Berklee today

JAN 2013

Berklee today is the official alumni publication of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a forum for contemporary music and musicians.

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On March 2, the 45th annual Berklee High School Jazz Festival will be dedicated to Professor Phil Wilson. Wilson and his Berklee Rainbow Band have been a part of the festival since the beginning, so this jazz-filled day is fitting tribute to honor and acknowledge Wilson's contributions through the years. The festival will be held at the Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston Street, with events beginning at 9:00 A.M. The first evening concert is scheduled for 5:30 P.M. and will feature the Rainbow Band with special guest Aubrey Logan. The festival awards presentation will follow. For more information on the Berklee High School Jazz Festival, go to BerkleeJazz. org or contact Elizabeth Dawe at edawe@berklee.edu Phil Wilson NPR Shares the Berklee Love Globally Henry Hayes Michael Borgita By Rob Hayes Idol Judge in the Classroom By Liz Lupton Top songwriter, producer, record and publishing executive, and TV personality Kara DioGuardi brought her incomparable songwriting and production experience to Berklee during the fall 2012 semester. DioGuardi developed and taught the course "Hit Songwriting" that paired student songwriters and producers, mirroring today's music industry practices. DioGuardi handpicked the 27 students who auditioned to take the course. One of the industry's most successful contemporary songwriters, DioGuardi has written songs appearing on more than 160 million albums. She has authored more than 50 charting singles with artists such as Katy Perry, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Gwen Stefani, Colbie Caillait, Rascal Flatts, and Céline Dion. Additionally, she was a judge for seasons eight and nine of the TV show American Idol. "I taught the course at Berklee because I want to help educate and guide songwriters and artists in the early part of their careers," DioGuardi says. "I love working with promising talent, and my aim has been to share my experiences with my students to better prepare them creatively and emotionally for an industry fraught with change and competition." Berklee President Roger Brown observes, "What Kara did at Berklee is important because she is simulating the most popular songwriting model our students will encounter when they leave campus: working in small teams that combine writers and producers in real time. She has Kelly Davidson Kelly Davidson Jazz Festival Dedicated to Phil Wilson Liz Lupton obviously thrived as a writer, and she is helping our students get ready for action." As Songwriting Department Chair Jack Perricone says, "Kara's presence at Berklee was energizing and enlightening to the students. She focused them on the importance of concepts and the fact that clichéd ideas won't carry them through to the next level." Perricone found that DioGuardi's course deeply energized the participants. "Kara is among an elite group of writers whose standards for excellence also coincide with the demands of the marketplace," Perricone says. "She brought that perception along with a warmth and human understanding to the classroom. This course affected each of the students greatly and will change some of their lives." Liz Lupton is a publicist in Berklee's Media Relations Office. Alumni Input Wanted Dayna Stephens '01 John Scofield '73 Now in its second year, The Checkout—Live at Berklee brings top Berklee alumni to a New York radio and worldwide Web jazz audience, thanks to New York's WBGO-FM and the NPR Music website. Dayna Stephens '01, Christian Scott '04, Ingrid Jensen '89, Seamus Blake '92, and Chihiro Yamanaka '98 are just a few of the performers featured live on the radio and in high-definition video on the Web from the Red Room at Berklee's Café 939. On New Year's Eve 2012, guitarist John Scofield '73 brought his Überjam band into the Berklee Performance Center to the joy of a raucous First Night Boston crowd and a worldwide NPR Toast of the Nation radio audience. Joining Scofield were Louis Cato '04 (drums), Avi Bortnick (rhythm guitar), and Andy Hess (bass), who served up a funky musical stew for listeners from Boston to Beijing. The concert can be heard on the NPR site at www.nprmusic.org. 6 Berklee today A team representing the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges will visit Berklee to conduct a comprehensive evaluation from March 3-6. For the past year and a half, Berklee has been involved in a process of self-study, addressing the commission's standards for accreditation. During the evaluation team's March visit, they will gather evidence that the self-study is thorough and accurate. The team will recommend to the commission a continuing status for the institution. Following a review process, the commission will take the final action. As part of this process, alumni are invited to e-mail comments to cihe@neasc.org with the subject heading "Public Comment on Berklee College of Music." For more information about accreditation, visit cihe.neasc.org.

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