ALUMNOTES
Maya Ayam Rogers '04
Lian Amber '07
Katelyn Benton '07
Farah Siraj '07
Nathalia Palis of Stevenson Ranch, CA, recently completed a Kickstarter campaign to produce her first bilin- gual album titled From Here to There.
In November 2011, Luis Javier Santiago of Yauco, Puerto Rico, earned his master's degree in song- writing from Bath Spa University in the United Kingdom. With his wife, choreographer Nadine Martinez, he has created works that will be pre- sented in dance festivals in New York and Mexico.
Bassist Jeff Sassaman of Hoboken, NJ, is playing with the New York Symphony and completed a 12-city tour of China with the orchestra.
2004
Ryan Almario of Roswell, GA, produced and engineered Asha Lightbearer's debut album, Move Ahead: The Ascension Album. Visit www.ryanalmario.com.
Joshua J. Johnson of New Orleans, LA, has been working with Grammy Award–winning trumpeter Terence Blanchard as a tour manager.
Maya Ayam Rogers of Berrien Center, MI, is leading the Modern Folk Project to interview and collaborate with local musicians in 12 American cities. Visit www.modernfolkproject.com.
Fiddler Lydia Veilleux of Los Angeles, CA, and the Rocky Neck Bluegrass Band won the California Bluegrass Association's Great 48 Hour Showcase Showdown in Bakersfield, CA. The group, which includes Devitt Feeley '84 and Craig Ferguson '05, will play at the 2012 Father's Day Bluegrass Festival in Grass City, CA. Visit www.rockyneckbluegrass.com.
2005
Jazz pianist Romain Collin of New York City released The Calling with Kendrick Scott '03 on drums and Luques Curtis '04 on bass. Visit www. romaincollin.com.
Guitarist Patrick Dugan of Naperville, IL, released his second album, Strategy, with his band Harlan Flo. He also produced the children's music album Come Swim with Me by Amy Peters. Visit www.harlanflo.com.
Angela Johnson-Swan of Montreal, Quebec, was hired as the guitar- ist for Cirque du Soleil's produc- tion Amaluna. The group began a Canadian tour on April 19 and will tour the United States in 2013.
Saxophonist, composer, and educator Khari Allen Lee of New Orleans, LA, released Conscious Evolution featur- ing pianist Michael Pellera '76. Visit www.khariallenlee.com.
Tom Roslak of Los Angeles, CA, is touring with Robert Schwartzman and Brian Bell of Weezer. Visit www. tomroslak.com.
40 Berklee today
Drummer Patrick Sanders of Arlington, MA, released the new CD Space Age Bachelor Pad Blues with the organ trio Bees Deluxe.
Marimbist Jonathan Singer of Brooklyn, NY, is the leader of the Xylopholks, a costumed group of musicians playing novelty ragtime music from the 1920s. Visit www. xylopholks.com.
2006
Guitarist and singer Dave Reffett of Woburn, MA, was featured on the cover of the April-May issue of Asia's Guitar Plus magazine with guitar- ist George Lynch. Reffett also head- lined the NAMM Metal Jam 2012 and is featured on Michael Angelo Batio's CD Intermezzo. Additionally, Esoterik Guitars has created the Dave Reffett signature model series.
On March 21, Matt Scheiner of West Redding, CT, appeared on the David Letterman show with his band Oberhofer.
Saxophonist Mike Tucker of Danvers, MA, toured with Sony artist, singer Robin McKelle '99 and leads a youth big band called the North Shore Jazz Project Allstars. Visit www. tuckerjazz.com.
Percussionist Seth Woodard of Los Angeles, CA, is writing music for drum lines and other projects in the Los Angeles area. Visit www. sethwoodard.com.
2007
Lian Amber of Austin, TX, was one of five nominees for the Independent Music Awards in the Pop Song cat- egory for her song "In Style and Rhythm." Visit www.lianamber.com.
Katelyn Benton of Los Angeles, CA, launched her social media busi- ness Shmedia LLC to help small busi- nesses, nonprofits, and artists build an online presence. Visit www. shmediamedia.com.
Chris Hodges of Scottsdale, AZ, has placed his music on prime-time TV promos for a number of network programs. Hodges also received a 2011 ASCAP Plus Award. Visit www. chrishodgescomposer.com.
Trombonist Paul Nowell of Los Angeles, CA, created a video for his song about cell phones that went viral on YouTube. The story was fea- tured on the Mashable website and MSN news.
In October 2011, Farah Siraj of Philadelphia, PA, performed for kings and presidents at the World Economic Forum in Jordan. She also recently played at the Antena de Oro Awards in Spain. Visit www. farahsiraj.com.
Guitarist Michael Tahlier of Chicago, IL, is heading this summer's Total Guitarist Camp at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. Tahlier is the guitar studies program director and a private studio teacher at the
Mahammad Dawwas