Berklee Blogs

First-hand accounts of the Berklee experience

Tag: Jonathan Ong

Jonathan Ong

Photo Blog – Spring 2011 Singers Showcase

This semester I got to experience my first Berklee Singer’s Showcase, and boy, did it live up to the hype!

To get a little bit of backstory on the vocalists and how they were chosen for the Singers Showcase, check out my previous blog post on the Live Auditions.

Not only was it my first time experiencing a Singer’s Showcase, I had the pleasure of sitting next to an out-of-towner who was also attending his first Singer’s Showcase and getting his first real taste of the talent Berklee has to offer.

It’s easy to see from the photos why the showcase is considered Berklee’s biggest production of the semester, boasting additional LED stacks and a full compliment of talented musicians and dancers. Before the performance began, Berklee played a video real of past performers and famous alumni to really drive home the point that we could be seeing future stars and Grammy-winners at that night’s showcase, a point which I’m sure no one would deny after hearing the singers perform. Speaking of video, you can stream the entire performance and relive the excitement. But if you prefer to read about the show, here are the highlights.

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Performers and fans talk music, mingling, and making new fans at BeanTown Jazz Fest

The Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival turned 10 this year, and celebrated New Orleans style with the Wild Magnolias and Jonathan Batiste, Cajun food on the concourse, and temps in the 80 degree range.  Jazz, blues, soul, and Latin music added to the festivities that stretched over six blocks for six hours.   I spoke with some of the performers and a couple of long-time BeanTown fans about the event, and the festival’s role in bringing music to new listeners and community to a city that sometimes doesn’t mingle.

Grammy nominee Julian Lage ’08 played with his trio on the BeanTown Stage:

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