On this page, you can find the Culminating Experience (CE) Projects for all graduate students from the Berklee College of Music master’s program Global Jazz from 2015 – present. Click on any title for more information and access to the full paper and other deliverables (if available).
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From The Bottom Up: A Personal Global Jazz Bass Method
Douglas Harrison
2024The project, “From the Bottom Up – A Personal Global Jazz Bass Method” focuses on the music of ensembles that do not feature a chordal instrument (such as a piano or guitar) in the rhythm section and has three different components. The first component is to interview bassists Linda May Han Oh, Ben Street, Marion Hayden and John Patitucci about their experience as bassists in these settings. The second aspect is to compose music for a quartet featuring the instrumentation of Trumpet, Trombone, Double Bass and Drum Kit to explore the findings of the interviews. Third is to create a series of etudes to explore the harmonic language of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute for bass players of the institute. The findings of the interviews and resulting transcriptions are that bass players use the same harmonic language in ensembles featuring or lacking a chordal instrument, yet they have heightened interaction with the soloists in those ensembles. The spontaneous counterpoint created between bassists and soloists is also more prominent due to a lack of a chordal instrument. The compositions for the project featured an emphasis on interaction, counterpoint and the use of space. Etudes explore harmonic motion by major and minor thirds, traditional walking bass lines used in nontraditional sequences, and brightening and lightening tetrachords.
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The Imagination of Magic Land
Youngchae Jeong
2024The purpose of this project is to capture my seven-year-old daughter Hyunseo’s vivid imagination of magic land in a music suite entitled “The Magic Land Suite” with four movements. Each of the movements, I. Magic Land in January, II. Unicorns and Rainbow Cats, III. Tiny Guys, and IV. Lalaya, were composed to capture Hyunseo’s narrative of her story of imagination. People tend to forget about their unlimited childlike imagination while they grow up in a competitive modern society, and my daughter’s excitement and huge smile of expressing herself with her imagination reminded me of my imaginary friend when I was a child. The composition and arrangement of The Magic Land Suite were inspired by storytelling elements in Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf (1936), such as characters with instrumentations and different moods with harmonies and rhythms. After finishing the compositions, the arrangement of each movement was revised according to my daughter’s feedback on the density of the rhythm and adding instrumentation to capture the essence of her imagination, as well as input from artistic director Danilo Pérez and guest artist John Patitucci in the directed study, rehearsal and the forum at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. My project, “The Imagination of Magic Land,” is a reminder of nurturing children’s imagination and creativity and a reminder to adults that we can bring back our power of limitless imagination and bring them smiles and joy.
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Aşk ile: Exploring the Sound of Bağlama Through a Polystylistic Approach
Baris Kadem
2024This abstract provides an overview of a reflection paper on the Culminating Experience Project titled "Aşk ile: Exploring the Sound of Bağlama Through a Polystylistic Approach." The paper delves into the modernization of the traditional Bağlama, an Anatolian long-necked lute that is integral to Turkish folk music and Alevi culture. It details the passion for the Instrument and modernization for it of Baris Kadem, inspired by a musician father and mentor Kemal Dinç, who introduced classical guitar techniques to Bağlama playing. By exploring contemporary improvisational approaches and personal experiences, the project aims to inspire the Bağlama community to embrace new perspectives, showcasing the instrument's versatility while honoring its cultural heritage. The written tunes and chosen pieces that were arranged are all related to important moments and feelings of Baris Kadem, which makes it a very personal and self exploring project.
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A Past No Longer Forgotten: A Musical Reflection of Colonial Williamsburg’s Recent Reckoning With Its History as a Fixture of the American South
Jesse Katz
2024My CE was an investigation into the history of Colonial Williamsburg, specifically its African American history, and how it has been erased over time. Through my research, I peered into the chronology of this phenomenon, and the role the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation played in this. My CE focused on the recent efforts of the Foundation to reckon with the transgressions of its past. Dating back to 2020, several important archaeological excavations, undertaken with the permissions of descendent communities, have helped Colonial Williamsburg turn over a new leaf and take substantial and tangible action toward reckoning with its complex past. Through my musical compositions, I highlighted a couple of these excavations, with the ultimate goal that my music will serve as a means of amplifying the important work that is now being done at Colonial Williamsburg.
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Why the Wolf Howls: Searching for Musical Identity through Polycultural Explorations
Anna Kouchnerov
2024The purpose of my thesis project, "Why the Wolf Howls: Searching for Musical Identity through Polycultural Explorations," was to uncover and articulate my unique artistic voice through an in-depth exploration of identity and cultural connections. This project highlights the importance of understanding musical traditions and their role in healing and self-actualization. Using composition as a methodology, I created pieces serving as "antidotes" for various aspects of relationships in need of healing. This project contributes to the field by bridging cultural divides while invoking empathy through musical discourse. Moving forward, it lays the groundwork for further research and educational initiatives that connect indigenous knowledge frameworks with contemporary artistic practices.
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"A Home That Isn't Mine": Connecting My Roots in Hindustani Classical Music to Explorations in Global Jazz
Aditi Malhotra
2024Through this project, my goal was to music that allows me to connect my experience of being a musician from India, with a background in Hindustani Classical and North Indian folk music, who was later exposed to Jazz and Black American music. I wanted to explore connections in these forms of music that already exist – with their emphasis on improvisation and the spiritual connection to music. While many American Jazz musicians have made the journey to India to draw these connections, I aimed to explore this from the perspective of a female musician who grew up in India. This is a personal project, as I focused on drawing connections with my own background and journey in music, using it as a way of coming to terms with my identity as an Indian musician living in the United States, and finding my place in the music here.
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Ignite the Fire Within
Roella Oloro
2024The music for my CE thesis draws inspiration from the protests and vigils that took place around the world during the pandemic in 2020 following George Floyd’s death at the hands of the police. They showcased a global-scale level of solidarity that I didn’t dare even hope could be possible to achieve or to witness for years to come; let alone in my lifetime. It was a monumental moment in the history of our present time to see the world coming together to make a definitive stance against the horrors of the police brutality, racism, prejudice and injustice that the Black community have been facing for years. The universal acknowledgement of the racism faced by Black Americans inspired further protests that not only demonstrated solidarity; but also gave the people of many different countries and notably of the wider African Diaspora the courage to call out racism and similar deaths of black and brown people in police custody taking place in their own countries. Through the music of my CE, I set out to encourage listeners to realise the global level of empathy and compassion that we are capable of and uphold this same energy of solidarity experienced during the 2020 pandemic as we move forward into post-pandemic society.
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Beautiful, Cruel Country
Jude Poorten
2024My project, Beautiful, Cruel Country, is a culmination of all the hard work that I did this year to create a new relationship with my music making process.Throughout this year, I went deep into a study of the history of my home state of Arizona, and I reflected on how that history has come to shape who I am. I traced back the lineage of my grandfather's favorite country music to find the folk music of the cowboys, whose music has incredible narrative power. But at the same time, it was haunting to see that many of the songs touched on a dark reality of the history of westward settlers — their encounters with Native American tribes. With all this in mind, I created music to answer the following question: How do I create a new musical sound that on one hand pays tribute to the great songwriters and storytellers of Arizona, whose stories are still embedded in the culture I grew up in — and on the other hand, finally gives justice to the victims of colonization of the American West, in a way that those stories never did?
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Eternal Flame: Reimagining Palestinian Folk Music
Khalid Razick
2024This is a musical project that uplifts Palestinian existence and resistance by tapping in to the deepest form of cultural memory: folk music. Combining my investigation of my people’s music with my background in jazz, I set out to expand the folk tradition and hone a distinct voice on the trombone. This involved extensive research into the socio-political realities of life and music making in Palestine. In addition to my studies at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, I worked with Simon Shaheen, master of Arabic music. During my time with him I created my own performance practice for the Arabic trombone. By the end of my year at the BGJI, I produced 5 tracks. Not only were they an authentic expression of my experiences, but my pitch for what’s next in this music. Through this project, I am not only preserving the folklore of my people; I am redefining the imaginary it should not continue. This is my philosophy and it is called Eternal Flame. It is not only how I perform and compose, but it’s how I educate. It’s how I will create new curriculum in Palestine so we can learn about the world through our own perspective.
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Artistic Reinvention Within The Global Jazz Soundscape
Ege Yağmur Soydemir
2024In her Culminating Experience Project, “Artistic Reinvention Within The Global Jazz Soundscape,” where 35 musicians came together, Turkish flutist & composer Yağmur Soydemir explores her personal identity and artistic aspirations: Turkish musical traditions rooted in her cultural heritage, Western Classical Music, of which she has 20 years of deep study, and Global Jazz concepts, alongside a fusion of various genre influences. During her time at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, her mentors provided an unprecedented level of artistic freedom, allowing her to reconnect with her country’s traditional music, gain a new perspective and an artistic voice that integrates all aspects of her identity into her compositions and flute performances. As a woman in jazz, a foreigner, and an immigrant in many countries, her vision and hope through this project is to undertake a journey of self-exploration and artistic reinvention. She also aims to empower and inspire other flutists, female jazz artists, and anyone facing similar challenges in their journeys.
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Shifting Perspectives: A Musical Exploration of My Experience as a Woman in Jazz Education
Bell Thompson
2024For my Culminating Experience project, Shifting Perspectives: A Musical Exploration of My Experience as a Woman in Jazz Education, I wrote, arranged, and recorded five compositions reflecting on my experience growing up as a young female trumpet player. The narrative of these compositions present an alternative to the narrative of jazz standards from the “Great American Songbook”. My objective with this project is to create space for young women to see their stories as important enough to be a part of jazz music.
I wanted to address issues with the “Great American Songbook”, the tunes I grew up learning, the misrepresentation of the role of women in jazz history, and the unacknowledged social system that I experienced in jazz education, that resulted in the isolation of young women in these spaces. I decided to write music that explores these issues, and drives a shift in perspective.
The compositions in my project speak to who young women are in their lives now—their feelings, worries, and dreams of who they want to become. This project will show young women their stories are important, and how they can be part of the tradition of storytelling through improvised music.
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From Atacama to the Dark Corners of the Galaxy, An Immersive view of Black Holes from The Desert of Atacama, Chile
Brian Urra
2024For my culminating experience project, I developed a multidisciplinary work that combines a film featuring original music with astrophysical scientific data. The film enhances the music experience by integrating scientific research on black holes, footage of the Atacama Desert, Chilean folkloric music elements, and different techniques and orchestration in the compositions. The music follows the form of an orchestral suite with six movements. “Agujeros negros”, (Black Holes), “Altiplano”, “Salar de Tara”, “Stellar Sky”, “The Infinity”, and Black Holes, a graphic score. Each movement is created to portray my roots in relationship with the topic of Black Holes, "ferocious monsters of space and time", through the Folkloric rhythms from Chile, Improvisation, Global Jazz concepts, Symphonic sounds, and Zero Gravity, a concept that explores the singularity, infinite, and multidimensional experience of performing music without an agenda.
My music research was dedicated to finding storytelling in the music, starting from the unknown, in the dark corners of the galaxy, coming to the Atacama desert in relationship with discoveries and resources from the Indigenous people including the Música Andina/Andean Music, which is a group of folkloric styles of music from the Andes region in South America.
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New Dimensions In Afro-Peruvian Music
Arturo Valdez Aguilar
2024For my Culminating Experience Project, I combined elements of Afro-Peruvian Music with Global Jazz concepts and Electronic processing to create a unique and personal sound. This blend aims to explore uncharted musical territories within Peruvian Music. In order to do this I explored and investigated mainly the musical traditions around the areas of Lima, Chincha, Ica, Cañete and surroundings, and the musical umbrellas known as Musica Criolla and Afro-Peruvian Music, which developed greatly by the African Diaspora, in combination with European and Andean influences. These umbrellas include styles such as Vals, Marinera, Polka, Landó, Festejo, etc,. In addition to the Peruvian Music element, I also explored elements of Electronic and Electroacoustic Music, more specifically in the areas of Musique Concrète, Avant Garde Music, Experimental Music, Jazz, Modern Hip Hop, Lofi, Dance Music Production, etc. Some of these elements and techniques involve audio sampling and manipulation, granular synthesis, modular synthesis and more.
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Youth Jazz & Rock Festival Meets Global Jazz
Pavle Zvekic
2024For my Culminating Experience project, I delved into various methods of infusing educational elements into a music festival. Taking cues from the Panama Jazz Festival, I incorporated five educational components into the programming of my own Youth Jazz & Rock Festival in Subotica, Serbia. The five components that I explored are:
- Composition Masterclass
- Improvisation Workshop
- Music Pedagogy Masterclass
- Open Discussion Panel on the Potential and Danger of Artificial Intelligence in Art
- Masterclass on Berklee Global Jazz Institute musical and philosophical concepts.
I have created each piece of my Culminating Experience based on the final educational element I plan to incorporate into my festival: a masterclass on Berklee Global Jazz Institute musical and philosophical concepts. The concepts that I explore in my compositions, and plan to teach at my festival include Fear Training, Comprovisation, Pan-African History and Rhythmic Vocabulary, Zero Gravity, and Implementing Folkloric Elements of Different Cultures into Improvised Music.
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The Modern Modinha
Ian Ashby
2023A Modern Modinha: An exploration of Afro-Brazilian music history. This music and research is centered around the African influence in idioms such as the Modinha and the sung Lundu during the late 18th and early 19th century. My project is a reimagining of Modinhas, utilizing the idioms’ eclectic blend of Portuguese Opera, European poetic forms, African rhythms and dances, as well as Afro-Brazilian folk melodies and plots utilizing historically accurate instrumentation.
My interviews and research are centered around the composer and poet Domingo Caldas Barbosa (1740-1800), Carnaval and the Afro-Brazilian religion of Tambor De Mina, and the late seventeenth/eighteenth century gold rush of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais. These are only a few of what could be many points in Afro-Brazilian history, and the inspirations for my compositions are meant to spark interest in a topic that is not often discussed in modern academia. These Modinhas were originally written on guitar and voice and my music is aimed at using the bass and voice as the focal point.
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Overcoming depression in a world of music
Ed Samuel Batista
2023This abstract paper reflects on a transformative project centered around mental health challenges and music, highlighting its profound impact on personal growth, artistic expression, and connection with others.
The project involves a series of musical compositions that delve into my journey as a musician dealing with clinical depression, aiming to present the stages of struggle, resilience, and recovery through music, lyrics, and visuals. Its evolution involves refining and expanding the compositions, incorporating visual elements, and planning live performances and exhibitions to reach a wider audience.
Collaborations with mental health organizations and advocacy groups will amplify the project's impact, fostering dialogue and promoting mental health in the music industry. Documentation and sharing through a dedicated website, blog, and a short documentary will provide an ongoing record of the project's progress and its intimate portrayal. Furthermore, the project's contributions to the music industry include raising awareness, reducing stigma, and promoting mental health support and resources among musicians.
Engaging in this project has been a transformative journey of healing, self-expression, and personal growth, leading to expanded musical skills and future collaborative opportunities. The paper concludes by recognizing the ongoing nature of the well-being journey and the commitment to prioritize mental health while utilizing music as a tool for personal growth, advocacy, and community building.
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The Tap Dance Institute
Ian Berg
2023This Culminating Experience project was focused around two components. Firstly, the design of a first of its kind tap dance program and secondly the writing of new music that uses tap dance as its driving instrument. The former, took elements from both the Bachelor of Fine Arts Dance program at the Boston Conservatory and the Masters of Music program at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute to develop a tap dance program that is focused in both music and dance. This is aimed at developing well rounded tap dancers that are prepared to take on the artform in its totality as both a form of music and dance. The latter element is aimed at showcasing the skills that a student from this program would acquire and the type of work they would have the capacity to make. It is also an opportunity to explore writing and arranging original music with the timbre and qualities of the tap dance instrument front and center.
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Changing Society and Music Education Through Dance: My story of embracing dancing and how it can help others
Ilya Blazh
2023My culminating experience project explores the transformative power of dance and its connection to society and music education. Through extensive research, personal experiences, interviews with industry experts, and ac/ve participation in dance schools and social events, I highlighted various vital physical and mental benefits of dancing, and made important points how dancing can improve one’s sense of time and feel, composing skills, and have a more well- rounded understanding of music history. However, I unexpectedly encountered resistance and a lack of awareness regarding the interconnectedness of dance and music, highlighting the need for continued advocacy and educational efforts. Moving forward, I plan to professionally mix and master the music, release it, expand research and outreach initiatives, collaborate with professional dancers, develop new curriculum and classes, and potentially explore future publications. Overall, this culminating experience has enriched the discipline by promoting the integration of dance into music education and fostering a sense of community through intercommunal interactions in social dancing. Personally, completing this project has profoundly deepened my understanding of dance and its capacity to bring about personal and societal transformation.
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Travesía: Exploring a new language for the Flute in Cuban music
Sheila del Bosque Fuentes
2023Travesía is a culminating experience project that explore a new language in my composition and flute performance informed by my Cuban roots and Global experience. This journey takes me into a new personal direction, dealing with social issues in my country through the lens of my own experience. In this project, I embark on exploring a new musical language that harmoniously blends the Cuban culture with the European and African influences, jazz, and the transformative knowledge gained from my experiences at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. It signifies a transformative shift in my approach to composing, playing, and comprehending music, ushering in an exciting artistic exploration that defies boundaries and embraces the freedom and power to create.
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One Rhythm/One Universe: a new approach to Chilean Cueca
Ignacio Diaz
2023The name of my project is One Rhythm/One Universe: a new approach to Chilean Cueca. The purpose of this project is to examine and incorporate new ways to approach cueca, to explore improvisational skills, and integrate Global Jazz methodology in the folkloric music of Chile. I read one of the most critical research books in my country to use the different topics as an inspiration for composing different tunes for doing a musical research. Then every tune I compose is based on a concept from the book. This project allowed me to get deep into my culture, not just in terms of the music itself but also using different topics unrelated to music, and I approached them from a musical perspective. In this case, I explored topics about history, philosophy concepts, poetry, and at the end, traditional music, using the musical tools and resources I learned in the program, such as tetrachords, bright and dark harmonies, Pan-Afro-American influences, avant-garde approaches, zero gravity. This way of approaching traditional music helps me to create a new creative process from traditional music to get into a multi-dimensional experience, in this case through the Cueca, thus becoming something new that I call: Global Cueca.
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Subversion and Identity Musical Experiences from Feminism and Queer Community: A suite of 4 movements, Gender, Justice, and Resistance
Luciana García Álvarez
2023This project involves creating a four- movement musical suite inspired by books on queer theory and feminism. Through the lens of global jazz, the project explores the connection between personal and collective experiences of queerness, aiming to create social change through the visibility and representation of a minority group (LGBTIQA+ community) that experiences systematic violence. The creative process embraces elements of the queer community, a culture that challenges societal norms and fights for dignity and respect. The project seeks to answer questions such as: What does it mean to be queer? How do hetero-norms and gender binarism affect the queer community? By breaking down the structures of the heterosexual-binary system, the project aims to address the experience of being queer through music. Throughout the process, four books were read to inform and shape each movement of the musical suite; Contrasexual Manifesto by Paul Preciado, The Lesbian Body by Monique Wittig, Gender Trouble by Judith Butler, and Bandera Hueca by Víctor Hugo Robles.
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Music Performance Anxiety. A Personal View of the Condition
Zahili Gonzalez Zamora
2023This abstract provides an overview of a reflection paper that delves into the topic of Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) from a personal perspective. The author shares her experiences of seeking the help of a counselor, utilizing resources like the book "The Psychology of Music Performance Anxiety" to gain insights into the causes of her own MPA, and her insightful experiences as a Berklee Global Jazz Institute Master’s student. Throughout the paper, the author incorporates personal events to identify vulnerabilities and anxieties specific to her journey. By working closely with a counselor, the author was able to decipher the underlying causes of her MPA and develop effective coping mechanisms. Additionally, the author's exploration of various aspects of the condition is reflected in her creative process, and final culminating experience music compositions, providing a unique and personal perspective on the subject. Furthermore, the abstract outlines a course proposal designed to support students at Berklee, and beyond, who may be dealing with music performance anxiety. The proposed course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of MPA, offering strategies for identification, prevention, and management. By sharing their personal experiences and research findings, the author aims to create a supportive and empowering environment for students to address and overcome MPA.
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When Music Speaks - Reflecting and Composing to Process Emotions of a Female Jazz Musician
Charlotte Lang
2023In her Culminating Experience “When Music Speaks” Swiss saxophonist Charlotte Lang explores the emotions and experiences of a female jazz musician. She sheds light on the struggles faced in a male-dominated industry and aims to raise awareness, serve as a role model, and inspire as an educator. Charlotte’s focus is on reflection, emotional processing, and composing, using music as a tool of expression. Charlotte shares excerpts from her daily journal, showcasing her efforts to understand and articulate her emotions. Additionally, she engages in impactful conversations with four influential musicians, including Kris Davis (CAN), Nicole Johänntgen (GER), Joanne Brackeen (USA), and Zahili Gonzales Zamora (CUB), gaining valuable insights and advice. Charlotte composes four pieces expressing her journey and breaking free from established norms. She emphasizes the importance of community and belonging and concludes with a sense of optimism and progress in the jazz world. Charlotte's Culminating Experience (CE) focuses on sharing her personal experiences. However, she acknowledges that achieving gender equality requires addressing economic and racial equality as well. In her future endeavors, she aspires to explore and advocate for a more comprehensive and diverse approach, aiming to bridge gaps and mediate discussions on these intersecting issues.
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Burnt Roots - Story Of An Olive Tree
David Macchione
2023Since October of 2013, an epidemic caused by a bacteria has started to decimate the olive tree population in my home region of Puglia, in Southern Italy. 10 years later, science has not yet been able to find a cure for the disease, and the only solution seems to be violent eradication. But the further you look into this issue the more questions start arising- Has intensive farming and an indiscriminate use of herbicides brought us here? Uncovering the tale of a history of struggle between local farmers and the central government, and of modern science versus ancient wisdom, “Burnt Roots” becomes an exploration of roots and identity inspired by the sounds and impressions of the Italian countryside and its people.
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The Indigenous Voice of American Music: Compositions Inspired by Research of a Native American Contribution to Blues and Jazz
Liza Micelli
2023Over recent years, there have been newly recognized contributions to the diaspora of Jazz. This project highlights another contribution: the Native American. Through various personal experiences, interviews with Native scholars, literature, and comparative analysis, I’ve become aware of this widely debated influence. This project considers curious musical similarities between the Stomp and Social Dances of the South Eastern Tribes of the Mississippi Delta region, Powwow and Round Dance traditions of Plains Natives of the Midwest with that of early blues and jazz artists. Coupled with the aforementioned research was a recorded compositional project illustrating three turning points I’ve encountered along this journey:
1) “THE VU”: My first experience hearing Native American music
2) “ROY’S TESTIMONY”: the deep affects of boarding schools
3) “WE THINK TOO MUCH AND FEEL TOO LITTLE”: a reflection on how various systems have been distorted, in turn inspiring a vision for improving our future.
While interacting with Indigenous knowledge and individuals, I’ve learned there’s still much healing to be done between us, and will further find ways my work can not only clarify historic record and prevent erasure, but seek to benefit the wider Indigenous community.