Alum

Linda J. Chase

Professor

Affiliated Departments

Liberal Arts and Sciences

lchase@berklee.edu

617-747-8372

Linda J. Chase's website

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Linda J. Chase is a composer, ecophilosopher, and flutist. Her music weaves elements of chamber music, jazz, and contemporary improvisation with spoken word and interdisciplinary arts. She has received composition awards from places including the Japan Foundation, Grand Canyon National Park, Kaji Aso Studio, the Morris Graves Institute, and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, among other places. She is an active member of the Landscape Music Composers Network. In 2016 and 2017, Chase served as composer in residence at the Old Cambridge Baptist Church, where she collaborated with Reverend Dr. Harvey G. Cox to create "The City Is Burning", a multimedia oratorio based on multifaith sacred texts. This work contemplates how the arts can build community, nurture compassion, and deepen awareness that inspires action.

Courses Taught (2)

Music and Society Topics

LMAS-223

Music, Spirit, and Transformation

LMAS-280

Career Highlights

Teachers include Ran Blake, Michael Gandolfi, and Peter Row
Teaching assistant, Harvard University and New England Conservatory of Music
Composer/performer for the score for Tartuffe, American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Publications include the review "Betty Carter: 'She Could Be Painting Sound'" in Sojourner: The Women's Forum
Concert producer/manager for Sheila Jordan, Illinois Jacquet, and Steve Swallow, and copyist for Steve Lacy and J.J. Johnson premier scores
Band leader of Wild Garden Chamber Ensemble and performer with Jane Hirshfield (poet), Ray Santisi, Klezmer Conservatory, and Itzhak Perlman
Preconcert lectures for Wynton Marsalis and Dave Brubeck
Recordings include Hope Is the Hardest Love We Carry, Presences Inside Poems, Another Realm, The Blue Inside My Head, and Speaking with Angels
Recipient of a Japan Foundation Fellowship and an American Association of University Women grant
Artist in residence at the Grand Canyon, summer 2012
Instruments include flute, alto flute, bass clarinet, and guitar

Awards

Winner of Composers Prize for "Tanabata Star Festival," based on the poetry of Japanese poet and artist Kaji Aso

In Their Own Words

"My teaching style is interactive. I believe in education that goes beyond collecting information to engagement, experimentation, and acknowledging intuitive ways of knowing. My approach to teaching is based on creative learning designs and explorations considering the importance of context, analysis, and reflection in order to ask difficult questions about artistic intent, purpose, and social responsibility. I explore educating with the intention of nurturing compassion and ask how artists can promote an understanding of critical issues that inspires action."

"As a composer, I strive to create socially engaged art that invites fertile conversations. I keep exploring how music can make a difference. My process of improvisation and composition informs my teaching in finding ways to cultivate an artistically educational approach to participate in environmental, peace, and social justice issues in a way that is relevant to emerging artists."