Berklee Faculty Union
Mike Scott – President
Professor, Harmony
Mike has been teaching at Berklee since 1975. Additionally, he served as chair of the faculty senate from 1982 to 1984. In 1985 he was elected president of the newly chartered Berklee Chapter, AFT, MFT, AFL-CIO. In 1986 he lead a faculty strike to secure the first Faculty Contract Agreement in the history of the college. On May 2, 2003, he received the Distinguished Service Award in Higher Education from the MFT in recognition of his significant contribution to his union and its members.
Jackson Schultz – Executive Vice President
Professor, Jazz Composition
Jackson began teaching at Berklee in 1978. He is one of the founding fathers of the BAFT and has served a leadership position on the Executive Committee since its inception.
Charles Cassara – Treasurer
Professor, Harmony
Charlie has been teaching at Berklee since 1980, has a B.M. from Berklee College of Music, and an M.A.T. from Connecticut College. His performances have been featured of WGBH-TV, Connecticut Public television and WNLC and WICH radio in Connecticut. As well as being the Director of musicals for Eugene O'Neill Theater, he has performed live and on television with Herb Pomeroy and Charlie Mariano. He is a composer/arranger for Duxbury Jazz Band and the Music Director of the South Shore Bay Band. Charlie has authored the Teaching Guide For General Music: Grades 7-12 as well as writing articles in various Music Education Publications.
Danny Harrington – Vice President, Full-Time Faculty
Professor, Harmony
Danny has been teaching at Berklee since 1979 and holds three degrees; a BS in Business Administration, BM from Berklee College and a Masters in Music from the University of Rhode Island. He has released 2 Solo CD's, "Risa's Waltz" in 1991 and "Live at the Firehouse Theatre" in 2001. He has performed with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Herb Pomeroy, Nick Brignola, the Four Tops, The Temptations, Gladys Knight and Diana Ross. He has been on the Executive Committee of the Faculty Union since its inception in 1986.
Beth Denisch – Vice President, Part-Time Faculty
Assistant Professor, Compostion
Originally from Baltimore, MD, Beth Denisch earned her undergraduate degree from North Texas State University and the Masters of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Boston University. She studied with Pulitzer laureates John Harbison and Bernard Rands. Dr. Denisch has received grants from ASCAP, Meet The Composer, American Composers Forum and the American Music Center. She founded and directs the American Composers Forum Boston/New England and continues writing for exciting and innovative ensembles and soloists.
Marti Epstein – Grievance Officer
Associate Professor, Composition
Marti Epstein is an Associate Professor in the composition department. Her music has been performed all over the world by ensembles such as the San Francisco Symphony and Ensemble Modern. She has been an Executive Committee member since 1996 when she won a Massachusetts Federation of Teachers Excellence Award for her role in the 1996 contract negotiations. She was the Vice President for Part Time Faculty and has been the Grievance Officer since 2001.
Jeff Perry – Secretary
Assistant Professor, Contemporary Writing and Production
Jeff has a B.M. from Berklee and a M.M. from DePaul University. He is the leader of the Jeff Perry Quintet/Quartet and electric bassist and arranger for Jes Perry, a Boston-based singer-songwriter. He has released several CD’s as a leader and a sideman. He has been involved with extensive private studio instruction since 1985, currently at Music Maker Studios in Brighton, MA. He is also the director of after-school music program in Newton.
DIVISION REPRESENTATIVES
Jonathan Holland – Professional Writing
Assistant Professor, Composition
Jonathan Holland, Assistant Professor in the Composition Department, has had works commissioned and performed by the Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minnesota and Philadelphia Symphony Orchestras, Auros Group for New Music, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota (currently Vocal Essence), among others. He has served as composer-in-residence with the South Bend Symphony through the Music Alive program, sponsored by Meet the Composer and the American Symphony Orchestra League. Jonathan has received awards and honors from Massachusetts Cultural Council, American Music Center, American Academy of Arts and Letters, ASCAP and others. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University, and his principal teachers included Ned Rorem, Bernard Rands, Mario Davidovsky and Yehudi Wyner.
Haidee Lorrey – Professional Education
Assistant Professor, Liberal Arts
B.A., Skidmore College, M.A., Northeastern University
Wendy Rolfe – Perfromance Division
Professor, Woodwinds
Wendy has been teaching flute and ensembles at Berklee since 1987. In addition to being one of the United State' leading performers on historical flutes, she has been a leader in commissioning and performing new works for the flute. Dr. Rolfe also performs, records and tours with the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque (two Grammy nominations) and New York's Concert Royal. She also performs with Toronto's Tafelmusik (2006 Canada's Juno Award), the New York Collegium, the Cape Symphony, and the American Classical Orchestra. She has also recorded for Disney/Touchstone and PBS (Ken Burns). She has just released "Images of Brazil", a CD recorded in Sao Paulo with a Berklee Faculty Fellowship. She has toured the USA with a Solo Recitalist Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, annually tours Brazil, giving solo recitals and
master classes, and has been guest artist at the International Flute Festival in Quito, Ecuador. Dr. Rolfe holds the DMA and MM from the Manhattan School of Music, and the BM from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She has served on the Boards of Directors of the National Flute Association (also past Chair and current member of the Cultural Outreach Committee), the Greater Boston Flute Association, and the Pappoutsakis Competition, and is a member of the Corporation of the Boston Early Music Festival.
Stephen Webber – Music Technology
Professor, Music Production and Engineering
B.M., North Texas State University, M.M., Western Kentucky University. Twenty-five years experience as a record producer, engineer, session player, music director, studio designer, recording artist, and DJ. Emmy Award–winning composer, Author of Turntable Technique: The Art of the DJ, the first book to teach the turntable as a musical instrument. Appearances on NBC’s Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, NPR’s All Things Considered, CNN Live, and The Mitch Albom Show. Writer for Mix, Remix, Electronic Musician, Audio Media, and Pro Sound News. Designed and installed studios in L.A., Nashville, Boston, and Hawaii. Recordings with the Jessi Alexander, Brad Delp, Eugene Friesen, Maeve Gilchrist, Jamie Haddad, Lindsay Mac, Manhattan Guitar Duo, Meshell Ndegeocello, Ivan Neville, Mark O’Conner, Tony Trischka, and the Turtle Island String Quartet. Performances with John Blackwell, Casey Driessen, Rashad Eggelston, Bela Fleck, Grandmixer DXT, Emmylou Harris, Mark O’Conner, Mike Phillips, Earl Scruggs, and Ricky Skaggs
COUNCILORS
Rick Applin
Professor, Composition
Richard Applin has been teaching at Berklee for twenty-five years, and a member of the BAFT since its inception. He has served on the Executive Committee in various capacities since 1989 and as a member of the contract negotiating team since 1992. He received his BM from Berklee and his MM from Boston University, both in composition. His works have been performed and recorded around the world.
Suzanne Dean
Assistant Professor, Contemporary Writing and Production
B.M., Berklee College of Music, A.A., University of Maine, Augusta. Studies at Denison University, New England School of Photography, Sundance Institute Film Scoring Workshop, and California State University, Northridge. Former leader of the Suzanne Dean Jazz quartet. Recordings include Dreams Come True and I Wonder (Nova Records). Orchestrator/composer's assistant for the TV show Jake and the Fat Man. String arrangement on Pat Coil's release Departures. Author and teacher of Arranging 1 at Berklee’s online school, Berkleemusic.com.
Rich Grudzinski
Associate Professor, Contemporary Writing and Production
Rich has been Berklee educator since 1985 and a member of the Union Executive Committee since 1992 as well as editor of the Union News and FPAC Chair. Professionally, Rich is a keyboardist, arranger and music preparation specialist as well as the Musical director for Stonehill College Musical Theater Club. He was a copyist for the 1983 Academy Awards Show, George Russell , Carla Bley , Ted Pease, Richard Evans , Jay Kennedy , Greg Hopkins , “Marty” (music by Charles Strousse ), “Seussical”, and various films, documentaries, and other musical productions.
Michael Heyman
Associate Professor, Liberal Arts
Alumnus, Berklee College of Music, B.A., Franklin and Marshall College, M.Phil., Oxford University, Ph.D., University of Glasgow, Tenor saxophonist, flutist, tabla player. Papers published in Children's Literature Association Quarterly, The Five Owls, and Children's Literature and the Fin de Siecle.
Diane Richardson
Associate Professor, Voice
Diane Richardson holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California. She completed her Masters of Music at The Boston Conservatory and her undergraduate degree in Professional Music from Berklee College of Music. Dr. Richardson has led and arranged repertoire for Mashandi Jhaz, a four piece all-female ensemble. She has been a frequent participant of the Annual Women in Music festival and has served as host of "About the Arts," a weekly cable television program in Boston (becoming a community cable arts award nominee). and has been a guest artist for Mobius, the Dilloway-Thomas House, and African-Heritage Museum. Dr. Richardson’s recordings include “Portrait” --a tribute to bassist Charles Mingus, The Sacred Music of Duke Ellington; and, African American Spiriuals and Arts Songs. Her compositions include a setting of the poetryof Langston Hughes to jazz. Dr. Richardson currently holds the position of associate profession, voice, at Berklee College of Music.
Tom Stein
Associate Professor, Professional Music
B.M., Berklee College of Music, M.M., New England Conservatory of Music, Freelance bassist, guitarist, vocalist, arranger, producer, and director. Performances with Al Kooper and the Funky Faculty, Blues after Dark, the Coasters, the Drifters, Barbara Eden, Roy Head, the Marvellettes, the Platters, Pat Upton, and Dennis Yost. Administrator, John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Extensive private teaching experience, Artist development consultant.
OFFICE MANAGER
Will Silvio
Assistant Professor, Harmony
Will Silvio has been the Union Office Manager since 2002. Will is also a part-time Faulty member in the Harmony Department. He is a specialist in the Faculty Contract Agreement and is available to answer any and all questions faculty may have.