Jazz Composition
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Jeff Friedman, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Jazz Composition Department"The pace at Berklee is super-charged compared to other colleges. Our undergrad program would be a masters program anywhere else, especially the last couple years. So there's a tremendous amount of pressure; you just have to go all the way. But I tell my students, 'We're the luckiest people in the world. We get to make music for a living.' In my case I use the analogy of my Duke Ellington class. It's kind of a scandal. I get paid for two hours to talk about Duke Ellington? I would do that anyway!"
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Kari Juusela, Dean
DEPARTMENT : Professional Writing Division"Professional Writing has to do with all the music that is composed. We try to encompass all the styles that are happening today, all the way from contemporary classical to hip-hop. Although we work with older music, our focus is on what's happening now—which keeps us on our toes. There's been a real blending of musical styles, and Berklee is a perfect place to do that because we have so many faculty experts in all these areas."
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- B.M., Berklee College of Music
- B.A., Cornell University
- Performances with Toshiko Akiyoshi, Lee Konitz, Budd Johnson, John LaPorta, Charlie Mariano, and Herb Pomeroy
- Arrangements for the Buddy Rich and Dave Stahl orchestras
- Numerous published compositions for high school and college jazz ensembles
- Author of Jazz Composition: Theory and Practice
- Coauthor of Modern Jazz Voicings with Ken Pullig
- Composer and producer for his CD Big Band Blues Celebration
- Recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts
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Greg Hopkins, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Jazz Composition Department"I think you have to bring yourself into the music and not just replicate other people's music. That's my whole philosophy. I'll assimilate all I can about Duke Ellington's music, for instance. And I'll try to write some things in his style. Not steal, but borrow. Then I'll let that sit in my system and figure out how I want to use it. I want to create my own language. Some of his sounds, textures, or vocabulary might come out in my music. But my ideas will come out, too."
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Bill Scism, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Jazz Composition Department"Jazz composition is a very intense major. The work is time consuming. But the discipline that the students get out of it is so valuable, and the portfolio that they put together is almost equivalent to a master's portfolio."
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Scott Free, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Jazz Composition Department"When I ask students to create a piece of music, I tell them they have to be careful to preserve their own personal enthusiasm and not just fulfill my assignment. I want my students to know that, by sharing the things that really matter to them musically, it really gives their teachers happiness. I think it's important for them to realize that they're giving a gift to us, too. We may be giving them these torturous exercises that turn into volumes of music, but the reality is, they're giving us something great back. I respect that."
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