Faculty Notes: Fall/Winter 2025
The cast of Kind of Monster, an opera by Assistant Professor Ady Cohen.
Image courtesy of Ady Cohen
Berklee Boston
Rhoda Bernard's groundbreaking book, Accessible Arts Education: Principles, Habits and Strategies to Unleash Every Student's Creativity and Learning, was published in September 2025 by Solution Tree Press. Bernard is the founding managing director of the Institute for Accessible Arts Education and assistant chair of the Music Education Department.
Assistant Professor Ady Cohen’s opera Kind of Monster won the Public Choice Award at the 16th edition of the YAMawards, which took place in September in Viljandi, Estonia, crowning the very best live music productions for young audiences. The production is a groundbreaking children’s opera composed by Ady Cohen with a libretto by Shira Patchornik. Performed by the Bat-Kol Girls Choir and the Israel Conservatory of Music in Tel Aviv, it tells the story of Shiri, a girl who struggles to connect with others until she discovers the power of song to break fear and misunderstanding.
Gaby Cotter published a practice journal for singers with a version in English and Spanish called Sing Smarter: Unlock your Vocal Growth in the Chaos of Life in May 2025. Also, Gaby Cotter and the Timba Messengers recorded their first studio album this past summer and it will be released by spring 2026.
Niloufar Nourbakhsh and Vanessa Naghdi
Image courtesy of Vanessa Naghdi
Voice Professor Jeannie Gagné's third Berklee Press book, Vocal Production and Recording, was released in May 2025, co-authored with Prince Charles Alexander, professor of music production and engineering. It is a hands-on resource for singers, engineers, and producers seeking to master the art of expressive vocal recordings. It explores the full vocal production process—coaching techniques, arrangement strategies, microphone placement, editing workflows, and creative effects.
Sean McLaughlin, assistant professor of music production and engineering, was nominated for Producer of the Year by the Boston Music Awards and New England Music Awards.
Soprano Vanessa Naghdi premiered the song cycle "Seeking You" with fellow Berklee professor, composer, and pianist Niloufar Nourbakhsh at Longy School of Music on September 22. Nourbakhsh's faculty recital To Live Freely explored themes by Iranian women to be seen, heard, and live freely.
Professor Karen Walwyn
Image courtesy of Karen Walwyn
Francine Trester's "The Hour of Clarice" will be premiered by Aurea Ensemble and soprano Laura Santamaria on March 7, 2026 at Brown University. A setting of text by Clarice Lispector, this new song cycle is scored for string quartet and soprano.
Professor Karen Walwyn was recently honored as a fellow of the 2025 Brother Thomas Fellowship program (Boston Foundation), with a $20,000 award regarding her Florence Price work and her compositional commissions; her upcoming recording of her solo piano six-movement suite is entitled An American Awakening.
Jonathan Wyner, professor of music production and engineering, was in Abu Dhabi participating in the Berklee Global Music Summit, where he gave a workshop on how specific AI tools and tech can be used to support the development of artist identity in music production.
Boston Conservatory at Berklee
Assistant Professor Alexander Crosett was appointed as National Teaching Certification Commissioner of the Music Teachers National Association's Eastern Division, representing teachers from 12 states (including Massachusetts) and the District of Columbia.
