Pieces of April

Pieces of April

On a misty morning in April, 1986, we let out a roar that could be heard throughout the Back Bay. Then, we began to move, one hundred and fifty faculty and nearly a thousand students strong. Dampness chilled to the marrow, but determination kept us warm.

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Music in Solidarity

Music in Solidarity

This fall the Berklee Faculty Union provided music for the annual volunteer celebration of an all-volunteer organization called the Eastern Service Workers Association.

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Turning Thirty (reprinted from a 2016 article)

Turning Thirty (reprinted from a 2016 article)

Over on our Facebook page we've had a good deal of chatter lately because we unearthed some photos from the 1986 faculty strike, so it seemed like a good time to re-run this piece about those days with hindsight of 30 years.

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ETUDE Scholars: Training Faculty & Staff as Safe Allies for Students

ETUDE Scholars: Training Faculty & Staff as Safe Allies for Students

Faculty members of ETUDE (Enhancing Teaching through an Understanding of Diversity and Equity) are trying to create Safe Allies for students—so they can feel safe reaching out for help and support. Equity Partners volunteer to participate in a professional development training on equity in order to develop the knowledge and skills to ensure that all faculty, staff, and students feel welcome as full members of the Berklee community.

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"I fought you at the beginning, but you made it a better school"

"I fought you at the beginning, but you made it a better school"

As part of a Labor Day-themed event in September 2016, Associate Professor of Liberal Arts Kevin Block-Schwenk interviewed Professor Dennis Leclaire, who has taught at Berklee since 1980, about the 1986 Faculty Strike, as well as what Berklee was like before then.

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So, I decided to go back to school (part 5 of 5)

So, I decided to go back to school (part 5 of 5)

When I am done with this degree I will have an immense amount of satisfaction.  I can feel the level of intellect with which I write and speak and comment on music is rising, so I might even be able to comport myself like a civilized human being when this is all over.   At the very least I will most likely get paid more by the institution at which I teach, and if we wind up living somewhere else I will be hireable.  

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So, I decided to go back to school (part 4 of 5)

So, I decided to go back to school (part 4 of 5)

I’m telling lots of jokes here to keep this interesting, but really I am learning so much in this program and I wish I’d done it sooner.  I hope to graduate before I am eligible for the AARP.   It’s making me a better teacher, too.  

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So, I decided to go back to school (part 3 of 5)

So, I decided to go back to school (part 3 of 5)

So I applied.  Not to a whole lot of schools, just to NEC, my alma mater, where some people still know me, and if that didn’t work then I’d weigh my options.  I got some super recommendations.  I sat in a room and took 8 hours of History and Theory entrance exams (after reading music history books and reviewing German 6th chords for a few months).  When I went to audition it was for Ken Schaphorst and Frank Carlberg, who used to crash on my couch in J.P. when he was in town in the late 90’s...

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So, I decided to go back to school (part 2 of 5)

So, I decided to go back to school (part 2 of 5)

So, I’ve spent the last almost 20 years spending my teaching income (I teach sometimes at University of NH, and I taught for a few years at the University of Southern Maine) on my creative career.  I’ve tried to produce records for a variety of artists, write tunes and arrangements for them and support them through the recording process.  I’ve played with lots and lots and lots and lots of singers, and that is often fun.  There have been peaks and valleys to this playing career of mine… 

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So, I decided to go back to school (part 1 of 5)

So, I decided to go back to school (part 1 of 5)

So, I decided to go back to school.  My pal and frequent musical collaborator David Scott asked me to write about it for the BFU blog.

Either Albert Einstein or Mark Twain famously said (on their Facebook profiles) “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”  

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