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Berklee Annual LA Alumni Brunch (2015)
Date and time
Location
Fairmont Miramar Hotel
101 Wilshire Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90401Refund Policy
Description
Come celebrate the Los Angeles alumni community and kick off 2015!
As of Tuesday January 20, 2015 the event is sold out. Thank you to everyone who registered. See you Sunday!
The Annual Los Angeles Alumni Brunch is our community’s flagship event. With more than 500 attendees in 2014, the brunch has grown to become the largest alumni gathering Berklee offers. It's not to be missed.
This year's event will open with a special performance by alumni group Women of the World. President Roger H. Brown will share news about the college and will introduce this year's keynote speaker, renowned producer Don Was, the president of Blue Note Records.
This year we’re doing something different. We are returning to the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and adding a nominal registration fee of $10 per person. Why, you ask? Well, unreliable RSVP counts made it difficult to choose the right-sized venue and amount of food for the crowd we were expecting. This time, we hope to do better. We heard your feedback and we get it. We want to make this event a great experience that you will continue to attend and recommend to your friends.
By registering for the event, you’re letting us know that you officially plan to attend. We can then use that information to order enough chairs, tables, and trays of bacon.
Check-in begins at 10:30 a.m. PST. A full breakfast buffet will be provided.
Alumni are welcome to register one guest when they sign up.
Hosts: Peter Gordon, director of the Berklee Center in LA & Justine Taormino, assistant director, Alumni Affairs.
Parking: Valet parking at the hotel (validation not provided), metered or Santa Monica public structures.
For questions, check out the FAQ below.
Can’t find your answer below? Email Justine Taormino at jtaormino@berklee.edu
If you're looking for the Hang at NAMM alumni event, that info can be found here nammhang2015.eventbrite.com
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Keynote Speaker: Don Was
Don Was is one of music’s most significant artists and executives, excelling in multiple roles and serving as one of the industry’s beacons for integrity and forward-thinking. During this period of disruption and rapid evolution in the worldwide music business, Was remains committed to music as an art form and its importance to contemporary culture. As the president of Blue Note Records since 2011, Was is both the company’s leader and an ambassador for its music, charged with bringing the label’s 21st century jazz artists and its expanding palette of contemporary musicians to larger audiences.
As president of Blue Note Records, Was finds inspiration in the label’s original mission statement codified by the company’s founders in 1939: “Any particular style of playing which represents an authentic way of musical feeling is genuine expression. By virtue of its significance in place, time and circumstance, it possesses its own tradition, artistic standards and audience that keeps it alive.” This philosophy steers his interest not only to those artists he chooses to sign to the label, but also to those artists that attract him as a music producer.
As an in-demand, highly acclaimed and commercially successful producer since the late 1980s, Was has been honored with Grammy Awards for his production work in each of the past three decades. In 1989, for producing Bonnie Raitt’s breakthrough classic Nick Of Time; in 1994, as Producer of the Year for his work with artists ranging from the Rolling Stones to Willie Nelson to Roy Orbison; and in 2009, for his production work on Ziggy Marley’s Best Musical Album for Children, Family Time. The artists Was has produced in this decade alone are a testament to his talents as a producer spanning a broad array of music genres: Lucinda Williams (Blessed), John Mayer (his two most recent albums, Born and Raised and Paradise Valley), Aaron Neville (My True Story, co-produced with Keith Richards), French superstar Johnny Hallyday (Rester Vivant) and Neil Diamond’s new Melody Road. Albums produced by Was have achieved dozens of multiplatinum, platinum, and gold certifications, and have sold over 80 million copies worldwide.
He was recently awarded his first Emmy as musical director for the CBS television special The Beatles: The Night That Changed America, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the group’s first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Was led the band and played bass for a diverse group of artists performing Beatles’ classics, including backing McCartney and Starr when they took the stage to perform separately and together.
Twenty years earlier, Was explored the Beatle’s musical beginnings in the film Backbeat, producing a supergroup of members from the era’s top alternative bands, such as Nirvana, R.E.M., and Sonic Youth, who performed songs for the film culled from The Beatles’ early pre-fame repertoire. Was was awarded a BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) in 1995 for Best Film Music for his work on that film, and also composed its acclaimed score. That same year, Was directed the documentary film I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, which focuses on the brilliant composing and producing gifts of Brian Wilson. Entrusted with 20 years of private film footage, Was juxtaposed Wilson’s history with new performances of classics, including “Caroline No," “Warmth of the Sun,” and “Do It Again.”
One of Was’s most noteworthy musical associations of the past two decades is with the Rolling Stones. He has produced their last three studio albums and a host of other studio and live recordings. Beginning with Voodoo Lounge in 1994 and continuing through Bridges to Babylon in 1997 and A Bigger Bang in 2005, Was’s work with the Stones has resulted in platinum and gold certifications in countries spanning the globe.
Was first became known to music audiences as the founding member of Was (Not Was), which he formed with childhood friend David Was (Weiss) in suburban Detroit. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Was (Not Was) released four studio albums of their unique blend of soul, funk, R&B, rock,and dance music combined with satiric and unusual lyrics. As Don Was described the band’s intent to Time magazine in 1981, “We would like to sound like the Motown Revue on acid.”
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Performers: Women Of The World
Women of the World was formed to bring women musicians from across the globe onto a common platform to collaborate and create, not only through the sharing of music, but also to explore and celebrate the differences in ideologies, and cultural tenets that exist in the daily lives of women all over the world.
Honoring global folk traditions, their repertoire spans music in 27 languages. In many ways, the ensemble is a microcosm of the world, with members working closely together, not just to create and perform music, but also learning about each other's countries, cultures, languages, beliefs and practices.
2014 American a cappella champions, nominees for the 2013 Boston Music Awards and 2014 Independent Music Awards, Women of the World has toured North America and Japan, having collaborated with many industry legends including Grammy-award winning vocalist, Bobby McFerrin and African vocal icon, Angelique Kidjo. Women of the World continues to serve as cultural ambassadors of peace and unity through music and has delighted audiences at venues like Carnegie Hall, Blue Note Jazz Club, Boston Symphony Hall, as well as through collaborations with the United Nations, amongst others. Creating the Harmonious Human Orchestra of Life, Women of the World has brought over 200 women from all over the world together to collaborate musically.
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FAQ
What is the registration fee for the event?
**As of Tuesday January 20, this event is SOLD OUT**
Registration will open on Friday, December 12, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. PST. The registration fee will be $10. On January 21st 2015 (5 days before the event), registration will increase to $15 per person. On the morning of the event, if space is still available, walk-ups will be $20 per person.
Why are you charging a registration fee this year?
As we continue to create offerings for this community, we need to be mindful of event costs and reserving the correct space for the number of attendees. This registration process will help us have an accurate count of attendees and plan accordingly.
What does my registration fee cover?
The registration fee secures your RSVP. It does not cover the cost of the event which runs about $65 per person. Berklee covers the full cost of the event each year.
Can I bring a guest?
Yes. Alumni may bring one guest. As of Tuesday January 20, this event is SOLD OUT - we cannot allow walk-ups the day of the event. Guest registration fee is $10 per person until the price change on January 21st 2015, when it will be $15 per person. If an alum registers themselves, and then has an unregistered guest with them the morning of the event, the guest will only be allowed in if there is still space (the event has not sold out) for a registration fee of $20.
What about walk-ups the morning of the event?
As of Tuesday January 20, this event is SOLD OUT - we cannot allow walk-ups the day of the event. Walk-ups the morning of the event will be allowed only if the event has not sold out beforehand. Walk-ups will be charged a registration fee of $20 per person.
Do the speakers receive a fee?
No. Each year our guest speaker volunteers their time and energy to join us at the event. They do not receive a speaking fee.
Am I guaranteed a seat?
Yes. This is new for this year. We will have the room seating and food stations set for the number of people who RSVP.
I missed the price change - can I register at the cheaper price?
Unfortunately, no. But if you really want to attend, the extra $5-$10 is worth it.
The event says "Sold Out" - can I still attend?
Unfortunately, no. We've communicated a specific number of people to the Fairmont in our guarantee. We can can not allow more guests than we've paid for, nor go above the fire marshal limit of the Starlight ballroom. As of Tuesday January 20, this event is SOLD OUT.
What if I register and then can not attend?
We can not offer refunds on the registration fee.
How many people are you expecting?
The Starlight Ballroom holds 425 people. We’d love to sell out.
Are parking costs included?
No. Parking at the Fairmont valet is pricey and we do not provide validation. Santa Monica street and structure parking are available for smaller fees.
Will you be charging for all alumni events now?
No. The Annual Alumni Brunch is our flagship event, and in an effort to make it the best event it can possibly be, we felt the need secure RSVPs with a registration fee. While we’re open to creating higher-level events for those who’d like to attend, we plan to continue to offer the majority of our alumni events for free.