Josh in his natural habitat
It’s not everyday you get the chance to work with your musical idols.
However, this summer exactly that happened. I stumbled upon the chance to join an instrument design startup with a small group of amazing people who had a potentially groundbreaking concept. Thanks to Dan Harple and his company Shamrock Ventures I was brought into the fold about a month ago and have been working with the team since.
Pablo A. Yescas esta en su segundo semestre estudiando pro-music y el bajo eléctrico, el es de Nogales, Sonora, México. Lee sus blogs cada otro Viernes, y no te olvides de mantener el ritmo aunque no haya música!
Pablo A. Yescas is a second semester pro-music major and bass player from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Check out his blog posts every other Friday and don’t forget to groove even without playing!
“Sólo en Berklee”. Ésta fue una de muchas frases que continuamente escuché durante mi semana de inducción de nuevo ingreso en Berklee College of Music. Sin embargo, por más que intenté asimilarla, fue durante el transcurso del semestre que se volvió realidad en muchos aspectos de mi vida estudiantil.
Last week me and two companions had the pleasure to interview one of the most notorious young artists of today’s scene. Michael League is a bassist, composer, producer, arranger, manager, record label owner and much, much more. This very capable musician took some time out of his intensely busy schedule to do a video interview with me for the Berklee Blogs!
This post was authored by Andre Vasconcelos, writer of the Brazilian Portuguese tab for the Berklee Blogs.
By Jason Camelio, director of international programs.
Lollapalooza - Brazil award winner Sarah Messias and Ipshita Roy from India hang with Rick Peckham after the Art of Improvisation afternoon master class.
The afternoon session at the end of the first day of the Art of Improvisation: Blues and Jazz program was coming to an end. As the room began to clear an oddly familiar — in the land of Berklee — event took place. Two young women were having a discussion with assistant chair of the guitar department, Rick Peckham. This is fairly common. It gets interesting when you learn about the two talented musicians speaking with Rick.
First, we have a young Brazilian Blues vocalist and harp player Sarah Messias. Sarah is the winner of the 2012 Lollapalooza – Brazil Scholarship. The award affords her the chance to attend the Art of Improvisation program at no cost! Her peer is also a talented young Blues vocalist from India, Ipshita Roy. Both musicians are enjoying some level of musical success in their home countries. Both have traveled a great distance to the new campus in Valencia to make this connection.
For some, this would be the makings a fine Odd Couples sequel. But, for those of us at Berklee it is just another day in the classroom. The exceptions being that these two musicians totally ROCKED it during the afternoon master class.
I am further saddened this week to announce the death of another faculty member, Mirek Kocandrle. Known for his passion for rock and roll, he specialized in the literature and history of the genre. He not only wrote and taught about it, but also developed ensemble curriculum focusing on the music of artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He will be greatly missed by his peers and students.
Mirek was an old soul. He’d been around and seen a lot in his decades at Berklee. He demanded as much from his students as he demanded of himself, and he always had time for students.
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