Sounds of Berklee

Contemporary R&B singer-songwriter Phé discusses her music and shares her debut single "Incredible," which is a finalist in this year's International Songwriting Competition. Phé, a member of the graduating class of 2017, is soon to release her debut EP.

About one year after the Boston Conservatory and Berklee merged, Richard Ortner, president of the Conservatory, reflects on the historic move, the synergy of the combined institution, the early wins and challenges, and the leaders and visionaries who have influenced his approach.

In this episode of Inside Berklee, student cellist, composer, and arranger Cristobal Cruz-Garcia talks about how his childhood in Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, California, inform his willingness to cross musical borders.

Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus of the violin-driven hip-hop and rock duo Black Violin use their strings not only to challenge the concept of what makes for popular music but also to blow open racial stereotypes.

On this episode of Inside Berklee, alumnus Howard Shore joins us from his studio in New York to talk about the upcoming performance of his The Lord of the Rings Symphony at Boston's Symphony Hall on April 19.

Pitch Slapped, Berklee’s premier coed a cappella group, will release its second full-length album, Complexion, on April 20, following a debut performance of it at the Berklee Performance Center on April 19.

In this episode of Inside Berklee, Cheryl Coons calls in from Chicago to join Peter Eldridge and Rene Pfister in talking about the mystery of Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss," about what inspired them to create the show, and about the rise of musical theater at Berklee.

It’s been a big year for singer and bassist Tonina Saputo, one of the Mediterranean Music Institute’s emerging artists. In 2016, she was a featured vocalist on the MMI project Refugio del Sonido (Refuge of Sound), spearheaded by Javier Limón, and last month Saputo’s career got another major boost when she was selected as one of the first three emerging artists in Univision’s U-LAB project.

In this episode of Inside Berklee, Professor Ken Zambello talks about what it takes to get into the annual Singers Showcase, how Elvis Presley made rock famous, and what students today know of Elvis' music.

With roots in Boston and Portland, Maine, nascent indie rock trio Weakened Friends kicks off its spring tour at the 2017 South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival, including a slot at SXSW’s Boston and Beyond party on St. Patrick's Day (March 17), hosted by Vanyaland and Berklee.

In this episode of Inside Berklee, Christiane Karam talks about her musical journey in exploring ways that different cultures intersect and find common ground. As part of this journey, she founded the Middle Eastern Festival in 2009. On March 8, the festival returns to Berklee as part of the Signature Series at Berklee and features the music of celebrated Armenian composer Tigran Hamasyan.

In this episode of Sounds of Berklee, we feature saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Tia Fuller, a professor in the Ensemble Department who has performed alongside legends such as Beyoncé, Aretha Franklin, Jay-Z, Janelle Monáe, and Erykah Badu.

After more than 40 years as an integral leader at Berklee, Senior Vice President for Innovation, Strategy, and Technology David Mash B.M. '76, who Rolling Stone has called the "leading evangelist for the marriage of music and technology," reflects on his work and the Berklee community leading up to his retirement this spring.

Banda Magda has drawn critical praise and found chart success by skilfully interweaving Greek folk, Colombian cumbia, Afro-Peruvian lando, and tropicália, among other styles, with lyrics sung in six languages.

Grammy-winning conductor/composer Craig Hella Johnson, founder and artistic director for the choral organization Conspirare, discusses his arresting new work, Considering Matthew Shepard.

Take a listen to the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra, directed by Greg Hopkins, professor of jazz composition, perform the original tune "Transitions." Composed by Sean Jones, chair of the Brass Department, this tracks was recorded live at the 2015 Newport Jazz Festival.

As artistic director of the Berklee Interdisciplinary Arts Institute (BIAI), Neil Leonard guides students in collaborations with artists working in every medium imaginable.

In this episode of Inside Berklee, Emilien Moyon, the director of Berklee’s Global Entertainment and Music Business program, talks entrepreneurship, why people who study abroad have an edge, and the impressive list of industry heavyweights who visit the campus.

Violinist Taylor Davis will be playing at Berklee’s Red Room at Cafe 939 on December 5, 2016. Take a listen to one of her many YouTube hits here, with her original song, “Nebulous.”

In his 12 years as president of Berklee, Roger H. Brown has presided over some of the college's biggest milestones, such as the opening of an international campus in Valencia, Spain in addition to the college’s Boston, Massachusetts campus, the expansion of Berklee Online, and the merger that recently created Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

In this episode of Inside Berklee, Panos Panay '94 talks about the synergy between music and entrepreneurialism, and founding the Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship (BerkleeICE).

On November 10, 2016, Ziegler will bring his music to the Berklee Performance Center, playing both his and Piazzolla’s compositions in concert with a large student orchestra. The first song on Ziegler's set list is “Asfalto.”

Kenny Werner, artistic director of Berklee's Effortless Mastery Institute, discusses how musicians can learn to play from the deepest parts of themselves and rediscover their connection to music.

Wang Leehom ’99 is a world-renowned singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, movie star, record producer, film director, and cultural ambassador who will join Berklee students in performing selections from his catalogue at Boston's Symphony Hall on Sunday, November 13 at 7:00 p.m. He will be presented with an honorary doctor of music degree at the concert.

In this episode of Inside Berklee, student fiddle player Emily Baker talks about how she rediscovered her passion for music, and about the risk she took at age 26 to pursue music full time at Berklee.