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/132141
L.A. Newsbriefs For Los Angeles alumni, 2013 opened with a celebration. More than 350 alumni and guests assembled to hear Berklee trustee Peter Gotcher speak at the annual January brunch. Gotcher discussed digital royalties and other streams of income in the changing music industry and then took questions. This was the frst year to feature a music industry speaker at what has proven to be our community's fagship event. Thanks to all who turned out. In March, Professor Pat Pattison held a workshop at the renowned Village Studios, a facility managed by Tina Morris '97. Bleu '96 and Holly Palmer '92 cohosted with Pattison and dissected Randy Newman's "Feels Like Home," and Bleu and Palmer discussed their careers as artists and songwriters. Most recently, students from the Film Scoring and MP&E; departments traveled to Los Angeles during spring break. They attended small studio tours and a flm scoring discussion with Joe Greenier '04, Trevor Bresaw '07, Freddie Wiedmann '05, and Guillermo De La Barreda '99. Students also attended the ever-popular Green Room event, which drew a record 160 alumni and friends. If you're new to Los Angeles or plan to move here, sign up for our SoCal newsletter via email at jtaor- mino@berklee.edu. Consider attending a Green Room when you're in town to get acquainted with our vibrant community. Our pilot program with Presskit. to was a success. Ultimately, 300 alumni signed up, 40 opportunities were posted on the board, and eight positions were flled with Berklee alumni. We plan on continuing this service for the Los Angeles community. Your participation is invaluable. Find out more at http://presskit.to/ berkleela. This column has always shone the spotlight on our alumni, and beginning with this issue I will recognize some rising alumni stars who are creating change within the Berklee community and the larger industry. Jerome Leroy '05 graduated from Berklee and immediately relocated to Los Angeles. Today, he is a flm composer, but back in 2005 he was sitting in his apartment waiting for his phone to ring. An opportunity in the SoCal Newsletter led him to a position with renowned composer John Frizzell. In that position, Leroy honed his technical skills, which led to connections with other projects and people, the most important of whom is composer William Ross. Leroy coordinated and orchestrated various projects for Ross, including the flm The Tale of Despereaux and two Emmy-winning Academy Award ceremonies. In 2011, Ross and Leroy partnered to form the company Momentum RLP, for which Leroy led the design and construction of their new Santa Monica studio. Leroy wrote original music for Mistover and #iKllr and additional music for A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, Touchback, and Lifetime's Steel Magnolias. In 2012 he was the music programmer on The Hunger Games. Through other connections, Leroy became friends with Alex Kovacs '08. Immediately after he graduated from Berklee, Kovacs was hired by composer John M. Keane as an assistant for the TV show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, where Kovacs worked for three years. When Keane released an album for which William Ross contributed arrangements, Leroy and Kovacs worked on the project and Leroy hired Kovacs soon afterward. Berklee student Andy Forsberg '13 did an internship with Momentum in 2012. His good attitude and hard work paid off when Leroy offered him a position at Momentum, which will begin this summer. It's notable that alumna Sarah Kovacs '08 of Kraft-Engel Management represents Leroy. Jerome Leroy '05 (left) and Alex Kovacs '08 work together at Momentum, the Santa Monica music production company cofounded by Leroy and flm composer William Ross. The trend in which Berklee alumni work with the college to offer students internships and workshops and to connect alumni with jobs is amazing to watch. The support alumni offer to one another and students who ultimately graduate and become part of our community creates a positive feedback loop in which many beneft. —Justine Taormino '06 Alumni Regional Representative, L.A. jtaormino@berklee.edu Satriani), Rick Musallam (Ben Taylor, Carly Simon), and Small himself; bassist Bryan Beller '92 (Dethklok, Steve Vai '79, the Aristocrats); and vocalists Ben Thomas (Zappa Plays Zappa), Kira Small '93 (Peter Frampton, Martina McBride), Ali Handal (Neil Young, Paul Williams) and Jude Crossen '91 (Patti Austin, Lee Ritenour, Phil Perry). In typical WesFest tradition, the 2012 Wes Wehmiller Scholarship winner, bassist Jed Lingat, performed onstage with Danny Mo & the Exciters, showing the crowd of more than 300 exactly what they had gathered to support. Lingat laid down heavy grooves alongside legendary drummer John "JR" Robinson '75 (Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Madonna, Eric Clapton). The band was led by Wehmiller's Berklee bass professor and close friend Danny Morris '78 (aka Danny Mo) who said, "The Los Angeles experience is unique and cherished every year by the award recipient, and Jed's bass playing and demeanor are exemplary of the kind of person Wes would have loved and grooved to." Guitarist Brendon Small '97 (center) and Galaktikon headlined at WesFest 8 in Los Angeles. Other performers at WesFest 8 included alumni Joe Travers '91 (drummer for Zappa Plays Zappa), guitarist Griff Peters '93, saxophonist Bob Reynolds '00, and vocalists Colin Keenan '93 and Krysta Youngs '05. WesFest 8 was memorable not only for its great energy and exciting performances but also for its impressive fundraising results. —Peter Gordon '78 Director of Berklee Center in LA Ron Lyon WesFest 8, the eighth annual beneft concert in support of the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship Fund at Berklee was held at the Roxy in Los Angeles on March 3. The WesFest concert series serves as the centerpiece for a continuing fundraising drive for the scholarship fund honoring the legacy of Wes Wehmiller '92, a highly accomplished bassist, athlete, and photographer who died of thyroid cancer in January 2005. For the second year in a row, the WesFest concert and related fundraising drive broke all previous records, raising more than $27,000. This year's concert headliner was rock guitarist, composer, actor, and producer Brendon Small '97, the creative mastermind behind the smash-hit animated [adult swim] TV show Metalocalypse and the metal band Dethklok. WesFest 8 marked the debut performance of Small's allstar 11-piece band Galaktikon, featuring guitarists Jude Gold (Jefferson Starship, Billy Sheehan), Mike Keneally (Dethklok, Frank Zappa, Joe Dave Foster Brendon Small's Galaktikon Headlines WesFest Wes Wehmiller Scholarship recipient Jed Lingat Summer2013 Fall2012 35