Pignataro’s Dream Alliance’s Awakening, and one in September, Chant for the Planet.

Assistant Professor Kaoruko Pilkington earned a Master of Music degree (jazz performance concentration) from New England Conservatory (NEC). During her study, she sang as one of the featured vocalists with visiting artist Cécile McLorin Salvant, and her composition “Cherry Blossom Trees” was performed by NEC Artist in Residence Dave Holland’s ensemble. 

Professor Alison Plante scored the feature documentary As Prescribed, which premiered this summer at the Berkshire International Film Festival and had its international premiere at Sheffield DocFest.

Professor Ron Reid was awarded the Caribbean Foundation of Boston's Martin Luther King Award for his contributions to the development of the steelpan at Berklee and in the city of Boston. In August, he performed with the Caribbean jazz ensemble Caribbo, which includes Berklee alumni. Visit caribbomusic.com.

Professor Ned Rosenblatt directed the Berklee Advanced Vocal Jazz Ensemble, which won its second consecutive DownBeat Student Music Award in the undergraduate ensemble category. The ensemble has also been selected to perform at the 2023 JEN annual conference in Orlando.

Assistant Professor Collin Russell was an editor of, and contributing writer for, the book Synth Gems 1 by Mike Metlay, and a contributing writer for the book Inspire the Music: 50 Years of Roland History by Kim Bjørn. Both works were released this year. He also scored a short horror film, Paracosm.

Professor Joe Santerre performed on three albums: Just Passing Thru by jazz/fusion multi-instrumentalist Miles Donahue; Tribute, a tribute to Bonnie Raitt by Jon and Juli Finn; and Through the Noise, by pop composers Lisa and Brett Brumby.

Professor Suzanna Sifter wrote a new book, A Modern Method for Piano Scales, which is the partner book for her new Berklee Online course, Scales 101, which went live this summer.

Professor Harry Skoler released Living in Sound: The Music of Charles Mingus, featuring Christian McBride, Kenny Barron, and others, and with arrangements by Fabian Almazan, Ambrose Akinmusire, and others. The record charted for jazz radio airplay, according to JazzWeek. Skoler was also featured in articles about Mingus in Jazziz and JazzTimes. 

Professor Didi Stewart wrote a new musical, An Infinity of Stars, which features a 20-song score and an original script about the political divisions tearing our country apart. The debut performance featured a stellar cast of Berklee faculty. A cast album is forthcoming, courtesy of a Berklee grant.

Professor Robin Stone played four solos on her friend Nico Pitzer's latest album, Blue Clouds, which was released in June. 

Associate Professor Nicholas Urie arranged “Sweet Isolation,” a recording by the Metropole Orkest featuring Oscar Jerome. Urie also arranged a track on the upcoming Warner Classics release by Lucienne Renaudin Vary. Visit nicholasurie.com.

Associate Professor David Valdes's novel Spin Me Right Round is on the New York Public Library’s Best Books for Teens list and was an Indie Next List pick and Junior Library Guild selection. His novel Brighter than the Moon will appear in January. 

Instructor Carlos Vargas’s debut tour in Germany included performances at the premiere of the Steinway & Sons Black Masterpiece collection in Hamburg and a solo recital at Musiken Kirchheimbolanden. His playing was described by the German press as being filled with “striking energy and uncompromising honesty.”

Professor Mark Walker graduated with a master’s degree in jazz composition from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was offered a gig with Arturo Sandoval touring the U.S., Europe, and South America. Walker also recently headlined at the Arlington Jazz Festival with his group and worked with the Boston Pops. 

The second edition of Victor Wallis's book Red-Green Revolution: The Politics and Technology of Ecosocialism, from Political Animal Press, was released in August.

LATE, a musical confronting school shootings, with music by Professor Michael Wartofsky and text by Kathleen Cahill, was presented at the Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion at Moonbox Productions’ Boston New Works Festival.  

Kenny Werner, artistic director of the Effortless Mastery Institute, did a four-week tour in Europe, including three weeks with the Metropole Orkest, featuring Grégoire Maret on harmonica, celebrating Toots Thielemans’s 100th birthday. Werner’s notebook, Becoming the Instrument: Lessons in Self-Mastery from Music to Life, was also released.

Associate Professor Kirstie Wheeler sang with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, in late August performances of Beethoven, Borodin, Ives, and Shostakovich, after two and a half years of hiatus due to COVID.

Professor Julius P. Williams’s orchestra version of his work Those Heroes Who Healed the Nation was premiered at the Boston Pops’ July 4 spectacular. It was first commissioned as a chamber ensemble piece for the June rededication ceremony for the restored Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial.

Associate Professor Kevin Wilson and Assistant Professor Lori L’Italien (Conservatory) presented “Teaching Musical Theatre Voice” at the National Association for Teachers of Singing conference in Chicago. Wilson will present “Teaching Musical Theatre: Using Emotion to Stimulate Filter Change” at the Pan European Voice Conference in Tallinn, Estonia.

Professor Nancy Zeltsman was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame. Past Berklee faculty honorees include Gary Burton, Alan Dawson, and Dave Samuels.

Boston Conservatory at Berklee

Associate Professor Jean Anderson published an e-book, The Young Classical Singer’s Toolbox, available on Amazon; taught this summer at CANTO, an opera training program for young singers; did a residency in October at the University of Connecticut; and is the pianist for Boston Opera Collaborative’s song cycle Love in the Time Of... 

Associate Professor Candice Brown received a faculty innovation grant for voice and speech curriculum development. She has also been a vocal or dialect coach for the Gamm Theatre’s productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Ironbound, and An Octoroon.

Assistant Professor Jessye DeSilva released their album Landscapes. It received critical acclaim in No Depression magazine, which called the album “a tour de force of queer country music.”

Jermaine Hill, assistant chair of the Theater Division at the Conservatory, served as music director and arranger for Steppenwolf Theatre Company's critically acclaimed production of Choir Boy, written by ensemble member and Academy Award–winner Tarell Alvin McCraney. 

Professor Rhonda Rider celebrated 20 years of directing the Cello Seminar at Music from Salem, in New York. She also performed and taught at the Harvard and Green Mountain chamber music festivals.

Associate Professor Angela Farr Schiller dramaturged the West Coast premiere of Dominique Morisseau’s play Confederates, directed by Nataki Garrett at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It asks the question, “What does Black, female-identifying liberation look like in our current historical moment?” Visit osfashland.org/productions/2022-plays/confederates.

Associate Professor Elizabeth Wong directed The Children, by Lucy Kirkwood, at the 2022 Fairhaven Summer Repertory Theatre in Bellingham, Washington. Wong’s commissioned play, an eco-comedy called Space Nuns of the Rescue Mainframe, is premiering this fall at the Hook & Eye Theater in Brooklyn.

Berklee Valencia

Associate Professor Enrique Hernandis was an invited composer at the National Gugak Center in Seoul, South Korea. He wrote a piece for daegeum, haegeum, and gayageum titled “SOLEA,” which mixies flamenco and traditional Korean forms of music.

This article appeared in the fall/winter 2022 issue of Berklee Today.