Berklee Blogs

First-hand accounts of the Berklee experience

Tag: Boston (Page 1 of 24)

Boston

Sharing My Voice through Summer in the City

By Belinda Huang

IMG_0706This past weekend, I had an amazing opportunity to play at Longfellow House, a historical site in Boston, through Berklee’s Summer in the City program. Being that I had never stayed in Boston for a summer yet, nor had I played a show in the city before, I was both nervous and excited.

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Berklee Indian Ensemble: Have you met Sanjeeta?

Sanjeeta sits down in front of me, eyeing my chocolate muffin. Before she can reach out and take a bite, I grab the muffin and keep it close to me.

1048496_10153001286015226_20759901_o“I just want a bite!” she says, laughing. With Sanjeeta, it’s never just a bite. But then again, that’s what makes her so special – her ability to set her mind on something and then go after it. Be it the numerous opportunities she’s had at Berklee or the numerous “bites” of food she’s had from me over the last two years, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya has never missed a chance to seize the day! A 7th semester Performance major with voice as a principal instrument, she never fails to impress. Inspired, I want to hear her story and what brought her from Delhi to Boston.

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極寒の週末

こんにちは。みなさん、いかがお過ごしですか。

この週末、ボストンでは1934年に以来に華氏3度を下回る気温を記録しました。摂氏ではマイナス25度、風が強かったので体感気温はマイナス40度を下回るとも言われていました。10分外にいると凍傷になってしまうとのことで、私も用事があって色々と外出しましたが、外に出ると顔が痛く、風の向きによっては目を開けると痛かったです。帽子をかぶらないとまず耳が痛くなりますし、毛糸の手袋では防寒仕切れないほどでした。デニムの下にタイツをはいていても5分歩いていると股が霜焼け寸前のような状態で痛くなるので、通常10分以上かかる場所に徒歩で移動した時は小走りでなるべく外にいる時間を短くできるようにしていました。睫毛に自分の吐息がかかってそれが凍るというのも初めて経験しました。

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Berklee Behind The Music Featuring Seven Spires

Seven SpiresThere is nothing more promising than musicians who can deliver just as much as they do on their recordings as they do live. Berklee band Seven Spires is just the theatrical metal band to do it. With their combination of classical style vocals mixed with a metal rock inspired band, they sure are able to sweep you off your feet and into the mosh pit.

All the official members of Seven Spires are students here at the Berklee College of music and they each come from very different backgrounds. Born and raised in Texas, Adrienne Cowan, the front women, was offered a full academic scholarship sponsored by Lolapalooza music festival. She is now studying Pro Music with an emphasis in composition.

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Two-Five-One: Grey

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Name: Grey
Major(s): Professional Music
Hometown: Manchester, NH
Current City: Boston, MA

How has your Berklee experience shaped your view of the music industry? Was it spot on or did you need to shift your perspective?

I felt I had a pretty level perspective.

I came to Berklee looking for a practical way to make music the focus of my professional life. During the course of my time at Berklee, I sought out mentors who I felt would support me in my goal to create a realistic music career. I was a pessimist, and believed that I needed to make real money soon after graduation in order to justify the cost of the investment.

I found that most of the musicians I admired would never look down on another musician’s way of paying the bills.

Before coming to Berklee, I spent several years working at terrible jobs for meager wages. I was not about to let my idealism drag me back there. But some of my classmates came straight from high school and needed to learn to respect the power of the dollar.

Can you touch on the importance of your networking, skill and talent?

Networking is just one aspect of personal branding and reputation management. The work you do to spread your reputation will only take a small portion of your time but may result in the majority of paying work that comes your way. Every single gig that came my way happened as a result of someone credible dropping my name.

It’s important to remember you are networking with everybody you meet, whether you realize it or not. I am a little bit cynical about going to events and handing out name cards. The big shots are not eagerly waiting to exchange greetings with you at a local Meetup. However, one way or another, the community needs to hear about the great work you’re doing. The work you do is like a pile of firewood, and the networking you do is like the match that sets it ablaze.

I believe that talent is a myth. The nature versus nurture debate is over. Even those of us with ordinary genes are capable of extraordinary things.

What is something you’d wish you’d known “then” (before starting Berklee, during Berklee, or your first year out of Berklee)?

In my last year, I wish I had known how successful I was going to be in the following years. I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to pay my expenses. In the end, everything worked out better than I could have imagined… and I wasted a lot of time worrying.

What should a new alum focus on as they enter the job market?

Being determined to make ends meet, being open to interesting opportunities, having the self-respect to apply your skills usefully in a wide range of places, and–of course–learning to enjoy the taste of humble pie. Bide your time and your day will come. If you wanted an office with a leather chair and all you got was a mop, be the best mopper you can be. If you’re no good with a mop, why would anyone trust you with more?

How does your degree play a role in your current career path?

My degree has given me a huge amount of credibility. When you have a degree, people give you the benefit of the doubt and search for proof of your abilities.


Grey graduated from Berklee’s Professional Music program in 2011. As his final project, he created a school of guitar in Boston. In 2014, Grey traveled through Asia for over a year, leveraging the low cost of living there to create HubGuitar.com, a professional-quality free guitar learning resource. He has since returned to Boston where he focuses on creating high-quality online guitar lessons and managing the school, Hub Guitar Boston.

Grey can be found on the web via:

Grey’s School of Guitar in Boston

Hub Guitar 500+ Professional Guitar Lessons

Grey’s 300+ Professional Guitar Lessons (Chinese Version)


Two Five One is a series of blog posts by alumni. They write about two places (where they’re living & their hometown) answer five questions about their post-graduate experience, and it’s a one-off post. For more information about blogging for Berklee as an alumni, email [email protected]

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