Dear members of the Berklee community,
On August 5, I received the very sad news that longtime colleague Matt Marvuglio passed away. Matt’s presence and career at the college spanned more than four decades, beginning with his time as a student, then continuing in several vital administrative roles. He chaired the Woodwind Department, served as dean of the Professional Performance Division, and most recently, assumed the new role of dean of Performance Division Institutes.
Dear members of the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Berklee College of Music community,
Recently, the community was notified of the unexpected passing of staff member Gordon Homann. Gordon collectively served the two institutions for 11 years. He joined Berklee College of Music in January 2006, where he held temporary administrative assistant positions within counseling and advising and admissions. Later that year, Gordon became a full-time staff member in the College’s Office of Admissions, where he discovered his passion for providing support to international students. In August 2007, Gordon was hired by The Boston Conservatory, where he served as director of international student affairs. Following the merger, Gordon continued his work in International Student Services for the combined institution.
Dear members of the Berklee community,
On May 3, Barrie Nettles, one of Berklee’s icons, passed away after suffering a massive stroke.
A graduate of Berklee in 1969, Barrie began teaching at the college in 1972 and retired in 2006. During his 34-year tenure, he was a foundational member of the Harmony Department, serving as chair from 1984-1993 and subsequently as professor until his retirement. He taught almost all of the harmony and arranging courses at the college, authored many of the core harmony texts and workbooks, and created the Scoring for Woodwinds course.
By Jonathan Feist
Mili Bermejo’s book Jazz Vocal Improvisation is out, and we’re sorry that she isn’t here to see it.
Mili was sitting under a tree, teaching, when I first met her, surrounded by a gaggle of teenaged singers. The year was 2000 or so, and we were both on a Berklee in L.A. trip, which is a summertime outreach program where Berklee faculty members spend some time with younger musicians. Mili was teaching voice, I was doing some research for the Berklee Practice Method and also scouting for book ideas.
Dear members of the Berklee community,
With much sadness, I write to inform you that the college has lost another member of its community. Vuk Kulenovic, professor in the Composition Department, passed away on Monday, April 10.
Since 2006, Vuk has been a constant presence at Berklee. During his 11 years, he taught several counterpoint and orchestration courses, as well as directed study. Born in Sarajevo, in the former Yugoslavia in 1946, he studied piano and composition at Ljubljana Music Academy in Slovenia and later at Belgrade Music Academy, where he received his Master of Arts in music composition. He also studied with Milko Kelemen in Stuttgart, Germany. During his studies, the popular approach to composition was in 12-tone technique introduced to the world by Arnold Schoenberg. This had little impact on Vuk, since he was writing in a minimalist style before it was given that moniker and popularized by composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass.
Copyright © 2023 Berklee College of Music