Berklee Today

JUN 2012

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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Changing of the Guard By Mark Small Following the spring semester, some prominent figures on campus will be seen less frequently. Bass Department Chair Rich Appleman and Jazz Composition Chair Ken Pullig will retire after 40 and 27 years, respectively. After four decades at Berklee, Rich Appleman retired on May 31. "My first day was June 1, 1972," he says. "I was here exactly 40 years. I'm a sports fan and believe that you shouldn't stay too long at the game. I feel the depart- ment is in good shape, and this is the right move for me." Appleman was a member of the U.S. Navy Band during the Vietnam War and ended up at the navy base in Boston in 1968. "After I got here, I met my future wife as well as some guys from Berklee. I decided to stay and study at Berklee." He graduated first in his class and was invited immediately to teach the summer program in 1972. He continued as a full-fledged faculty member in the fall and was named Bass Department chair in 1974 just as the electric bass program was starting. Together with Assistant Chair of Bass John Repucci, Appleman led the department during a period of tremendous development in the his- tory of the bass, and hosted legend- ary bassists as visiting artists. "When I look back, Jaco [Pastorius] was here twice, Ray Brown, Christian McBride, Victor Wooten, Charlie Haden, Bootsy Collins, and so many others visited. I've had a charmed 40 years. I appre- ciate the opportunity I was given by Berklee." Appleman plans to continue teach- ing through Berkleemusic.com, and— since everyone needs a great bassist— playing gigs. Like Appleman, Ken Pullig, the retiring chair of the Jazz Composition Department, came from the military to Berklee. He played trumpet with the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division Band in the Vietnam War era and enrolled at Berklee in 1971 shortly after his discharge. He graduated in 1974 and was hired to teach harmony, arrang- ing, and ensembles in January of 1975. Pullig was named chair of the Jazz Composition Department in 1985. "Rich and I are among Berklee's early cast members that are start- ing to leave," Pullig notes. "It's a changing of the guard in two corner- Ken Pullig stone departments of the college. Jazz composition was a draw from the days when Berklee was called Schillinger House. People came here to learn how to write. It's been nice to be on the bridge of the ship help- ing to keep it going in the direction it was intended to go." Pullig counts associations with fellow faculty members such as Ted Pease and Herb Pomeroy and inter- actions with visiting artists among the highlights of his tenure. "It was great to have guest artists such as Maria Schneider, Clare Fischer, and Bob Brookmeyer here," he says. "I also enjoyed the annual Fall Together and Write of Spring concerts for the artis- Performance Wellness Institute Launched "Musicians move for a living," says body mapping specialist Jerald Harscher during a spring-semester workshop sponsored by Berklee's new Performance Wellness Institute (PWI). "Some musicians believe that the only parts of the body that move while they play are those that touch the instrument." Harscher related how, after launching his career as a classical guitarist, he encountered debilitating performance injuries that he overcame only by gaining awareness about the physical struc- tures of the human body. By learning proper movement, he improved his technique. The workshop was one in a series of events that spanned the spring semester and offered insight for members of the Berklee community. Beginning in January, workshops on such topics as body mapping, the Alexander Technique, mind-body dis- cipline for musicians, and self-aware- ness through Kenpo were presented by faculty members Doug Johnson, Bertram Lehmann, Paul Del Nero, Karen Wacks, and Ricardo Monzón. Visiting experts included Harscher, 6 Berklee today Vanessa Mulvey, Betsy Polatin, Bob Lada, Dr. Heather Buchanan, and Dr. Anita King. The Berklee PWI is directed by Associate Professor of Voice Jeannie Gagné and Piano Professor Neil Olmstead, with help from a steering committee comprising a dozen other faculty members. The idea for the ini- tiative began after surveys that were conducted in 2010 and 2011 indicated that a large number of Berklee stu- dents and faculty members expe- rienced pain, strain, numbness, or injury while singing or practicing their instruments. Mindful that a life- long career as a creative performing musician requires healthy vocal and instrumental technique and an over- all healthy lifestyle, Olmstead and Gagné spent two years investigating methods for avoiding performance injuries and related problems. They made a case for establishing PWI with college leaders and gained sup- port for the initiative. "The creation of the institute has offered an opportunity to address instrument-related pain, strain, and injury in our students and ourselves," Olmstead says. "But even greater excitement for us lies in creating bet- ter music. Deeper musical results are discovered through coordinated and organized motions of the human body yielding a more beautiful tone, and the connection of harmony, rhythm, and melody in a piece of music." In early April, the institute brought in body-mapping specialists King and Buchanan for two daylong sessions. An associate professor of music and director of choral studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey, Buchanan worked with vocal- ists during the two days. Chair of the music department at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, and a pianist, King worked with faculty and student instrumentalists. Both visi- tors are certified Andover Educators who teach somatic pedagogy in addi- tion to music courses. In a session that King presented to a packed house in the David Friend Recital Hall, she spoke about the need to properly align the top half of the body with the bottom half. She showed proper posture for sitting at the piano and also demonstrated the orientation for instrumentalists who stand while playing. "Each instru- ment requires specific movements," King notes. "We all need to know how to move well." For Olmstead, Gagné, and the PWI committee, the events this spring are the beginning of an effort that they hope will help Berklee musicians avoid performance injuries and play optimally for life. "We are very excited that PWI is finally launched and running pro- grams," Gagné says. "This is essential work for the health of our students and faculty. Developing awareness of balanced technique also enhances tone and musicianship. Berklee is on its way to becoming the cutting- edge model of superb playing that is also healthy. This could very well change the very culture of contempo- rary music." To read articles published previ- ously in Berklee today on body map- ping and avoiding performance inju- ries, visit www.berklee.edu/bt/222/ body_mapping.html and www. berklee.edu/bt/213/play_ for_life.html. Rich Appleman tic experience and the camaraderie of faculty members and students play- ing together." In retirement Pullig plans to listen to the stack of CDs that accrued in his office over the years and to have the freedom to write music all day long when the muse hits. "Mostly, I look forward to not having to set my alarm clock anymore," he says. Also departing are Bill MacKay, the director of housing for 29 years; Greg Mooter, a professor of bass for nearly 35 years; George Zonce, profes- sor of ensemble for 41 years, and Scott McCormick, a professor of harmony for 26 years. Many thanks and best wishes to all. Photos by Phil Farnsworth

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