Alumni

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

Alejandro Cajiao: Auditions in Colombia

March 29, 2012 – 12:40 pm

The following is a post from Berklee alumnus Alejandro Cajiao, who along with Mateo De Los Ríos, organized most of the events in Bogotá in coordination with the Berklee International Network and Berklee’s Office of Admissions. Mateo and Alejandro are currently the directors of EMMAT, a music school founded by Berklee alumni.

The Berklee International Network (BIN) and the Office of Admissions team traveled to Colombia in February 2012. Surprises started from the first day. As the team was having the first lunch on Sunday at the famous Colombian restaurant Andres Carne de Res, the waitress who attended our table was a singer who was going to audition for Berklee in a few days. Was it destiny or just a small world?

A crowded jam at the William Shakespeare Theater in Colombia.


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By Lesley Mahoney | Also posted in Faculty, Student Experience | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Global Outreach Through Music: Update from Cape Town

March 29, 2012 – 8:24 am

Soon after the team arrived in Cape Town, we were brought to the 2012 Cape Town International Jazz Festival’s (CTIJF) opening event at The Fugard Theater.  Festival founder Rashid Lombard, producer Billy Domingo and director of training and develop Craig Parks kicked the week off with an excellent showcase of student bands from Cape Town and Cape Flats.

Being that this is my first time to Cape Town, I did not know what to expect.  We were truly surprised by the quality of musicianship and talent showcased by the 10 student bands that performed.  Chair of music business/management Don Gorder, professor of woodwinds Jim Odgren, assistant director of admissions Gojko Damjanic and I made page upon page of notes identifying a number of exceptional students we heard.

The tough part was next.  With all of this talent, we needed to select two students to received full-tuition awards to the 5 Week Summer Performance Program and two students to receive Berklee Online Awards for an online class of their choice.  With the help of Craig Parks, we were able to select the following winners;

5 Week Full-Tuition Scholarships
• Drum Set – Megan Hilda Saayman
• Guitarist – Gavin David John Kemp

In Megan’s case, we noted her musical taste, groove and the fact that the beat never moved.  She was locked in.  For a young musician that has only been playing for three years, we were truly impressed by her musicianship.

We thought Gavin was the band leader.  He has a presence both personally and musically.  He demonstrated a fine level of skill as a lead player, accompanists and soloist.

Both of these fine, young musician were presented with their awards at the free concert held at Green Market Square on Wednesday evening.  They were greeted with gracious applause.  Megan was even asked to demonstrate her prowess as a drummer (see photo).

The winners of the Berklee Online awards are trumpeter Robin Kock and trombonist Steven Campbell.  These young talented were part of the horn section for a fantastic band from Alexander Sinton High School.

We could have easily selected a number of other musicians for award from this student band festival.  For now, we look forward to seeing Megan and Gavin in Boston this summer, and helping Robin and Steven expand their musical knowledge through their online courses.

Stay tuned for my next post about our clinics in Guguletu.

Award Receipient Megan Saayman at 2012 CTIJF

5 Week award winner Megan Saayman plays for a capcity audience at Green Market Square in Cape Town.

By jcamelio | Also posted in Admissions, Berklee on Tour, Concerts, Faculty, Summer Programs | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Africa’s Grandest Gathering: 2012 Cape Town International Jazz Festival

March 27, 2012 – 4:12 am

We are in between auditions at The Fugard Theater in Cape Town, South Africa.  As I look around the concert hall, I can see that the team at the Festival and ESP Afrika are serious professionals.  The Cape Town International Jazz Festival is a world class event and one that we at Berklee are excited to be supporting.

The event has been sold out for a few weeks.  The 2-day event will play host to 30K guests.  The concert events will all be kicked off on Wednesday evening with a free public concert which will also see about 18K attendees.  A quick glance at the list of acclaimed local and world renown artists helps to bring all of this into focus.

I am here with chair of music business and management/trumpeter Don Gorder, professor of woodwinds Jim Odgren and assistant director of admissions Gojko Damjanic.  This week are supporting the Training and Development program.  This includes checking out an impressive student jazz festival held on Sunday evening at The Fugard Theater, conducting a few days of auditions and interviews for candidates from across the African continent seeking to study at Berklee and giving a few days of lectures and master classes on a range of musical topics.

Throughout the week, I will be making posts on our work and the event.  To start things off, I thought it would be cool to give you a glimpse of the natural beauty of the Cape area and what we saw coming in from the airport as we headed into town.

Heading into Cape Town

Table Mountain

By jcamelio | Also posted in Admissions, Berklee on Tour, Faculty | Comments (0)

SXSW is crawling with Berklee bands

March 26, 2012 – 7:13 pm

SXSW is always always a hotbed of activity for alumni and student bands from Berklee and this year is no exception.  Scouring the Official SXSW showcases and parties, and Unofficial shows happening all over Austin, I spotted at least 60 bands/artists that include alumni or students. That means the real number is probably way higher. Of course, among these were the bands that played Berklee’s Seventh Annual Official SXSW Party on the Friday of SXSW Music. Check out videos from the show!

While putting on Berklee’s party is fun, it means we had to miss many alumni bands that were playing at the same exact time, including Dirty Dishes, Lost in the Trees, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Zambri, Sydney Wayser, Zorch, Sarah Blacker, Gentlemen Hall, Kishi Bashi, and more. Fortunately, before and after Berklee’s party, I did get a chance to check out some other alumni bands around the  festival.

OldJack: Dan Nicklin (center) and alumni Jason Meeker (left) and Ryan Peters (right)

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By Margot Edwards | Also posted in Berklee on Tour, SXSW | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Berklee at SXSW: Seventh Annual Day Party

March 22, 2012 – 11:34 am

Last week dozens (hundreds?) of Berklee alumni, students, faculty, and staff traveled to Austin, TX to participate in the SXSW 2012 Music, Film, and Interactive Conferences. We played shows, threw parties, presented and attended panels, networked with fans and industry pros, and consumed massive amounts of barbeque. At the center of all this activity was our seventh annual Official Day Party at Friends bar on 6th Street.

The day was a huge success, featuring student and Heavy Rotation Records band Canary (above), as well as 7 different alumni acts from all around the country.

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By Magen | Also posted in Berklee on Tour, SXSW | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
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