Final Cadence: Spring/Summer 2023

Wesley Warren Wilkes B.M. ’97 of San Diego, CA, died June 16, 2015, of pulmonary arterial hypertension, a genetic disease. He was 43. Wilkes was a music teacher and touring band member. He leaves his mother, Kennette Harrison; father, William Wilkes; sisters, Lisa and Grace; and nieces and nephews.

Marco Birro B.M. ’19 of Montagnana, Italy, died suddenly on March 8, 2020. He was 26. A highly talented jazz pianist who was awarded a full-tuition scholarship to Berklee, Birro was also a gifted composer. He leaves his parents, Alessandra and Paolo; sister, Beatrice; grandparents; cousins; and friends.

Robert Robison ’73 of Racine, WI, died January 14, 2022, after a 17-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 69. A talented musician, Robison played in the Patchwork Band and served as a choir director. He leaves his wife, Kathy; children, Michelle, Michael, Matthew, Marci, Carrie, and Curtis; brother, Gary; sister, Karen; many grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. His son Chad; father, Robert; mother, Ruth; and brother Don predeceased him.

Jason William Heinrichs B.M. ’94 of Richfield, MN, died of a heart attack on February 7, 2022. He was 51. A music producer and DJ professionally known as Anomaly, Heinrichs collaborated with many musicians in the Minneapolis area and was a member of the Twin Cities–based hip-hop group Cenospecies. He leaves his parents, Richard and Jean; brother, Karl; niece, Justice; and several members of his extended family.

David Harry Finn ’75 of Montreal, Canada, died July 29, 2022. He was 70. Finn loved jazz and played trumpet in several community bands in the Beaconsfield, Canada, area. He leaves his daughter, Kelly Cluett; son, Curtis Cluett; brothers, Bruce, Brian, and Stephen; and grandchildren, William, Ginny, and Charlie. His partner, Pia LaPorte, predeceased him.

Jack Pezanelli of Northampton, MA, died September 28, 2022. He was 73. A faculty member in Berklee’s Guitar Department for 30 years, he retired when he became unable to teach due to illness. In his youth, Pezanelli had been a guitarist for Sammy Davis Jr.’s band. He’d also performed with Shirley Horn ’02H, Herb Pomeroy ’52 ’95H, Lou Rawls, and others. He leaves his wife, Harriett Feldman; sister, Lorna; and several cousins and nieces and nephews.

John Daniel Miller III ’82, of Towanda, PA, died peacefully on September 29, 2022, after a long illness. He was 65. Miller was a talented musician who won two Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards for the PBS documentaries Luminous Impressions and Chihuly in Charlotte. He was also the technical director for the Bradford County Regional Arts Council. He leaves his wife, Katherine van den Blink Miller; sisters, Anne, Kristin, and Karin; and several nieces and nephews.

John Gilbert Coulter B.M. ’84 of Arlington, MA, died November 5, 2022. He was 58. A professional flutist, Coulter was a founding member of the chamber ensemble Sounds and Seasons and had performed with members of the Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and the Handel and Haydn Society. He also built and operated a recording studio, and was an audio and lighting technician. He leaves his brother, Steve; sister, Joyce; and nieces.

Jarritt Sheel of Springfield, MA, died November 12, 2022. He was 46. Sheel was an assistant professor in the Music Education and Liberal Arts and Sciences departments, having joined Berklee in 2018. He had toured internationally, worked with students in high school bands, and taught music courses at Valencia College and New York University as well as liberal arts courses at the City University of New York. He was a doctoral candidate at Columbia University. He leaves his wife, Antonia Sheel; children, Judah, Aden, and Sarah; and mother, Pamela Smith.

Mick Goodrick ’67 of Boston died November 16, 2022. He was 77. A longtime member of the Guitar Department who cowrote its core curriculum, Goodrick was a highly respected teacher and mentor, and an inspiration to generations of guitarists and musicians. As a performer, he toured with Gary Burton ’62 ’89H and Pat Metheny ’96H. As an educator, in addition to teaching, he wrote the well-regarded book The Advancing Guitarist. JazzTimes called Goodrick “arguably the most influential guitar pedagogue in the history of jazz.” He leaves a brother, Ted.

Zak Godwin II B.M. ’90, of Cedar Hill, TN, died December 10, 2022. He was 57. A guitar tech who most recently toured with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Godwin often toured with Kenny Chesney, Vince Gill, and Hank Williams. He leaves his wife, Julie; brother, Pete; sister, Caitlin; and nieces and nephews. His parents, Robert and Pam, predeceased him.

Wendy Hawkison B.M. ’80 of Delray Beach, FL, died December 19, 2022. She was 72. A Venezuelan musician who represented her country at international festivals as an arranger and conductor, Hawkinson also composed, arranged, produced and published albums for many artists. She spent the last 20 years of her career as a music professor at Valencia College. She leaves her sisters, Linda, Nancy, and Marta; and her nieces and nephews.

Kaitlyn Johnson B.M. ’21 of Atlanta, GA, died January 19, 2023. She was 23. A gifted classical pianist with a lovely voice, Johnson led praise and worship at Atlanta Westside Presbyterian Church. She leaves her parents, Byron and Kim; siblings, Kelsey, James Byron II, Jordan, and Jonathan; grandparents; and aunts and uncles.