PODCAST: Inside Berklee—Chantel Hampton and Alonzo Harris
Ensemble faculty Alonzo Harris (at keyboard) and Chantel Hampton work with City Music students.
Mike Spencer
Hampton '08, who studied music business/management, came to Berklee through the City Music program.
Mike Spencer
Harris, who practices versatility in his own career, shares that message with students.
Mike Spencer
Harris and Hampton emphasize the importance of incorporating technology into performance.
Mike Spencer
There's no substitute for preparedness and versatility, especially in the music industry. That's the message Ensemble and City Music faculty Chantel Hampton and Alonzo Harris are driving home to their students.
"Preparation plus opportunity equals success," notes Harris, a music director, producer, composer, recording artist, and performer.
Whether teaching City Music students or Berklee undergraduates, Hampton and Harris underscore the importance of being adaptable as a musician and how technology can enhance performance. In fact, they've created a prototype for giving performers the tools to harness technology, a blueprint they're sharing with other music educators.
"You have to be ready and flexible at all times, especially as entrepreneurs," says Hampton '08, who came through Berklee by way of City Music. "This is our business, this is our brand."
In this episode of Inside Berklee, Hampton and Harris talk about the ways a Berklee education can help better prepare students for a career in the music industry, the value of being open to be "forever learning," and how their own professional experiences are testimony to the value of diversifying one's skill set.
Producer: Lesley O'Connell
Engineer: Steven Xia
Recorded at the BIRN Studios
