Master’s Commencement Concert
Friday, June 21, 2024
6:00 p.m.
Red Room at Cafe 939
939 Boylston Street
Boston, MA
PRESENTED BY BGJI
FOR INFORMATION ON THE CONCERT MUSIC SCHEDULE OR CONCERT LINEUP.
Berklee Global Jazz Institute Master’s Commencement Concert
Led by Danilo Pérez, Founder/Artistic Director, and Marco Pignataro, Managing Director
LiveStream link: vimeo.com/showcase/berkleemastersgraduation
BGJI Graduate Ensembles
Amber Ensemble, Led by Chase Morrin
Flute Yağmur Soydemir
Trombone Khalid Razick
Piano Pavle Zvekic
Bass Douglas Harrison
Drums Guilhem Fourty
Silver Ensemble, Led by Nadia Washington
Trumpet Bell Thompson
Violin Brian Urra
Guitar Gabriel Maia
Bass Youngchae Jeong
Drums Holly Channell
Purple Ensemble, Led by Anastassiya Petrova
Voice Aditi Malhotra
Trumpet Alejandra Gómez
Guitar Jude Poorten
Bass Arturo Valdez
Drums Jacob Fleenor
Grey Ensemble, Led by Gregory Groover Jr.
Violin Anna Kouchnerov
Bağlama
Barış Kadem
Piano Roella Oloro
Bass Jesse Katz
Drums Julian Drumwright
Aditi Malhotra is an Indian vocalist, composer. and educator. She studied performance and jazz composition during her undergraduate studies at Berklee College of Music, and was the recipient of the 2021 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award. Malhotra has performed internationally at venues such as the Kennedy Center, Panama Jazz Festival, and NCPA Mumbai, among others.
Alejandra Gomez is a trumpet player and composer born in Uruguay. Gomez graduated from Conservatory Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires (2020). She has won the FONAM National Grant (2015/2017), and the FEFCA National Scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and Education in Uruguay (2019). Gomez is part of the international group Mestizas, and has performed in Boston with her own project, the Gala Group, featuring Noah Preminger, John Lockwood, and Eric Hoffbaouer.
Anna Kouchnerov is a first-generation Ukrainian violinist and composer. She was raised in Los Angeles, and completed her undergraduate studies in classical performance at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. In 2019, she joined Bridge to Everywhere, a multigenre ensemble dedicated to interweaving musical traditions through composition. In addition to performance, Kouchnerov is an experienced music instructor and advocate for arts education.
Arturo Valdez is a Peruvian bassist, composer, producer, and educator. He completed his undergraduate studies at the New School, where he developed as a versatile musician while living in New York City. Valdez has performed internationally, including at music festivals in Spain, the United States, and Switzerland, and has collaborated with renowned artists such as George Garzone and Bill McHenry, among others.
Barış Kadem is a Bağlama player from Mannheim, Germany. Kadem’s interest in music led him to pursue a musical career in music from a young age. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Popakademie Mannheim in 2022. Kadem has shared the stage with Kemal Dinç, Aynur Doğan, Ross Daly, and Beethoven Orchester Bonn. He has performed at Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, the Pau Festival in Greece, and the Telekom Forum in Bonn, Germany.
Bell Thompson is a trumpet player originally from Seattle, Washington. She completed her undergraduate studies in jazz performance at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thompson has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Bruce Barth, Jaleel Shaw, and Kris Davis, among others. She has graced renowned venues including Montreux Jazz Festival, Chris’ Jazz Café, and the Seattle Jazz Fellowship.
Brian Urra is a Chilean violinist and composer. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Modern School of Music and Dance in Chile, and a double major in jazz composition and performance at Berklee College of Music. Urra’s musical journey has led him to perform at Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, and to receive the 2023 Ravinia Bridges Composition Prize.
Doug Harrison is a double bassist originally from Belmont, Massachusetts. He completed his undergraduate studies at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina. After becoming one of the first call bassists in Greensboro, he moved back to Massachusetts to pursue music in his hometown. Harrison is looking forward to furthering his career and releasing original music after graduation.
Gabriel Maia is a guitarist, composer, and educator from Brazil. Maia completed his undergraduate studies at Berklee College of Music. His influences include Jimi Hendrix and Tom Jobim. As an artist, he combines Brazilian music, jazz, and blues in an innovative way. Maia has shared the stage with great artists such as Danilo Pérez, Miguel Zénon, and Debora Gurgel.
Guilhem Fourty is a drummer from France. He graduated from Berklee in 2023 with a performance major and MP&E minor. Fourty has worked with Danilo Pérez, Braxton Cook, Miguel Zenón, and Zach Santos. He has received the Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet Award (2022), DownBeat Student Music Award (2022, 2023), the first Jazz Camp Fellowship Award (2023), and the Ed Shaughnessy Scholarship (2023).
Holly Channell is a drummer hailing from New England. Channell obtained her first master’s degree from Arizona State University, where she got to study with the great Lewis Nash, and create mentorships with Jason Palmer, Roxy Coss, and Wycliffe Gordon. In 2023 she was named a Sister in Jazz from the Jazz Education Network. She has toured and has been a performer and clinician at jazz festivals throughout the world. Channell is also a proud mom to a 4-year-old daughter.
Jacob Fleenor is a drummer from Efland, North Carolina. He completed his undergraduate degree with the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in 2022. He has performed at the Savannah Music Festival, Universal Studios, and the Berklee Performance Center. He has toured throughout North America performing jazz, pop, and classical music.
Jesse Katz is a bassist, composer, and educator originally from Williamsburg, Virginia. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, while he was an active freelance bassist throughout South Florida. Katz has been fortunate to share the stage with jazz luminaries Danilo Pérez, Brian Blade, John Patitucci, and Maria Schneider.
Jude Poorten is a guitarist, composer, and educator from Phoenix, Arizona. His music, inspired by his hometown and upbringing, combines folk, jazz, and classical elements. He completed his undergraduate studies at Berklee College of Music. Notably, he has performed at the Panama Jazz Festival, and has shared the stage with Tony Malaby, Francisco Mela, and John Clayton.
Julian Drumwright is a drummer known for his musical sensitivity. His musical influences include Jimmy Cobb, Art Blakey, and Ari Hoenig, whose sounds are synthesized into his historically rooted modern jazz voice. As a member of Boston’s international folk dancing community, Drumwright brings his love for Balkan folk music to the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, where he explores music’s capacity to strengthen communities.
Khalid Razick is a Palestinian-American trombonist, composer, and educator. His music utilizes Arab sensibilities in the scope of modern jazz. New York–born and Tampa-bred, Razick received his bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music. He was mentored by the likes of Danilo Pérez and Simon Shaheen. In 2024 he played at the Panama Jazz Festival with Billy Cobham.
Pavle Zvekic is a composer and pianist from Serbia. Zvekic founded the Youth Jazz & Rock Festival, a music festival based in Subotica, Serbia, aimed at showcasing emerging young performers and bands from the Balkans and beyond, international artists, and Berklee College of Music students and alumni. He recently released his debut solo piano album, Small Hours.
Roella Oloro is a British multi-instrumentalist, performer, and composer of Nigerian and Jamaican heritage, and a recent magna cum laude graduate of Berklee College of Music in 2023. In 2023–2024, Oloro performed with her piano trio at the NAMM Show in California and Capital Turnaround in Washington D.C. as a featured artist of the SheROCKS Showcase.
Yağmur Soydemir is a flutist and composer from Turkey. She has received awards from international competitions throughout Europe eight times, and was recognized as Turkish Jazz Talent of the Year by the Jazz Society of Turkey. She was also a jury panel member for the Outstanding Turkey Jazz Music Competition. Soydemir holds a BM in flute performance from Nice Conservatory in France, and a PD in CWP and performance from Berklee College of Music, where she received a fulltuition scholarship.
Youngchae Jeong is a bassist from Seoul, South Korea. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music in 2018. Jeong hopes to use his music as a vehicle for people to escape from hardships. He has shared the stage with Ralph Peterson Jr., Neal Smith, and Darren Barrett, and has performed at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Smalls, Scullers, and Regattabar.
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