Category Archives: Alumni

Where are they now. . . find out how Berklee grads make their way in the music world.

Nashville Berklee Jam with Bryan Beller ’92 – April 29, 2013

Eric Normand ’89 runs the Nashville Berklee Jam. For the full post please visit nashvilleberkleejam.com.

Our second installment of the Nashville Berklee Jam at The Rutledge brought out a great crowd, an inspiring story, and some “vibey” performances. Our special guest on this night, bass extraordinaire and Berklee alumnus, Bryan Beller ’92, gave an insightful talk that touched on the ups and downs of his life and his experience in the music business.

Long before his recent work with Steve Vai, Dethklok, The Aristocrats, and his current role as bassist on Joe Satriani’s 2013 European tour, Bryan roamed the halls of Berklee College of Music searching for a higher level of musical awareness and his place in the world of music. This joureny would take him to LA and a stint with the Dweezil Zappa band, a move that led to an interesting chain of events.

To read the full post with photos click here.

Special thanks to Bryan and Kyra for making this event a big success; The Rutledge, alumni Amanda Williams and Arielle Schwalm, videographer, Jack Zander, and Fran Breen (drums) and Eric Bikales (keys) for donating their time.

The Nashville Berklee Jam is held at The Rutledge on the last Monday of every other monday, with the next event to take place on Monday, June 24 featuring special guest, President of the Nashville Musician’s Union and A-list bassist, Dave Pomeroy.

For more info about future events, please visit the Nashville Berklee Jam website www.nashvilleberkleejam.com. If you would like to learn more about the Nashville music industry, please check out Eric Normand’s book, “The Nashville Musician’s Survival Guide“.

Student Post: Clinica e Entrevista com Seamus Blake! (Clinic and Interview with Seamus Blake)

Portuguese student blogger Andre Vasconcelos is a guitar principal from Brazil, and a member of the 2013 graduating class. 

A algumas semanas atrás eu havia escrito que a WBGO, a NP3 e a Berklee estavam trabalhando juntas numa parceria que teria como objetivo trazer ao Cafe 939 da Berklee uma série de clínicas e concertos de artistas de jazz de Nova Iorque. Irei retomar o BerkleeBlogs Brasil no ano de 2012 descrevendo como foi assistir e entrevistar um destes músicos, o famoso saxofonista Seamus Blake.

 

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The Dynamic Duo: Nell Benjamin and Larry O’Keefe

 

Musical Theater Clinic

Larry O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin met at an improv audition at Harvard University. The pair has been making magic ever since and have gone on to create musicals such as Cam Jansen, The Mice, Sarah Plain and Tall, and Life of the Party.

O’Keefe and Benjamin visited Berklee’s 1140 building on Tuesday, April 2, 2013 for an intimate and candid discussion about how to become a successful writer and composer in the musical theater industry. The dynamic duo represents the first artists to participate in the Curtain Up visiting artist series. The Curtain Up concert is an annual concert featuring the winning songs of the Curtain Up Musical Theater Songwriting Contest. It was held in the David Friend Recital Hall on April 1; Larry and Nell attended and were able to offer some feedback to the students who attended the clinic.

O’Keefe ‘93 has made a name for himself in the musical theater community. Earning an education from USC, Harvard, and Berklee, he honed his skills to create works like the Drama Desk Award-nominated Bat Boy: The Musical, which ran off-Broadway in 2001. This production received an Outer Critics’ Circle Award and the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical.

O’Keefe is very busy working on multiple projects, including Andy, which will feature Steve Carell and which is based on the musical Annie, and an adaptation of the novel Heathers into Heathers: The Musical, which will be opening up in Los Angeles.

Benjamin’s television credits include the last and weirdest season of Unhappily Ever After, Animal Planet’s Whoa!, Sunday with Mo Rocca, and the new Electric Company. She received the 2003 Kleban Foundation Award for lyrics and a 2003 Jonathan Larson Foundation grant. She is currently working on a musical adaptation of Because of Winn Dixie with Duncan Sheik and on Pirates!, a witty adaptation of Pirates of Penzance.

For anyone who has a hard time writing melodies or knowing when (or when not) to edit a piece…this clinic was for you. Personally, I have a hard time with melody manipulation and song structure when I’m writing and they answered questions with clarity and examples. After talking with Larry and Nell after the clinic, I was inspired and motivated to pick up the script I had been writing (one that I had previously put away for good), revisit it, and bring some new life to it.

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Loft Sessions: original songwriters and arrangers captured on video

Composition and film scoring major Evan Chapman (’13) writes about the latest installment in his Loft Session video series, featuring original Berklee songwriters Sam Fischer, Melanie Lynx, Vince Cannady, and Sarah Walk accompanied by a full string section, choir, and various percussion instruments. 

The Loft Sessions concept materialized back in September of 2012, with a short four-video series, which featured my good friend, Vince Cannady, a string trio, and three back-up singers. Vince, an incredibly talented vocalist had just begun performing his original music, and up until this point hadn’t received the traction someone of his caliber should. I released four videos shortly after which featured a re-arrangement of “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “Use Somebody” and two of Vinces originals which were filmed and recorded live in the Berklee loft space, comprised of Berklee students. Upon the release of these videos, it became apparent that this concept furnished the capacity to provide a platform for unrecognized talent in a way that local shows could not.  Continue reading

LAB: Getting Into Music and Making it Work

Berklee Alumni Spotlight: Nick Buda ’96
Written by: Shantell Ogden ‘05

Nick Buda (’96) started playing drums on his mom’s couch cushion when he was a kid in Cape Town, South Africa. As early as ten years old, he was begging her to take lessons.

“I got my first set of practice pads when I was 13 and my family moved to Nashville to escape apartheid in South Africa,” said Nick. “I used to play along with bands like Living Color and James Taylor with my electric drums for hours everyday. I was 14 when I got my first drum kit.” Continue reading