Alumni Beat
Nashville nexus: from the left: Kira Small ’93, Bryan Beller ’92, Annie Clements ’03, Greg Becker ’95, Mark Small ’73, Joe Smyth ’79, Joe Doyle ’87, Lisa (Bradley) Doyle ’88, and Dave Petrelli ’05. From the left: Bert Cotton ’89, Carol Evans ’83, Jennifer Atkins and Victor Atkins ’90 pictured on Bourbon Street after an alumni gathering in February in New Orleans. Mark Small From the left: Michael Semanick ’85, Norihiko Hibino ’97, and Laurie Cohen ’75 were honored at a March 24 reception in San Francisco. Susan Peck Julie Mahendrann ’00 and William Hare pictured at the February 16 alumni recpetion in Toronto, Canada. Kris King
If April showers bring May flowers, then bring on the rain. As the song says, spring is here, and there is a great deal happening within the alumni community. Out of 29 Grammy Award nominations for Berklee alumni and faculty, seven Grammys were presented to alumni during the February ceremonies. Congratulations to all alumni nominees and award recipients.
On February 16, more than 40 alumni, faculty, staff, and student ambassadors attended an alumni reception in Toronto, Canada, at the Drake Hotel. Throughout the room, conversations varied from reminiscences of the old days with Joe Sealy ’61 and Darryl Eaton ’68 to the latest career pursuits of Noah Schwartz, who just completed his Berklee studies in December 2008.
Mark Campbell, Berklee’s associate vice president for enrollment, was in Toronto to interview and audition student applicants and attend the reception. “It was terrific to have the opportunity to meet many of our alumni from Ontario,” he says. “Their energy and enthusiasm for Berklee is contagious.”
Mark Small, editor of Berklee today, traveled through the South in February, meeting with alumni in Nashville; Clinton, MS; and New Orleans for his story about alumni grant winners (see page 16). Along the way, he met with groups of Berklee alumni in Nashville and New Orleans (see the photos below). He reports that our southern alumni are doing great things in their careers.
On March 24, 2009, Laurie Cohen ’75 and Norihiko Hibino ’97 became the first recipients of the 2009 distinguished alumni awards under the new alumni nomination process. The presentations were made during a reception held in tandem with the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Also recognized that night was Michael Semanick ’85, who received a framed cover of the fall 2008 issue of Berklee today, in which his profile appeared as the cover story. If you missed his interview, you can read it online at www.berklee.edu/ bt/202/ coverstory.html.
For all our alumni who are serving their communities in various ways through their music, the 2009–2010 alumni grant applications are now available for download at http:// alumni.berklee.edu/grants.html. We look forward to reading about your incredible projects.
That’s it for now. Make sure to check out the alumni website at http://alumni.berklee.edu/ to get the details on what’s happening in your local alumni chapter and for updates on the college.
Until next time,
—Karen Bell ’90
Director of Alumni Affairs
