Longtime Colleagues Bid Farewell

The spring 2018 semester marked the retirement of several longtime Berklee staff and faculty members who have contributed greatly to the institution.

Rob Rose, who has a 50-year history at the college, retired in March. In 1967, Rose entered Berklee as a student. After graduating in 1972, he became a member of the faculty. He later served as the chair of the Performance Studies Department, and vice president for special programs. Rose was most visible as the leader of the Yo Team concert production staff, where he handled logistics for thousands of concerts, including the annual commencement and convocation concerts, Singer’s Showcase, International Night, the High School Jazz Festival, BeanTown Jazz Festival, the Encore Gala, and more.

“It has been an amazing journey,” Rose says. “I got to work with three Berklee presidents as well as countless students, alumni, staff, faculty, administrators, and departments such as Summer Programs, Concert Operations, Video Services, and the Yo Team. It has been the experience of a lifetime. My family and I care deeply about the college. I thank my wife Jodie, our five children and nine grandchildren, my parents Don and Sophie Rose, and my three brothers. You all made this possible.”

Mike Ihde ’72 served as a member of the guitar department faculty for 45 years. In addition to his teaching and establishing Berklee’s country music ensembles, Ihde served as co-chair of the guitar department for two years. An accomplished guitarist and pedal steel guitarist, Ihde has performed with Joan Baez and the Boston Pops, and countless local bands.

Ken Zambello ’82, became a faculty member in 1982, just before his graduation. He started teaching ensembles and later began teaching courses in rock arranging, harmonic analysis of rock music, and the history of rock. He began assisting Rob Rose in producing concerts, beginning with the 1983 commencement concert, and alongside Rose, he produced countless concert events for the college. Highlights of his career have included arranging and conducting music for commencement concerts where  Steven Tyler, Annie Lennox, Gloria Estefan, Phil Collins, and Philip Bailey sat in. Zambello plans to continue working in higher education in the greater Los Angeles area.

As a Berklee student, Chris Noyes ’77 earned his degree in composition as a guitar principal. He joined the faculty in 1978 and up to his retirement, he served as an assistant professor in the Electronic Production & Design department. Noyes’s notable professional activities include working as a composer and producer for theater, television, radio and film, and playing on the album 10 Years by Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry.

Jazz guitarist Steve Rochinski ’80 joined the faculty in 1984 and completed his work in the spring as a professor in the Harmony Department. Rochinski is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and has shared the stage with Pete and Conte Candoli, Gary Foster, Tal Farlow, Attila Zoller, Jimmy Raney, and others. His latest albums, Bird in the Hand and Otherwise, were released by the prestigious German record label Jardis.

Mark Small ’73 began working at Berklee in 1989 as a writer in the public relations office. In 1992, he became the second editor of Berklee today magazine. During the past 26 years, he has produced 82 issues of the magazine that featured his interviews with top international artists, record producers and engineers, composers, label executives, authors, songwriters, educators, and more. A classical guitarist, Small has released eight CDs of music he composed or arranged for guitar and various ensembles.

Tony Marvuglio ’85 became a Berklee student in 1981 and was a member of the inaugural class of the Music Production & Engineering major. Following his graduation, he toured as a guitarist, and then joined the Berklee staff in 1991, working with David Mash in academic technology. He developed and expanded the Center for Technology in Music Instruction and was the creator and first director of the Training & Support Department. He chaired the Academic Technology Advisory Committee and helped to develop the college’s student laptop initiative. He was also an adviser during the development for Berklee’s Valencia campus and the 160 Massachusetts Avenue studio complex. And today he teaches the Berklee Online course, “Music Technology for Guitarists.”

Rick Kress began playing drums at 11, but later became drawn to melody and harmony in music. He joined the Berklee faculty 1991 and was an associate professor of harmony until his retirement. An active professional drummer, Kress played on the CDs Twos & Threes and Natural Progression by former Harmony Department chair Barbara London.

Stephen Croes came to Berklee in 1992 as the dean of Berklee’s Music Technology Division. He had spent the previous 20 years working in Los Angeles as a drummer, keyboardist, sound designer, arranger, composer, and producer for top albums, film and television soundtracks, and more. Since 2002, he has served as a professor in the Electronic Production, and Design department.

Peter Gordon ’78 retired in May after a long association with the college as a student, faculty member, and founding member of Berklee’s Los Angeles office. In 1993 Gordon was hired to build Berklee’s presence on the West Coast as director of the Berklee Center in Los Angeles. Through the years, Gordon forged strong relationships between the music industry and alumni community in Los Angeles. He facilitated partnerships and relationships with industry leaders such as Mark Burnett, Irving Azoff, and T Bone Burnett in association with various college initiatives. Gordon helped to develop the annual Los Angeles alumni brunch and produced WesFest fundraising events that have accrued $575,000 for the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship Fund.