Boston Conservatory at Berklee

 

 

• State: Massachussetts
• Private School
• School Website
• Map Link
• Music School Central Top 10 Colleges for Music for 2014
• #6 Music School Central Top 10 Colleges for Jazz 2014
• #1 Christian Howes’ Best College Programs for Creative String Players

Bass Faculty – Website

• Steve Bailey (chair) – email
• Whit Brown – email
  
• David Clark – email
  
• Bruce Gertz – email
  
• Susan Hagen – email
  
• John Lockwood – email
  
• Barry Smith – email

General Statistics

• US News Rankings: #90 (tie) in National Liberal Arts Colleges
• US News Overall Score: 56
• Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $50,570
• Room & Board 2016-17: $14,520
• Total Enrollment: 801
• Acceptance Rate (from 2015): 63%
• Student – Faculty Ratio: 10:1
• 4 year graduation rate: 61%
• % of undergrads receiving Financial aid: 61%
• Average Financial Aid: $33,968

Double Bass Statistics

• Average number of undergraduate bass students: 35 (electric and double bass)
• Average number of graduate bass students: 4
• Studio Class, Orchestral Repertoire Class, Bass Ensembles, 45 specific labs/classes focusing on a particular technique, style, or skill

What Alumni Are Doing

• Chicago Civic Orchestra
• They range from Esperanza Spalding to John Myung (Dream Theatre)

Perspectives from the Bass Faculty

Q: What are some of your favorite experiences teaching at your school?

A: The camaraderie and idea-sharing amongst the students is great!

Boston Conservatory at Berklee is innovative – we have recently merged with Berklee College of Music and the opportunities are limitless! We have all the typical classical conservatory offerings PLUS a lot of other classes.

A: Our faculty of 22 bass professors is so diverse. One you might see with the Boston Symphony, the other you might see with Chick Corea, or Bela Fleck, and all points in-between

Berklee’s Bass Department cultivates and sustains a student-centered environment conducive to creative exploration and learning. Realizing that there is much more to being a successful bass player than simply mastering the instrument, we are strongly committed to the development of the individual, which includes effective communication skills, creative thinking and reasoning, mastery and implementation of current technologies, empathy, and proactive concern for our eco-musical environment—a musical awareness that goes far beyond creating a great bass-line.

Key to these objectives are the passion and expertise of a comprehensively diverse faculty, all displaying a clear focus on innovation and current musical trends combined with a profound respect and mastery of traditional musical values and technique.

We are committed to the primary role of the bass as being the mortar that locks rhythm to harmony and melody. But we also nurture the development of the bass as a multi-timbral polyphonic instrument, capable of performing all musical functions including rhythm, harmony, and melody.

We understand that music, and the music industry, is constantly evolving, and mandating that we, as a department, be synchronous to that evolution, thereby ensuring that our students are prepared for what awaits them after graduation.

About The Bass Faculty

The bass faculty as Berklee is large and diverse including world class performers and teachers from all styles. Please visit Berklee’s website for more information about individual teachers.