Alumni Beat

January 1, 2009

From the left: Chris Daum (current student), Ashley Alexander ’08, Cassandra Griffith ’08 and Eytan Nicholson (student) at the Boston Alumni Chapter holiday party in December 2008.

From the left: Teresa Spivey, Isabelle Merheje '04, Kevin Williams '04, Angela Johnson-Swan '05, and Jeriel Johnson '05 at the Los Angeles alumni holiday party.

Kyle James Hauser '07 was among those who performed for the crowd at the Denver Alumni Chapter holiday party.

Clockwise from the front: Adam Velez '86, William Sims '87, an unidentified woman, Ana Berdicta-Oreskovic, Daddo Oreskovic '04, and Boris Strepacki '02 enjoyed a dinner together at the Chicago alumni holiday party.

Since my last column, I have been busy participating in the committee to review the more than 145 proposals for the 2008–2009 Alumni Grant Program. It was difficult to make final choices, but we have selected 10 alumni with great projects worthy of funding.

•David Asplin ’76, Holy Names Music Center TEAM Project (Teens Engaging in Alternatives through Music)

•Ron L. Carbo ’90, the Carbo Foundation’s Youth Power Initiative

•Suzanne Denu ’02, Melodies for Nola’s Children

•Joshua Grekin ’93 and

Deleska Crockett ’92, Dr. Music’s Little Bands School

•Andri Leonardo Hoegger ’99, Harmonic Conversion

•Rachel Landry ’07, Case Collective

•Joe Link ’76, the Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts Instrumental Music Education Project

•Glenn Mallow ’93, the Arc of Schuyler’s recreation department: Twelfth Street Players

•Joseph Smyth ’79, “We Are the World: Percussion around the Globe”

•Cary Valentine ’90, “Celebrating Music around the World” presentations

Congratulations to this year’s recipients. For details on the winning proposals, visit http:// alumni.berklee.edu. In March, applications for the 2009–2010 Alumni Grant Program will be available on the site.

This year is a special anniversary year for two of Berklee’s cornerstones. On April 16, Berklee will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Singers’ Showcase. Guest alumni performers will share the stage with the student band. In addition, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of your alumni magazine, Berklee today. In July, watch for the anniversary issue to arrive in your mailbox.

Thank you to all those who submitted nominations for candidates to receive the Distinguished Alumni award. Five or six awards will be presented to members of your alumni community at various alumni events throughout the year.

During the recent holiday season, five alumni chapters hosted holiday parties: the Atlanta, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, and Boston chapters. And at the end of January, the New York Berklee Alumni Chapter’s party will take place. We’ve featured photos from some alumni events below.

To learn more about upcoming events in your chapter and news about fellow alumni in your chapter, visit the alumni website (http://alumni.berklee.edu). And to stay apprised of all alumni happenings, keep your profile in the online alumni directory updated. That’s it for now. Take care,

—Karen Bell

Director of Alumni Affairs

This article appeared in our alumni magazine, Berklee Today Winter 2009. Learn more about Berklee Today.
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