Nashville Notes

I’ve heard a rumor that summer is over, but apparently the Nashville weather center didn’t receive the memo. As I write this article, temperatures are in the upper eighties, and there’s a healthy dose of Tennessee humidity in the air. But even hazy weather and allergy season can’t fend off a new crop of alumni that has made the move to Music City. John Rodrigue ’09, Allie Vreeland ’09, and Jamez ’00 are just a few of the Nashville newbies with Berklee ties. I look forward to hearing more from (and about) them in the near future.

As for those of us already firmly entrenched in Nashvegas, we’ve managed to stay busy over the past few months. Recently, many alumni gathered at the Listening Room Café, one of the newer and better-sounding songwriter venues in Nashville, for the Berklee Alumni and Friends showcase. The night featured an eclectic group of performers, including Jesse Terry ’04, Joe Doyle ’87, Ruth Collins ’06, Will Champlin ’05, yours truly, and the incredibly talented Amanda Williams ’99, who also organized the event.

James Harrington ’06 just began his second season with the Nashville Symphony Chorus and is looking forward to three performances this season at Schermerhorn Symphony Hall here in Nashville.

William Yelverton ’83, the director of guitar studies at Middle Tennessee State University, heads up the TN Governor’s School for the Arts Program in Classical Guitar. This state-funded program is a free, four-week music camp for Tennessee’s most talented high-school instrumentalists. Participants can attend a residential camp that offers private and class instruction as well as opportunities for solo, chamber, and guitar ensemble performances, and more.

Brett “Scoop” Blanden ’96 has been the front-of-house engineer for country trio Lady Antebellum for two years. The group recently finished a tour with Kenny Chesney and is now opening for Keith Urban on his Canadian tour. When he’s in town, Blanden works in his studio, Brett’s Place, in Bellevue.

Jerry Tachoir ’76, a Grammy-nominated jazz-mallet artist, was featured in a new work penned by his wife, composer Marlene Tachoir ’77, entitled Jazz Concerto for Vibraphone and Orchestra.

Jeff Miller ’96 is set to begin a tour in support of his fourth album, Can You Hear the Music? The tour will include 27 shows in locations along the East Coast and in the Midwest.

Charlie Hutto ’06, a staff songwriter for Wide Open Music, is a member of the band Williams Riley. In September, the group released its second single to radio. Additionally, Charlie and his wife are expecting a son in November.

Guitarist Chris Cottros ’92 is playing with country-music star Terri Clark on her cross-Canada tour this fall. John McTigue III ’87 is touring with Raul Malo and, on September 17, played the 2009 Americana Honors and Awards Show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Enjoy the fall.

Dave Petrelli ’05

Nashville Berklee Alumni

Chapter Leader