Slideshow: Career Jam 2016
Berklee students meet with employers and alumni at the college’s Career Jam event on Saturday, April 2, 2016.
Mike Keefe-Feldman
A panel on careers in music technology includes (from left to right) Bryan Hinkley ’14, owner of Gratitude Sound; John Escobar ’06, freelance recording engineer; Andrew Schulert, vice president of product management at Sonos; Kedar Frederick, vice president of business development at TuneCore; Jayce Varden ’92, cofounder and head of global campaign operations at PledgeMusic; and moderator Matt McArthur ’09 of The Record Company.
Mike Keefe-Feldman
Immigration attorney Bennett Savitz offers a room packed with Berklee foreign students valuable information on paths to working in the U.S. after graduation.
Mike Keefe-Feldman
A panel on careers in writing and composition includes (from left to right) Xiao’an Li ’13, composer and founder of East Coast Scoring; Andy Forsberg ’13, composer for film, games, television, and records; moderator Lee Abe ’03, Berklee assistant professor of contemporary writing and production; Melissa Ferrick ’90, singer-songwriter, publisher, and Berklee associate professor of songwriting; and Beth Denisch, composer and pianist.
Mike Keefe-Feldman
David Day, director of MMMMAVEN, discusses careers in electronic music with students throughout the day.
Mike Keefe-Feldman
A panel on music business careers includes (from left to right) Jeremiah “Ice” Younossi, manager/booker/promoter for Mobb Deep and formerly 50 Cent; artist and event producer Shea Rose ’11; Nate Erwin, manager of Measurement Arts for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Kingsley Flood; and Ralph Jaccodine, Berklee assistant professor of music business/management.
Mike Keefe-Feldman
“Business is done face to face,” says Michael Marotta (left), editor and cofounder of Vanyaland, who spoke on a panel about careers in music performance with (from left to right) Rose; Chris Troxell ’09, director of Cover Story Entertainment; Dustin Labbe of Crossroads Presents; and moderator Lance Tobin ’12 of Crossroads Presents.
Mike Keefe-Feldman
Karen Bell (left), Berklee’s chief alumni affairs officer, talks with alumni (from left to right) Troxell, Jandro Cisneros ’15, and Teo Karakolev ’14, about how they have navigated their careers after Berklee. Cisneros has founded The Pillars Productions and Karakolev has founded 4Reel Productions.
Mike Keefe-Feldman
A panel on careers in theater and dance includes (from left to right) Andy Chau from Boston Conservatory Career Services and Student Programs; Matt Rodin ’14 (Boston Conservatory), on-air personality and content producer; and Sydney Skybetter, dance producer, consultant, and choreographer.
Mike Keefe-Feldman
Students and potential employers exchange handshakes and cards in Berklee’s David Friend Recital Hall throughout Career Jam 2016. Several employers at the event noted that they were interested in potentially hiring Berklee interns.
Mike Keefe-Feldman
Career-minded Berklee students gathered in the college’s David Friend Recital Hall on Saturday, April 2 to meet with potential employers and to garner valuable career advice from music professionals, many of them Berklee alumni.
“Business is done face to face,” said Michael Marotta, editor and cofounder of Boston-based music website Vanyaland, who participated in a panel on careers in music performance, and the students in attendance seemed to know it as they exchanged handshakes and cards with some of the potential employers present, some of whom have posted positions on the Berklee Career Manager.
One of the day’s most popular sessions featured free legal advice for foreign students from immigration attorney Bennett Savitz. For students from abroad looking to work in the U.S. after graduation, Savitz shared information on topics such as filing for O-1 extraordinary ability visa status, sponsors, green card categories, and more—information that would normally cost hundreds of dollars in consultation fees.
Alumnus Jandro Cisneros ’15, CEO of The Pillars Productions, encouraged students to pursue their passion, saying, “Doing what you love and trying to make a living out of it is what’s going to keep you walking in this world.”
Panelists also advised flexibility. When Matt McArthur ’09 of The Record Company asked panelists who have embarked on music technology careers what they thought, at age 20, they would be doing today, none cited careers in music technology and most responded “rock star.”
Andy Forsberg '13, a freelance composer who has worked on video games for international clients, suggested students should “have very clear goals, but absolutely no expectations as to how you’re going to achieve that.”
Melissa Ferrick '90, the acclaimed singer-songwriter and Berklee associate professor of songwriting, noted that the students in attendance should be thinking about their careers now, pointing back to her own time as a student at Berklee, when she lived across the hall from Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, and hung out with songwriter Paula Cole (now a voice professor at Berklee) and Abe Laboriel Jr., Paul McCartney’s drummer.
“The people you’re sitting next to in this room will be running the music industry,” Ferrick said, “so be nice to them.”
Career Jam 2016 was presented by Berklee’s Career Development Center, Office of Experiential Learning, Office of Alumni Affairs, Counseling and Advising Center, and Boston Conservatory’s offices of Career Support Services and Student Programs.
