Berklee Blogs

First-hand accounts of the Berklee experience

Author: Chandler Dalton

Famed Keyboardist Greg Phillinganes Puts It All in Perspective

At a recent master class cosponsored by Red Bull, keyboardist Greg Phillinganes worked with students in real time to help their performance skills and musicianship, as well as offer career advice. Berklee blogger Chandler Dalton shares her reflections about this special event.

Greg Phillinganes (center) poses with the student performers who participated in his Red Bull master class.

Greg Phillinganes (front, center) poses with the student performers who participated in his Red Bull master class.

Before anyone even stepped out onto the stage, there was an air of childlike excitement in the David Friend Recital Hall. Greg Phillinganes, the charismatic Toto keyboardist with a history of working with household names such as Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers, was about to impart knowledge onto an audience of hopeful composers and performers, and play in a full band of Berklee students. I couldn’t help but feel the pure thrill from some of my classmates that were about to watch their hero play alongside their peers, and it was yet another reminder of the symbiotic relationship between performers and their audience.

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Words of Wisdom from Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy at Berklee

Fall Out Boy at Berklee; image by Dave Green

During just about every conversation I’ve had with my friends about our angsty teen years, there are common aspects that pop up: MySpace, an affinity for being “random,” and loud pop punk music. So when Berklee announced that Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy would be speaking at the Berklee Performance Center along with a few members of the band’s dedicated touring crew, every student that was in middle school in 2007 was waiting in the pouring rain to get in.

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Jessica Rivera Reminded Me Why I Study Music Business

Chandler DaltonI walked into Jessica Rivera’s live podcast interview with a full day of anxiety on my shoulders. Rivera, the Executive Vice President and Head of East Coast Operations at Universal Music group, was on campus to host a student song screening, and recorded a live podcast interview beforehand to talk about her work and past accomplishments. With a long to-do list that took all my energy to write, I sat in David Friend Recital Hall ready to zone out. Two hours later, I was a vibrant music student with enough energy to power the entire campus coursing through my veins. Seriously, you could’ve set me up with a life-sized hamster wheel and Berklee would’ve saved a pretty penny on their electricity bill.

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