The Alumni Beat
The Alumni Beat
Adrian Ross
Leading into the summer months, Boston hosted an incredible alumni showcase at the House of Blues in Cambridge on May 19. A capacity audience packed the eclectic venue, to hear a variety of music ranging from r&b to country. Livingston Taylor hosted the evening, featuring stellar performances from Adriana Balic ’95, Chelsa Bailey ’94, Jude Crossen ’94, Matt Glover ’01, Late Bloomers (Randy Browning ’95 and Brett Kinney ’93), Thea Hopkins ’84, Kelly Riley ’86, Wendy Roy ’98, Julio Santillam ’01, Stan Swiniarski ’79, and Susan Welby ’79.
On June 6, Berklee Associate Professor Kurt Biederwolf and Assistant Vice President Marjorie O’Malley traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota, to conduct the first-ever Berklee alumni event in the area. Thirty alumni attended a clinic conducted by Biederwolf entitled “You Live Where? New Opportunities for Musicians in the Digital Age.” Biederwolf demonstrated how both music synthesis and his work as a composer have changed over the years, and how affordable technologies have enabled him and others to work efficiently and reach more clients. More alumni activities are planned for this area in the future.
David Mash, Berklee’s vice president for academic technology, met with alumni at the Apple Market Center in New York City during the Macworld NY 2002 Conference and Expo. Mash demonstrated new music applications running on Mac OS X, and discussed the benefits of the new operating system for musicians. A hot topic during the discussion was Apple’s recent acquisition of Emagic, a German music software and hardware manufacturer. Also discussed were new Apple computer models and their potential use for music and audio production.
On July 22 and 29, for the second year in a row, Boston-area alumni took advantage of hands-on music-technology workshops led by Associate Professor Jeff Baust in Berklee’s Music Synthesis Labs. This year’s focus was on the increasingly popular area of softsynths, particularly Reason. In an attempt to keep alumni in tune with advancing technology, we plan to continue to provide these workshops. If you have any suggestion for topics you would like to see covered, please fill out an online survey on the alumni website www. alumni.berklee.edu.
(From the left): Ken Scher ’76, Berklee’s Vice President for Academic Technology David Mash ’76, Hiro Iida ’89, Mizue Imanishi ’96, and Beatriz de Mello ’92 met at New York’s Apple Market Center for the Macworld alumni gathering. (by Adrian Ross)
In August a group of alumni from Boston and abroad gathered for a special day-trip to Martha’s Vineyard for Berklee’s second annual Vineyard Vibes concert. The group met in Falmouth, took a chartered boat to the island, and then enjoyed dinner at a preconcert reception at the Wesley Hotel in Oak Bluffs. Attendees enjoyed some of the island’s splendor before being shuttled to the Regional High School Performing Arts Center for the concert. A breathtaking performance followed, bringing the evening to a climax. (See “Good Vibes” on page four for more about the Vineyard Vibes ’02 Concert.)
Fall got off to a great start with the Alumni Showcase on September 7. Held once again at the House of Blues, this event is becoming an entertainment staple, not only for members of the Berklee community, but for the general public as well. The showcase drew around 80 people. As always, the performers held the audience’s attention until the final song. Featured were Brendan Burns ’98, Debris (featuring Justin Ballard ’97 and Bryan Bales ’98), Jeanne Ciampa ’92, David Ford & SuZen ’89, Sam Hooper ’90, Jerome Kyles [’97] & Divinity, and Sarah Wheeler ’92. Stay tuned for more showcases as we continue to build a performance series nationwide. Please continue to monitor the alumni website for upcoming events and announcements, and I hope to see you soon!
(From the left): Chris Godwin ’90, Mark Vadnais ’92, Professor Phil Wilson, and Pete Espiefs ’85 gathered at a preconcert alumni reception on Martha’s Vineyard in July. Later that night, Wilson led the Berklee Rainbow All-Star-Band featuring Joe Lovano ’72. (by Emily Singer)
All the best,
—Adrian Ross ’96, Director,
Alumni Affairs
Photo captions
- (From the left): Ken Scher ’76, Berklee’s Vice President for Academic Technology David Mash ’76, Hiro Iida ’89, Mizue Imanishi ’96, and Beatriz de Mello ’92 met at New York’s Apple Market Center for the Macworld alumni gathering. (by Adrian Ross)
- Participants in the July softsynth master classes held at Berklee’s Music Synthesis Labs. (From the left): Rollins Ross ’70, Jairo Duarte ’00, Alexia Rosari ’96, Assistant Professor Jeff Baust, and Stefan Holton ’88. (by Adrian Ross)
Alumni Chapter
Presidents and
Coordinators:
New York
Ralina Cardona ’91
Crescendo
(718) 585-4534
Chicago
Doug Murphy ’90
One World Productions
(708) 343-1750
Nashville
Neil Diercks ’93
(615) 352-2676
Boston
Jeannie Deva ’75
The Voice Studio
(617) 536-4553
Los Angeles
Leanne Summers ’88
Vocal Studio
(818) 769-7260
San Francisco
Karen Kindig ’90
(415) 507-9722
Austin
Sarah Sharp ’97
(512) 927-2612
minnesota
Mindy Hansen ’80
(763) 540-0001
Mary Ellen Skeesick ’80
(952) 448-1898
England
Lawrence Jones ’80
44-1273-701833
Scandinavia
Christian Lundholm ’96
(454) 295-3083
Martin Fabricus ’96
(453) 583-1679
ITALY
Claudio Zanghieri ’93
39-335-688-5891
Greece
Mike Achladiotis ’84
016-926019
Upcoming Events
Boston: ASCAP 101: Your Music and Your Rights October 21, 2002
Year-End Holiday Social December 12, 2002
New York: Year-End Hoilday Social November 2002
Miami: Lyric Writing Workshop with Pat Pattison October 5, 2002
San Francisco: Alumni Showcase hosted by Liv Taylor Winter 2003
Toronto: Alumni reception at IAJE Conference
January 2003
