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
Tom Kates Mark Small berkleebeat Orchestral Additions By Adam Renn Olenn After the April 15 terrorist bombings at the Boston Marathon, numerous alumni from around the world sent messages with well wishes, hopes, and prayers that all members of the Berklee community were safe. Many recognized from news footage that the stretch of Boylston Street where the blasts occurred was close to some of Berklee's buildings. The college was fortunate that day: No Berklee students or employees were seriously hurt and no college property was damaged. Some students received minor injuries, but were generally OK. One student, Callie Benjamin, was waitressing that Monday at the Forum restaurant on Boylston Street, mere feet from where one bomb exploded. She had just left the Forum's sidewalk café to bring dishes upstairs when the blast went off. She rushed back down to guide terrifed customers out the back door and then gathered linens to bandage those gravely injured until frst responders arrived. Benjamin was one of many who selfessly remained on the scene that day to help, overriding the natural human instinct to fee a horrifc scene. "The fact that I was able to help others will also help me to get past this," Benjamin said. With four campus buildings in the zone cordoned off by the FBI, the college remained closed for the week. But senior administrators worked tirelessly with Student Affairs, Public Safety, Housing and Residence Life, and Aramark Dining Services to make sure all students—especially those living on campus—were accounted for, safe, well-fed, and receiving counseling where needed. President Brown and External Affairs personnel used several forms of media to provide status updates to all members of the Berklee community and to worried student parents everywhere. Many altruistic Berklee employees did yeoman service helping the college prepare to return to teaching music after the hiatus. A tragedy seems to bring out the best in many people. There are numerous stories of both simple and profound acts of kindness performed by the members of the Berklee com- Berklee's string and brass departments recently added faculty members who are members of one of Boston's most storied institutions: the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Together these musicians bring decades of classical performance and pedagogy to Berklee students. Associate Professor Julianne Lee, a violinist and a member of Berklee's String Department faculty, is the acting assistant concertmaster of the BSO. In addition to her work with the BSO, she has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, and has been a soloist with the KBS Symphony Orchestra (Seoul, Korea) and the Philharmonie Baden-Baden (Germany). Lee has played chamber music with fellow violinists Donald Weilerstein and Malcolm Lowe and members of the Guarneri String Quartet. She won the Presser Award in 2006 and the unanimous frst prize from the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. Associate Professor Owen Young teaches cello in Berklee's String Department. He joined the BSO cello section in 1991 and currently holds the orchestra's John F. Cogan Jr. and Mary L. Cornille chair. A frequent collaborator in chamber music events, Young has appeared at Tanglewood, Banff, Brevard, Aspen, and other prominent music festivals. As a soloist, he has performed with such notable orchestras as the Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and the New Haven Symphony Orchestras as well as the Boston Pops Orchestra. He is a founding member of Innuendo, an innovative chamber orchestra and plays chamber music recitals in the United States and abroad. Young frequently performs with songwriter James Taylor and appeared on the nationally televised concert "James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theatre" in New York City. Young is also active in Project STEP (String Training and Educational Program), a classically focused education and enrichment program for students of color. Melissa Howe, Chair of the String Department, invited Lee and Young to join the faculty because, "BSO players 4 Berklee today Refecting the true spirit of Boston, Berklee student Callie Benjamin aided the injured immediately after the April 15 bombings. munity. Berklee student Gia Greene sang at the funeral service for Krystle Campbell, one of the three who died in the attack. Other students performed at locations around the city and shared songs they'd written on YouTube. One week after the incident, the college reopened and a healing event titled "Let the Sunshine In" was held in the Berklee Performance Center. It included uplifting music plus words from Roger Brown, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost Larry Simpson, faculty MC Armsted Christian, and open mics so audience members could share their feelings. "Music is important; music matters," Simpson stated. "We will not let fear control what we do. We are stronger than violence and more creative than those who oppose us." Brown described the plurality of emotions he felt in the aftermath. He spoke of driving to get ice cream on Newbury Street, just blocks from the bombing site, after the man designated as "suspect number two" was apprehended. "Boston is my second home," Brown said. "I was glad that we were safe again." He also spoke of being impressed by one student's determination to run in the marathon next year. "Recovery will be a marathon itself. It won't be quick. There is no magic formula for living together in peace. But whatever formula there is includes music, I'm sure." The inspirational music interspersed throughout the event was provided by student and faculty performers. Of note was the impassioned rendition of the gospel song "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow" given by professors Dennis Montgomery (piano) and Donna McElroy (vocals). The student cast of the musical Hair got the last word. They offered a stirring performance of "Let the Sunshine In" that ended the hourlong gathering, leaving audience members upbeat, ready to fnish the semester. Julianne Lee Michael J. Lutch By Mark Small Gus Sebring Stu Rosner Standing Strong Owen Young are, without exaggeration, some of the best in the world. Having Julianne and Owen here makes it possible for Berklee to offer classical instruction at the highest possible level." Professor Richard "Gus" Sebring is a member of Berklee Brass Department. Since 1982 he has been the associate principal French horn player for the BSO and has served as the principal horn player for the Boston Pops Orchestra under conductors John Williams and Keith Lockhart. Sebring plays on numerous BSO and Boston Pops recordings and was a featured soloist on the John Williams score to the flm Saving Private Ryan. Additionally, Sebring is a composer and producer who works in many musical genres and has penned arrangements of the National Anthem for the Boston Pops. For more than three decades, Sebring has also taught at New England Conservatory. Berklee's Brass Deaprtment Chair Tom Plsek says, "As horn players go, Gus is at the top. We can let applicants know that Berklee now has one of the best horn teachers in the world."