My last semester at Berklee College of Music is in full swing (no pun intended) right now. Midterms week is over, but I have tour dates and final projects planned for my last two months. The official “finale” to the semester will be on November 19, when I play my senior recital with a whole bunch of Berklee friends. And I just announced two special new concerts in December. It’s the crazy life…
Since my last newsletter I had the privilege of opening for the band Spyro Gyra (October 26) in Connecticut. This was a somewhat last minute opportunity but a great one. One of my professors, vibraphonist Dave Samuels, was performing with the group, so it was nice to see him there.
I also did two autism fundraiser events: New York City (The Genius of Autism) on October 22 and Cleveland (Milestones 10th Anniversary) on November 3. The Cleveland fundraiser was a wonderful event, and it was sort of like a mini family reunion, as my grandmother and cousins were there (they are involved with the charity). And the New York gala was a huge celebration featuring performances from some of the world’s most talented people with autism: artists Stephen Wiltshire and Amanda LaMunyon, singers Talina and Carly Ryan, animator Dani Bowman, and others. They are all amazing people; you should check them out!
I’ll be spending most of this month preparing for two significant upcoming concerts…
On November 17, I’m playing my first full-scale classical concert, in Jaffrey, NH. I’ll perform Debussy’s Six Epigraphes Antiques in a duet with flautist Laura Gilbert, followed by a solo piano improvisation that will function as a sort of jazz homage to the Impressionists. The gig will be a fundraiser for Electric Earth Concerts and Music for the Mountain. For more info, visit this website.
Then, on November 19, I’ll play my senior recital at Berklee. This will be the grand finale celebration of my 3 ½ years at Berklee as a Performance Major. My original trio, with bassist John Funkhouser (who, by the way, is also a Berklee professor) and drummer Steve Silverstein, will be featured. I will also lead student groups, featuring saxophonists Erena Terakubo and Dmitry Semenov, vocalist Courtney Swain, guitarist Javier Rosario, bassist Hoo Kim and drummer Anthony Fung. The repertoire for our concert is totally secret, so you’ll have to come to the show to find out what we’ll play. The recital is at lunchtime on Monday, November 19, from 1-2 PM at 921 Boylston St., Boston. More info HERE.
And finally, on December 19, I’m playing a special concert with Boston-area jazz greats Jerry Bergonzi (tenor sax) and Bruce Gertz (bass) and New York drummer Richie Barshay. The concert will be held at the Lily Pad in Cambridge, MA: http://www.lily-pad.net/. Don’t miss that one!
Then there’s vacation and a trip with Berklee friends. There will be something different each day of the last two months of 2012. It’s going to be ridiculous.
But then things will settle down in 2013, so that I can focus on a really big project…
Matt
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