Blog

December 17, 2013

Last week I gave a class at the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston. The College has a fantastic reputation throughout the world and some incredible artists have come through there including the likes of Lalah Hathaway, Bruce Hornsby, Ingrid Jensen, Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Branford & Delfeayo Marsalis, Pat Metheny, Howard Shore and Alan Silvestri.

I happened to be in the USA for a different commitment, so it was wonderful to be able to spend a couple of days at Berklee, meet some lovely students, hear performances and get to know some wonderful members of staff.

Outside Berklee

I gave a class while I was there and had the pleasure of not only playing some pieces from my Smile CD, which I arranged for a small string ensemble, but I also performed an improvised duet with the legendary trombonist Phil Wilson who has played with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, toured with The Dorsey brothers, Woody Herman’s band and in the 1960s wrote music for Buddy Rich.

Performing with Phil Wilson

While I was in Boston I made a visit to Boston University and caught up with my good friend Don Lucas who is Chair of Brass there. He asked me to give his (stunning sounding) trombone choir “a few minutes of Carol Jarvis wisdom”! Thanks Don!

I also had a couple of free days in Boston, so was able to see some of the sights, which is a rare treat when travelling a lot. I particularly enjoyed going to a Basketball match, sampling some incredible food, getting caught in Snow Storm Electra and visiting Harvard University.

Widener Library, Harvard University

Huge thanks to Tom Plsek for making my visit to Berklee College possible. It was a really wonderful couple of days, and I even bumped into Robin Eubanks (another treat!) just as I was leaving! I hope I may get the opportunity to return to Berklee again in the future.

I look forward to seeing you again in Rochester, New York, in June, Tom!

Also, for budding film composers, here is a really useful guide on becoming a film composer, written by recent Berklee graduate Oguz Can Ozcanli, who currently composes for Netflix and the Discovery Channel.

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