Berklee Boston Master’s Commencement Ceremony 2024
Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts
Thursday, June 27, 2024
10:00 a.m.
Order of Events
Processional
“Meminisse” (“to Remember”) by Carlos Serrano, MM Film Scoring
Ceremonial Brass
Mary-Lynne Bohn, trumpet
Dana Oakes, trumpet
Kevin Owen, horn
Hans Bohn, trombone
Angel Subero, bass trombone
Call to Order
Robert C. Lagueux, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Commencement Greetings
David Bogen, Interim President and Provost
Debbie Cavalier, Senior Vice President of Pre-College, Online, and Professional Programs
Commencement Speaker: Grace Kelly
Introduction by Sindhu Revuluri, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Graduate Studies
Presentation of the Berklee Online Student Video
Sean Hagon, Dean of Pre-College, Online, and Professional Programs
Presentation of the Berklee Online Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Alison Plante, Program Director, Master of Music in Film Scoring
Presentation of the Berklee Master of Music in Global Jazz Student Video
Sean Skeete, Dean of the Professional Performance Division, Berklee College of Music
Presentation of the Wayne Shorter Award for Innovation and Creativity
Danilo Pérez, Founder/Artistic Director, Berklee Global Jazz Institute
Presentation of the Matt Marvuglio Outstanding Student of the Year Award and Student Video
Marco Pignataro, Managing Director and Professor, Berklee Global Jazz Institute
Conferral of Master’s Degrees
Robert C. Lagueux, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Introduction of Candidates
Berklee Online Master’s Degrees, Michael Moyes, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Strategy and Marketing, Berklee Online
Master of Music, Global Jazz, Karen Bell, Associate Dean, Professional Performance Division
Presentation of Degrees
Joan Romano, Registrar
Grand Marshal
Roya Hu, Associate Dean, Faculty Development
Recessional
“New Beginnings” by Bell Thompson, MM Global Jazz
Livestream Link: vimeo.com/showcase/berkleemastersgraduation
Commencement Speaker Grace Kelly
Singer-saxophonist-songwriter-composer Grace Kelly, a musical prodigy, has left an indelible mark on the jazz world with her sold-out concerts, 15 acclaimed albums, and performances at prestigious venues like the Hollywood Bowl and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. As of October 2022, she became the youngest member of Berklee College of Music’s Board of Trustees.
With over 1,000 shows as a bandleader in 35 countries, including appearances at the Kennedy Center and major international jazz festivals like Montreal, Newport, and Montreux, Kelly has captivated audiences worldwide. Her saxophone skills and vocals have led her to collaborate with stars like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jon Batiste, and Wynton Marsalis.
As a songwriter, Kelly has earned accolades like the 2018 John Lennon Songwriting Contest’s Song of the Year for “Feels Like Home,” along with multiple ASCAP Composer Awards, Boston Music Awards, and International Songwriting Competition awards. Her instrumental mastery has been recognized nine times in DownBeat magazine’s Critics Poll as Rising Star Alto Saxophone, and she was the 2023 Critics Poll winner for Rising Star Baritone Saxophone. Kelly has also made notable appearances, as herself, in film and television, including on Amazon’s hit show Bosch, and the Emmy-winning Yamaha production The Right Note. She has been featured in Vanity Fair, Glamour, Billboard, NPR, and CNN, among others.
Her latest project, At the Movies: Grace Kelly with Strings, released in early 2024, is an orchestral exploration of cinema music, showcasing her innovative approach to blending jazz with the film soundtrack genre.
Candidates for the Master of Music, Global Jazz 2024
Gabriel Cartocci Maia
Holly Marie Chaput Channell
Julian Thomas Drumwright
Jacob Fleenor
Guilhem Fourty
Alejandra Gómez
Douglas Kendall Harrison
Youngchae Jeong
Barış Kadem
Jesse Katz
Anna Kouchnerov
Aditi Malhotra
Roella Oloro
Jude Poorten
Khalid Razick
Yağmur Soydemir
Bell Thompson
Brian Urra Nuñez
Arturo Valdez Aguilar
Pavle Zvekic
Candidates for the Master of
Arts,
Interdisciplinary Studies
Cinnamon Rayne David
Stephanie Lauren Gemmell
Spenser Harrison
Elizabeth Hogue
Nicolas Leon
Alexander McGourty
Santiago Morales Cabrera
Paul Otters
Candidates for the Master of Arts, Music Business
Devin Berg
Bailey Morgan Braud
Graciela Ayala Carrillo
Jenna Marie Cary
Leanna Sabina Cherner
Heather D. Cook
Anthony J. Del Toro
Vincent Dominguez
Eudora Catherine Ellis
Sinead Angele Fahey
Danielle Nicole Fiondella
Allegra Christine Peake Geanuracos
Emmanuel Gonzalez
Henry W. Harris
Christian Hernandez
Alpha Ayanna Hill
Taku Hirano
Elizabeth Irby
Kavitha Jayaraman
Cheri Rose Katz
Madison MacDowell
Haley Mareno
Taylor Castro
Alyce McNulty
Kira Antoinette Melheim
Emilie Moellmer
Samantha Shaye Moreno
Sargena Shana Narsa
Paul Eugene Giovanni Defendi Novak
Kevin Marcel Pons
Stephen Lee Ray
Jonathan Aaron Reynoso
Shelby Sanborn
Isabella Buan Santiago
Rae Schofield
Maria Paz Selvatici
Grace Isabella Siemon
Ireland Anna Maria Webb
Samuel James Wilson III
Joslyn Yeager
Candidates for the Master of Arts, Songwriting
Kyreeana Breelin Alexander
Matthew Robert Cunningham
Emily Faith Cushing
Gary Feracota
Faith Gara
Janaina Borges de Pádua Goulart
Maria Jesus Goycoolea
Brittany Antonette Henry
Dalton James Leftwich
Emily M Nawrocki
Laura Jean Pierson-Carlisle
Regina E. Ross
Chad Michael Russell
Michael David Tidwell
Emilia Walasik
Candidates for the Master of Music, Film Scoring
Bonny A Baez
Stephen Lewis Berry
Yulia Buras
John Clark
Alexander F. Grimes
Maria Karakusheva
Anne-Marie Keane
John Koryat
Isaac Samuel Messerschmidt
Jonathan Daniel Moffat
Dixon Morisseau
Rob Pearsall
Emily Jasmine Ramonetti
Carlos Alberto Serrano
Zbigniew Szczerbetka
John Wilkinson
Candidates for the Master of Music, Music Production
Jeffrey Marcel Ball Jr.
Darra Bunkasem
Steven Carder
Devin Choi
Erik V. Dennis
Diego Escobar
Michael Thomas Gaworecki
Benjamin Hernandez
Jerry Arlen Jones
Michael L Keating
Nathan R. Lain
Khafré Nurse
Jeffrey K. Pettit
Alexander Timm Ringo
Canita Rogers
Gregor Schweiger
Haoyan Shi
Andrew Alexander Swaby
Eric Thachuk
Christopher S. Wainwright
Yeoh Shuen Han
*Participating in the ceremony does not mean a degree has been conferred.
The Mace
Roya Hu, associate dean for faculty development, has been chosen as the grand marshal of the procession at Berklee’s 2024 master’s commencement ceremony.
Academic Dress
The cap and gown have characterized academic gatherings since the medieval origins of the university.
The doctor’s gown is the fullest and the most elaborate, with long bell sleeves and velvet panels in front, and stripes of the same material on the sleeves. The bachelor’s gown is the simplest, looking very much like a choir robe.
In the 20th century, American colleges began choosing the colors for their college doctoral gowns. Berklee’s colors are gray and black, with red piping. Trustees and other college leaders and stage dignitaries in academic gatherings normally wear the robe of either the college with which they are currently associated or the one from which they graduated.
Hoods are also different, with the longest and fullest being the doctor’s hood. The inside of the hood is often lined with colors to identify the institution that granted the degree, and the border around the hood indicates the subject in which the degree was taken. The master’s in music is characterized by a pink hood and the master’s in arts a white hood, other commonly seen colors on master’s hoods are purple for law, forest green for medicine, and light blue for education.
Commencement Celebrations:
Ceremony: Berklee Performance Center
Berklee Global Jazz Institute Reception: Cafe 939/Red Room
Berklee Online Reception: 160 Massachusetts Avenue
Berklee College of Music 1140 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts 02215-3693
berklee.edu
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