Alumni Beat

Spring break is a busy time for the alumni affairs team. During the week of March 19, the college hosted events in Austin TX, Nashville, TN, Atlanta, GA, and Los Angeles, CA.

First on the schedule was the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media Conference in Austin. We hosted our seventh annual SXSW party at Friends Bar on 6th Street, which spotlighted alumni, Heavy Rotation Records, and Berkleemusic.com bands. The lineup included the Shills, Ume, the Grownup Noise, Lucius, Queen Caveat, Canary, Justin Klump, and Mrs. Danvers. Alumni and students appeared on many stages of the SXSW throughout the weekend playing in every corner of the festival. Our time in Austin was capped off by the third annual Berklee BBQ and Ruba Cup BBQ Shootout competition hosted by Berklee trustee David Clem and his wife, Kathy, at their home, Clear Rock Ranch, outside of Austin.

The annual Nashville Spring Break trip led by professors Pat Pattison and Stephen Webber as well as Mark Wesley brought approximately 108 students to Nashville to learn about the industry. Students and alumni participated in alumni panels, tours of major industry locations, and an incredible alumni jam. Everyone came together at the annual alumni reception at the Bound’ry where students and alumni mingled with the Nashville alumni community.

Our second annual Atlanta trip was also a success. Berklee MP&E faculty member Prince Charles Alexander brought 12 students south to meet alumni and learn about the Atlanta music scene. An industry panel discus- sion included alumni Lisa Denise ’06, Herman “P-Nut” Johnson ’03, Vernon Messam ’99, Justin Nihiser ’04, Marvin Pryor ’84, and Michael Trammel ’95. The visit culminated in a reception at Max Larger’s Wood-Fired Grill & Brewery, which is owned by alumnus John (JR) Roberts ’88.

Los Angeles was also a spring break destination this year. A group of film scoring students met with alumnus Geoff Zanelli ’96 of Remote Control and also attended a green room networking event and alumni panel with J.S. Greenier ’04, Giona Ostinelli ’09, and Pinar Toprak ’00. To learn about upcoming events, visit www.alumni.berklee.edu.

That’s it until next time.

—Emily Dufresne

Assistant Director, Alumni Affairs