Berklee today is the official alumni publication of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a forum for contemporary music and musicians.
Issue link: http://berkleetoday.epubxp.com/i/67927
Fletcher Bright: American Roots Music Champion by Ginny Fordham A Firm Foundation Joshua Gruss '97 of New York is a musician and an entrepreneur. He is the grandson of Joseph and Caroline Gruss, who founded the Beracha Foundation in 1971 to improve the well-being of the citizens of Israel. Today, Gruss is a partner at Gruss Asset Management and the CEO of Round Hill Music, a high-end indepen- dent music publisher. He joined the Beracha Foundation's board of direc- tors two years ago. Over the course of four decades, the Beracha Foundation has donated to projects that promote academic research in Israeli universi- ties; purchased hospital equipment; and established day-care centers, schools, community centers, and med- ical institutions. At one of the foundation's board meetings, Gruss raised the topic of jazz studies in Israel. The discussion turned to how the foundation's involvement with Berklee could enrich jazz educa- tion for Israeli musicians. Representatives from the foundation contacted Berklee and the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music (located near Tel Aviv) and formulated a plan to help young Israeli students obtain support to study at Berklee after their initial studies in Israel. In cooperation with Berklee's Office of Institutional Advancement and the Rimon School, the foun- dation established the Beracha Scholarship for Outstanding Jazz Students at Rimon. They designated a sum of $100,000 to be distributed annually among 10 students to cover tuition costs and to lay the ground- work for a fruitful artistic dialogue between the musicians and teachers of the two schools. "We believe that this is a wonder- ful venture," says Tali Yariv-Mashal, the director of the Beracha Foundation. "We are honored to be part of this project and look forward to hearing about the results." Those wishing to establish a scholarship for young, international musicians can contact Mirek Vana at mvana@berklee.edu. Marjorie O'Malley is Berklee's assistant vice president for institutional advancement and Mirek Vana is a major gifts officer in Berklee's Development Office. More than six decades ago, Fletcher Bright came up with the name "Dismembered Tennesseans" for the musical group he formed with his high-school friends. In choosing the grisly moniker, Bright was ahead of his time. Today, it would seem the fitting choice for a southern heavy- metal outfit, but through the years, Bright, a fiddler, has focused on traditional American tunes for the group's repertoire. On the band's website, Bright muses that back in the day, "Dismembered Tennesseans seemed to be a good-enough name for a bunch of teenagers who had no long-range plans." Bright, however, has been in it for the long haul and still keeps the group going—with some personnel changes. Bright continues to play concerts, includ- ing one with some of the Berklee student-recipients of the scholarship he established. This past April, Bright flew to Boston to play with student musicians at the renowned folk venue Passim, in Harvard Square. In 2008, before the Berklee American Roots Music Program officially launched, Bright set up a scholarship for Berklee students playing and studying roots music. According to Matt Glaser, the direc- tor of Berklee's American Roots program, Bright is one of America's best straight-ahead, old-school-style bluegrass fiddlers and a fine ragtime and stride pianist. As Glaser says, "I met Fletcher many years ago—I would say 25 or more years ago— when he wrote to me asking for some advice about the fiddle style of the great Vassar Clemens. We became friends, and I had the privi- lege to meet him in Chattanooga to play in a concert that he was put- ting on. He's always been a wonder- ful, warm human being, and great preserver of American fiddle tunes. He's deeply knowledgeable about this music and has been very sup- portive of the college's efforts to promulgate all kinds of American From the left: Jenna Moynihan, Fletcher Bright, and Joe Walsh. Moynihan, a current student, and Walsh, a 2008 graduate, are recipients of the Fletcher Bright Scholarship that is awarded annually to outstanding Berklee students with an interest in string music. Roots music. He's been a tremen- dous support to us. We're thrilled that he finally came up here to visit the school and to play with the stu- dents at our monthly Berklee College of Music Roots Roadshow." The first recipient of the Fletcher Bright Scholarship was Joe Walsh '08, a gifted mandolinist who plays with the Gibson Brothers and cur- rently works with Glaser as the man- aging director of Berklee's American Roots Music Program. Other stu- dents who have benefited from Mr. Bright's generosity are Luke Price '09 and Duncan Wickel '11. The 2011 recip- ient was fiddler Jenna Moynihan, a current Berklee student who had the pleasure of playing with Bright and the Dismembered Tennesseans at the Three Sisters Music Festival in Chattanooga in September 2011. "Receiving Fletcher's scholarship has allowed me to reach farther and dig deeper into the music I love," Moynihan says. "I've had new experi- ences that wouldn't have been pos- sible without his support. The award has really enabled me to pursue my passion. I am so humbled by his generosity. Beyond that, Mr. Bright is just a genuinely kind and inspiring person. I am proud to count myself among the lucky ones who have had the honor of knowing him." In his multifaceted career, Bright has been an educator as well as a performer, teaching bluegrass fiddle for more than 18 years at workshops in the United States, Canada, and England. "I love to fiddle and love to teach," he says. "I will play with any- one who asks and am always good for another jam session." In 2007, Bright was featured on the cover of Fiddler magazine, and in 2005, he received the Tennessee Governor's Award in the Arts in the Tennessee Folklife Heritage category. In addi- tion to his musical interests, Bright has pursued a career as a successful realtor and shopping center devel- oper. A certified pilot as well, Bright has often flown members of the Dismembered Tennesseans to their gigs across the Southeast. This year's scholarship recipient is Jack Devereux, who is thrilled to be awarded this prestigious scholar- ship. Bright said that visiting Berklee recently and meeting with students has personalized the scholarship for him. "I love spending time with the students," he says. "They are just starting out, and I am winding down my career. Talking about music with them transcends all ages." Ginny Fordham is a major gifts officer in Berklee's Development Office. Spring 2012 11 Ginny Fordham