Berklee Artists Explore Theme of 'Purpose' as Two Track Video Series Continues

Berklee’s music video series Two Track features student artists performing in an intimate setting with only one microphone and shot in single continuous camera takes. Designed for Berklee’s YouTube channel, the series launched in September 2021 and premieres every Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Each recording session revolves around a central theme that is expressed by the artist, either through their track selection or a short storytelling segment recorded as part of the performance. This month's theme was "Purpose" and  and features Tiny Habits, Nikolai Mishchenko, Henry Patterson, and Nikos Chatzitsakos, with each session displaying the artists' raw talent and creating a community around the theme, shared experiences, and emotion.

Tiny Habits 

Acoustic folk-pop trio Tiny Habits (Maya Rae, Cinya Khan, and Judah Mayowa) sang their original song "One More" and a cover of the mid-tempo ballad “Breakeven” by Irish band the Script on May 4. Tiny Habits came together last spring when Rae invited Khan and Mayowa over to sing together; coincidentally, the professional music majors were all living in the same dorm. “One More” was born out of that collaboration and is the second song they ever wrote together. Putting their own spin on popular songs with lush harmonies and an acoustic sound, the trio began sharing the songs on social media. In just a few months, Tiny Habits garnered over 40,000 followers on TikTok and 15,000 on Instagram, with musician David Crosby tweeting “I’ve listened to this about 10 times now and I think they are the best new singing group I’ve heard...if you know them, tell them to get ahold of me.” 

Watch Tiny Habits' performance: 

Nikolai Mishchenko

On May 11, pianist Nikolai Mishchenko, along with drummer Ilya Blazh and bassist Paul Reinhold, performed an instrumental version of “Soldier” by the Ukrainian band 5’Nizza. According to Mishchenko, the song illuminates the story of a soldier who will never be able to heal the wounds sustained in a war. Their second song, “Beautiful Afar" by Russian composer Yevgeny Krylatov, was chosen because it represents this unprecedented and difficult moment in time that we’re all experiencing, said Mishchenko, who believes that in order to have a brighter future “we have to start working and acting on it today.” A double major in performance and film scoring, Mishchenko has released two albums and performed in several festivals, including the Cambridge Arts River Festival, Italy’s Gubbio Summer Festival, and the X International Festival in Russia.

Watch Nikolai Mishchenko's performance: 

Henry Patterson

Nineteen-year-old Henry Patterson is a singer and songwriter from Lincoln, Massachusetts. He grew up in a house filled with guitars but chose instead to learn piano as a child. It was only a matter of time before he eventually picked up a guitar and taught himself to play. In his May 18 Two Track performance, he sang “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus along with his original song “We Grew up Together.” The songwriting major wrote his first song while attending Berklee's Songwriting Workshop in the summer of 2018. He finds inspiration musicians such as Jeremy Zucker, Wrabel, and Lennon Stella, and is influenced by pop and indie-folk music.

Watch Henry Patterson's performance: 

Nikos Chatzitsakos

The month ended with Nikos Chatzitsakos B.M. ’20 performing Michel Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Mind,” a song featured in the 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair. Joined by Salim Charvet on alto saxophone and Alexandria Dewalt on vocals, the trio also performed composer “Yesterdays,” Jerome Kern's 1933 song about nostalgia. Born in Athens, Greece, Chatzitsakos is a double bassist, arranger, and composer. In 2016, he came to Berklee on a full-tuition scholarship, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in performance and jazz composition. At Berklee, he studied with bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh, drummer William “Billy” Kilson, and Grammy winner and recent visiting scholar Terence Blanchard. Chatzitsakos is currently a graduate student in the Master of Music in global jazz program, where he studies with Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci, and Joe Lovano. His new album, Tiny Big Band, was released May 13 on all streaming platforms.

Watch Nikos Chatzitsakos's performance: