Nashville Notes

With the beginning of a new year, our Nashville alumni have hit the ground running. Here's what some of them have been up to.

Jeff Howard '00 (a Music Business/Management major) has taken a position as a booking agent at APA (Agency for the Performing Arts.) APA represents such musical acts as Boston, Fleetwood Mac, Lenny Kravitz, Poison, Rodney Crowell, Robert Plant, and Rick Springfield, as well as comedians including Adam Sandler, Larry the Cable Guy, Horatio Sanz, Roseanne Barr, and Norm MacDonald. The agency also represents actors, directors, and writers from its offices in Los Angeles and Nashville. Previously Howard worked for Monterey Peninsula Artists for four years - a job he landed just after moving to Nashville. Howard has also been featured on alumni panels for the Berklee spring break trips to Nashville. We wish all the best for Howard in his new venture!

Katie Miner '99 recently released a debut contemporary Christian CD, Loaves & Fishes. Miner produced, sang on all tracks, and wrote 10 of the 11 songs. She brought a strong team together, comprising alumni Jan Stolpe '98 (engineer, guitar, digital programming), Sandy Tipping '99 (vocal production and keyboards), Shane Adams '95 (keyboards), and industry great Brian Tankersley as mix and mastering engineer. Tankersley has worked with such record setters as Shania Twain, Charlotte Church, and Lonestar. Visit www.katieminer.com(Opens in a new window) for more information.

Rachel Hoffman continues her music-education career and is now an instructor for the Nashville chapter of the Music Play House, a national program which provides high-quality early childhood music education. The program is designed for small classes of children up to five years old who attend with their parents or caregivers. The Music Play House uses nationally acclaimed, award-winning materials designed to stimulate young minds at this important time of development. Visit www.themusicplayhouse.com(Opens in a new window) to learn more.

The Berklee Nashville Alumni Chapter looks forward to the March spring break trip to Nashville led by Pat Pattison and Stephen Webber. Annually, more than 100 students travel to Nashville to attend lectures, panels, clinics, and performances by some of the Music City's top songwriters, producers, engineers, music executives, artists, and musicians. This year's trip promises to be better than ever.

For more information on the Nashville alumni chapter, contact me at berklee_alumni_nashville@comcast.net or (615) 403-5300. That's it for now.

Best regards,
-Neil Diercks '93
Trustee and Nashville Alumni Chapter President