Faculty Notes
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| Sisters of Swing (from the left) Gaye Tolan-Hatfield, Ruthie Ristich, and Roberta Radley |
Professional Writing Division Dean Kari Juusela was the featured composer on two CD releases in January 2009. The Millennium Symphony performed his work "Varjot," which appears on Made in America: Symphonies and Soundscapes. "Apollo and Daphne" appears on the CD Metamorphosis.
Assistant Chair of Contemporary Writing and Production Andrea Pejrolo produced acoustic samples and patterns for the iDrum Rock Edition application distributed by iZotope for the Apple iPhone.
Professor Peter Cokkinias is celebrating his 30th year as the music director and conductor of the Metrowest Symphony Orchestra.
Professor Bruno Råberg received multiple reviews for his album Lifelines. It was named the top pick for 2008 by CKUW 95.9 FM in Winnipeg, Canada, and received three stars in Down Beat magazine's January issue.
Professor Wayne Ward was nominated in the Best Musical Director category in the 2009 Independent Reviewers of New England Awards for his work with The Falsettos at the Turtle Lane Playhouse.
Associate Professor David Scott served as the guest conductor for the Maine All-State High School Jazz Choir in January.
Associate Professor George Garzone was highlighted in the New York Times for his saxophone work with drummers Jimmy Cobb and Rodney Green; saxophonists Ted Nash, Sherman Irby, and Walter Blanding Jr.; and bassist Ivan Taylor at a February John Coltrane tribute concert at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Associate Professor Frank Carlberg released the album The American Dream in February. The disc features saxophonist Chris Creek '91.
Professor Richard Grudzinski recently released Musicality with MetaMovements, an instructional CD for salsa dancers, in conjunction with the MetaMovements dance company of Boston.
Voice Department Assistant Chair Bob Stoloff wrote the book Body Beats for Advance Music. Stoloff recently gave master classes and clinics at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, ID.
Professor Ray Santisi published his book Berklee Jazz Piano with Berklee Press.
Woodwinds Professor Mia Olson penned the book Musician's Yoga: A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Inspiration for Berklee Press.
Associate Professor of Strings Mimi Rabson played four Boston-area concerts of new solo violin works that she commissioned from professors Joanne Brackeen, Stephen Webber, Victor Mendoza, Neil Leonard, and Winston Maccow, and Associate Professor Norman Zocher.
Associate Professor Kenwood Dennard celebrated the music of Jaco Pastorius in December at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City. Dennard also performed at an inaugural celebration at New York's Blue Note.
Professors Scott deOgburn and John Funkhouser were invited to perform with the Natalie Dietrich Group at the Zurich Vibraphone Festival in Switzerland.
Associate Professor Fred Bouchard reviewed JazzFest Berlin for Down Beat magazine.
Associate Professor Peter Payack is Cambridge's poet populist, and his Cambridge community poem project was featured in the February 20 edition of the Boston Globe.
Drummer and Associate Professor Marcello Pellitteri recently toured worldwide with the vocal jazz group New York Voices. He also played with pianist Werner Gierig's Van trio in Germany. The group added guest soloist Paquito D'Rivera for a Mexico City date.
Assistant Professor Andrea Johnson presented the clinic "New Royalty and Marketing Models for the Entertainment Industry" at the Music & Entertainment Industry Educators Association conference in March.
The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra premiered a piece in Sweden by Assistant Professor Leo Blanco and under the direction of saxophonist Tommy Smith '85.
The Sisters of Swing, comprising Assistant Chair of Ear Training Roberta Radley, Associate Professor Gaye Tolan Hatfield, and Ruthie Ristich '91, released the new CD Mood Indigo.
Associate Professor Suzanne Clark presented for the Creative and Critical Thinking Program at Boston University in February.
Professor Barbara London released the CD Maliseet Dreams, featuring drummer and Associate Professor Richard Kress. Associate Professor Bob Patton engineered and mastered the album.
Associate Professor Apostolos Paraskevas presented his classical guitar and ensemble compositions at the Distinguished Artist Series concert at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall on April 3. The program also featured Assistant Professor Francisco Noya, Professor Neil Leonard, and Associate Professor Winnie Dahlgren.
Professor Joseph Coroniti lectured at the University of Padova in Italy in March. Coroniti is also the editor in chief of FUSION: A Magazine of Literature, Music, and Ideas.
Pianist and Associate Professor Suzanna Sifter released her third album, The Illumination. The CD features fellow faculty members John Lockwood (bass), Yoron Israel (drums), Mimi Rabson (violin), Mia Olson (flute), and Greg Badolato and Larry Monroe (saxophones). Rob Rose produced the album, and Bob Patton engineered it.
Associate Professor Francesca Tanksley released the new CD Blueprints of Jazz, Vol. 2, with the Billy Harper Quintet. Tanksley recently toured Poland playing piano for vocalist Judy Bady.
Professor Jeff Friedman was commissioned to write a big-band arrangement of the Roy Haynes composition "Snap Crackle" for a performance at Harvard University. Friedman also collaborated with Scott Getchell '78 on the piece "Good Chow" that appeared on the CD compilation South Florida Rockers: Dancing in the Combat Zone.
Ensemble Assistant Professor Rebecca Cline celebrated the release of her second album, Enclave Diaspora, at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York in January.
Associate Professor of Music Business/ Management Jeff Dorenfeld gave a presentation on touring in association with Berklee Valencia at Sociedad General de Autores y Editores in Madrid, Spain, in February.
With a grant from Chamber Music America, the Equinox Chamber Players commissioned a woodwind quintet titled The Suite of Five Seasons from Associate Professor Beth Denisch for an educational outreach at inner-city high schools in St. Louis, MO.
Assistant Professor of Music Education Charlene Ryan released the book, Building Strong Music Programs: A Handbook for Preservice and Novice Music Teachers, published by Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Chair of Music Therapy Suzanne Hanser spoke at the "Crossing the Corpus Callosum: Neuroscience, Healing and the Arts" symposium sponsored by the Longwood Symphony Orchestra and Merck & Company. Hanser was also a keynote speaker at "Integrative Medicine: The Past and Future of Healing" in Kobe, Japan.
The motet Benedicta et Venerabilis composed by Associate Professor Yakov Gubanov was included on the choral CD Stella del nostro mar that received the Diapason d'Or de l'Aneé prize. The King's Chapel Choir of Boston premiered Gubanov's motet Videntes magi stellam in December 2008.
The Reason for Skylarks by Professor Marti Epstein was performed at the Longy School of Music in March. The Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble will premiere her concerto for English horn and wind ensemble on April 28.
Bass Professor Bruce Gertz presented a weeklong series of master classes in Caracas, Venezuela, in March.