Lab Report

The graduation concert presented the results of the musical research conducted in the Berklee Valencia lab during the preceding year. Early on, the eclectic program placed an emphasis on acoustic instruments including nylon-string guitar, mandolin, wind instruments, and Middle-Eastern and Latin hand percussion as well as American drum kit. The opener was a Brazilian choro followed by zambas y chacareras: Argentinean folkloric music peppered with a hint of the blues.

Throughout the program, the blend of musical sounds from Mediterranean countries, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas was striking. Egyptian guitarist Ousso Lotfy was highlighted throughout on nylon-string and electric guitars, which illustrated his expertise in the seemingly disparate Mediterranean and American rock styles. Mournful Arab-influenced vocals on ballads contrasted with the scat singing of Lithuanian vocalist Viktorija Pilatovic. Her uptempo swing version of Cole Porter’s “I Get a Kick out of You” allowed her bandmates to shine in their solos and on a fleet-fingered Chick Corea-esque unison line that resurfaced periodically. The group later rendered the jazz standard “Autumn Leaves” with a Puerto Rican bomba groove, serving up plenty of vocal and instrumental fireworks in the process.

A musical fearlessness characterized the treatment of known songs as well as original compositions. The intro to the Indian song “Vitoo” was also notable; it featured Spanish upright bassist Priscilla Vela and Argentinean grad Patricia Ramón on didgeridoo dueting in the bass clef before Ganavya Doraiswamy’s vocal entry. The band transformed the Indian song, underpinning it with a reggae groove. The students also showcased original tunes with a global twist, including “The Wreckage” by Alessia Collarile (Canada) and “Easy to Take” by American Sarah Mount. The latter was enhanced with hints of Arabic musical sounds. Almost every song in the program showed a proud, carefree blending of multicultural influences.

Toward the close of the show, the musicians kicked it up a notch with a grouping of American pop songs, including “Long Train Running” (The Doobie Brothers), “Tell Me Something Good” (Chaka Khan), and a crazy soul-hoedown mashup on Ben E. King’s  “Stand By Me.” The Sexecutives, a band made up of business majors, played songs with an alt-rock edge and plenty of stage antics, including Mexican lead singer Iñaki Barcos Melgar’s handsprings across the stage.