Composition Alumni

Many Berklee alumni have gone on to enjoy successful careers in composition and conducting. Here is a small sample of them.

Spotlight

  • Jessie Cox ‘17. Harvard University Professor, Fromm Foundation Commission and commissions funded by Ernst von Siemens Foundation, Pro Helvetia, and New Music USA.

  • Jason Eckhardt ‘92. DMA in Composition from Columbia University. Commissions from Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, the Koussevitzky Foundation, and the Guggenheim Museum. 

  • Michael Gandolfi ‘76. Two-time National Endowment for the Arts Consortium Grant recipient, Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, and 2009 Grammy Award nominee. 

  • Felipe Lara ‘02. 2024 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, commissions from the Arditti Quartet, LA Philharmonic, JACK Quartet, and more.

  • Eunike Tanzil ‘20. Deutsche Gramophone Recording Artist, works performed by LA Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and Colorado Springs Philharmonic 2026-27 Composer-in-Residence. 

  • Roberto Toscano ‘06. DMA in Composition at Columbia University, 2010 Toru Takemitsu Award winner. 

  • Ken Ueno ‘94. UC Berkeley professor, Fromm Foundation commission and recipient of Rome and Berlin prizes. 

Recent Alumni

  • Marie Gabrielle Blix ‘20. Composition selected for Cátedra Extraordinaria Arturo Márquez de Composición Musical in 2022. 

  • Christian Frederick Bloquert, ‘19. Commissions from Ensemble InterContemporain, The Sinfonieorchester Basel, and The New York City Ballet Choreographic Institute.

  • Sheila Del Bosque ‘22 Winner of the 2023 Downbeat Student Music Award for Small Jazz Combo, Faculty at Interlochen Center for the Arts. 

  • Shaun Chen ‘20. Composer for Welcome to Derry (TV) I Know What you Did Last Summer (Film), Black Ops 6&7 (Games).

  • Saunder Choi ‘13. 2024 ACDA Raymond Brock Prize in Composition, arranger and orchestrator for Lea Salonga, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.

  • Asher Denburg ‘17. Music Director/Pianist for Jeff Ross: Take a Banana for the Ride on Broadway and A Beautiful Noise National Tour.

  • Arjan Singh Dogra ‘22. MA from Mannes School of Music and Columbia University DMA candidate. Recipient of Fromm Foundation Fellowship and BMI Composer Award.

  • Gabriela Gómez Estévez ‘17. Director of Orchestras at Cornell University, 2023 winner of James Conlon Conductor Prize at Aspen Music Festival. 

  • Kunal Gala ‘21. MM in Composition from The Juilliard School. 

  • Chris Guardino ‘83. Orchestrator/Arranger for Guns N’ Roses and San Diego Symphony.

  • Young-Jun Lee ‘20. PhD in Composition at Peabody Conservatory, awarded Prix de Collaboration Inter-écoles at Fontainebleau.

  • Chenge Liu ‘25. MM in Composition at Yale School of Music.

  • Jayla McLennan ‘24. Music director and keys player for Jack Frost the Musical (Australian Premiere), Gilligan’s Island the Musical (Australian Premiere), Beautiful the Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, The SpongeBob Musical, and Shrek the Musical.

  • Mike Moise ‘15. Assistant Conductor for Hamilton on Broadway.

  • Nancy O'Connor ‘22. Arranger for Boston Pops, pianist for Broadway and off-Broadway shows.

  • Zhengtao Pan ‘25. MM at Eastman School of Music. Winner of multiple Downbeat Magazine Student Competition awards and Eastern Division Winner for MTNA Young Composer Competition.

  • Jack Richman ‘25. Composer at BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Songwriting Workshop.

  • Jacklyn Riha ‘18. Music Assistant for Bad Cinderella on Broadway.

  • Henry Roseman ‘25. Rehearsal pianist for The Queen of Versailles on Broadway.

  • Mona Seyed-Bolorforosh ‘18. Pianist for Mean Girls on Broadway and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella National Tour.

  • Nikhil Singh ‘17. PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Dartmouth College and leader of Science and Art of Human-AI Systems (SAHAS) Lab. 

  • Cameron Elise Smith ‘21. Arranger for Lake Street Dive, The Lone Bellow, and Portugal. The Man performances with the Colorado Symphony.

  • Evelyn Tomaro ‘25. Pianist for The Phantom of the Opera and The Sound of Music North American tours.

  • Alexander Wu ‘23. MM in Composition from Peabody Conservatory.