Thursday, August 2, 2007
Berkleemusic.com Interview
You can view an interview that Berkleemusic.com conducted here: http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/matt_iorlano
Saturday, July 7, 2007
CBS Boston Coverage
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
New Press!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
TV Taping
Today I was filmed for a CBS-Boston special concerning our NOLA trip. It will air between 7pm-8pm in the Boston area on Ch. 4 on July 4th. Webcast address coming soon.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Last Day!
Yesterday after our fourth day of work we all boarded the Steamboat Natchez dinner cruise along the Mississippi River. They had a Dixie Jazz Band that I shot some footage of.
After that Jason, Brian and I went to Harrah's for some gambling. I played my first table and lost about $15 in ten seconds. I moved on to slots and won $70! After that we retreated to the hotel and I went to bed. The next morning the inevitable happened....I OVERSLEPT! Luckily I woke up on my own at 7:12am, we leave the hotel at 7:15. So I had no shower, no coffee and had to eat my bagel in the taxi. Rough start but so far another great day.
Well it's hard to believe but today was my last day on the work site. I had an absolute amazing time down here. My group and the other cross country volunteers were beyond a pleasure to work with. I gotta say my only complaint working wasn't the heat, it wasn't the workload, it was the desire to do more. Some projects required a job to be done first before we could get our hands in. Other times we were overstaffed and had people with nothing to do at times. I guess when it comes to volunteer work this is not so bad of a problem to have. We accomplished so much yet there is so much left.
After our last day on the work site I went out with one of my co-workers Rob and Jim, the New Orleans video director. Turns out he shot footage for the Imax movie we all checked out in Boston. He had me call the owner of this famous bar that was founded in 1856 called Tujagues and make reservations for our group. As Jim would say "food is a religion here." After that we plan on checking out some jazz at "Ray's Boom Boom Room." Tonight I think we all have some celebrating to do.
I will leave you all with my last set of pictures here and a good bye message I filmed at the work site this afternoon. I will never forget this experience. I'm coming home with a lifetime full of memories. Thanks for sharing them with me.
After that Jason, Brian and I went to Harrah's for some gambling. I played my first table and lost about $15 in ten seconds. I moved on to slots and won $70! After that we retreated to the hotel and I went to bed. The next morning the inevitable happened....I OVERSLEPT! Luckily I woke up on my own at 7:12am, we leave the hotel at 7:15. So I had no shower, no coffee and had to eat my bagel in the taxi. Rough start but so far another great day.
Well it's hard to believe but today was my last day on the work site. I had an absolute amazing time down here. My group and the other cross country volunteers were beyond a pleasure to work with. I gotta say my only complaint working wasn't the heat, it wasn't the workload, it was the desire to do more. Some projects required a job to be done first before we could get our hands in. Other times we were overstaffed and had people with nothing to do at times. I guess when it comes to volunteer work this is not so bad of a problem to have. We accomplished so much yet there is so much left.
After our last day on the work site I went out with one of my co-workers Rob and Jim, the New Orleans video director. Turns out he shot footage for the Imax movie we all checked out in Boston. He had me call the owner of this famous bar that was founded in 1856 called Tujagues and make reservations for our group. As Jim would say "food is a religion here." After that we plan on checking out some jazz at "Ray's Boom Boom Room." Tonight I think we all have some celebrating to do.
I will leave you all with my last set of pictures here and a good bye message I filmed at the work site this afternoon. I will never forget this experience. I'm coming home with a lifetime full of memories. Thanks for sharing them with me.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Worksite Day 4
Today was a busy day as I spent all of it installing floor beams and support blocks for a home in it's early stages. Hammering in the summer sun while James Brown is cranked on the stereo makes me feel like a kid again. I am really getting the hang of the construction life as each day gets more gratifying. I didn't get to take too many pics b/c of my workload but the few I did you can check out here. A few of these pics were taken by other members of my group, but thought they were so cool you all had to see them. One of my new friends, Roya, also shot some video footage of me working away. Hope you enjoy it!
Tonight the group will be having dinner on a Mississippi River Steamboat Cruise. I'll try to take pics if I can for tomorrow's post. In other news two members of my group did a radio interview for 90.7 WWOZ, a killer blues/jazz station here in town. We usually listen to WWOZ when eat breakfast on the balcony.
That about sums up today. I will now leave you all with a blog post that I just wrote for the Berklee page. It basically sums up my feelings of being here. Miss you all!
---
Picture this…200 workers of all ages, from all over the country working in 95 degrees of pure humidity for absolutely no compensation. There are no egos, no slackers, everyone is friendly, equally contributing to the task at hand and enjoying learning about one another. ABC News in New Orleans came today to shoot footage of this reality. It’s hard to believe amongst all of the negativity in our media that this environment really exists but believe me when I say it does. I have been cut, bruised, had fiber glass in my eye, even felt like passing out at times and I am loving every minute of it. I am beyond blessed to be here and can not believe tomorrow is our last day. I will miss the love here but hope to spread it on to all of you. Take care of one another for me.
My best always,
Matt
Tonight the group will be having dinner on a Mississippi River Steamboat Cruise. I'll try to take pics if I can for tomorrow's post. In other news two members of my group did a radio interview for 90.7 WWOZ, a killer blues/jazz station here in town. We usually listen to WWOZ when eat breakfast on the balcony.
That about sums up today. I will now leave you all with a blog post that I just wrote for the Berklee page. It basically sums up my feelings of being here. Miss you all!
---
Picture this…200 workers of all ages, from all over the country working in 95 degrees of pure humidity for absolutely no compensation. There are no egos, no slackers, everyone is friendly, equally contributing to the task at hand and enjoying learning about one another. ABC News in New Orleans came today to shoot footage of this reality. It’s hard to believe amongst all of the negativity in our media that this environment really exists but believe me when I say it does. I have been cut, bruised, had fiber glass in my eye, even felt like passing out at times and I am loving every minute of it. I am beyond blessed to be here and can not believe tomorrow is our last day. I will miss the love here but hope to spread it on to all of you. Take care of one another for me.
My best always,
Matt
Worksite Day 3
My apologies this post is so late, I literally walked in from a FULL day. It's 11:42 CT here so technically I am sticking to my promise of a new post everyday. There is so much to recap as I have been up for 18 hours now so I'll try to keep it as brief as possible.
Last night after our workday we all headed out to an African restaurant. This was another first for me and to my surprise the food was quite good. One of the group members brought an old Berklee friend who as it turns out used to work concerts with me. He told us countless stories of his Katrina experiences and how the only thing he salvaged was two Gibson guitars. After dinner we went to Lafitte's Blacksmith Bar, an old blacksmith shop from the 1700's converted to a bar. We all sat on stools around a grand piano in a dark room that was only lit by a few candles. It was one of the greatest bars I have ever been to. I took some artsy pics that you can now view in today's pics page.
This morning I had breakfast with my new buddy Rob on his balcony and then we headed off to our 3rd day of work. I was able to do work on some flooring, painting and cutting of materials to prep the siding for the house. I have a new found respect for people that work in construction. This is not easy by any stretch. Roya, our group leader also did a phone interview for NPR radio here in New Orleans. We are really getting the word out with our progress here. I was also able to shoot a quick video displaying all the hard work we are doing.
At lunch time I got a call from a big time Video Director/Producer here in NOLA named Jim Gabour. My Vice President at work put me in touch with Jim who has lived here for many years. Jim was gracious enough to pick me up at the hotel, show me more of the area and took me to his home. We drank Bourbon as he told me some hilarious stories about his life experiences. Jim then dropped me off at the "Red Fish Grille" where I attended an Alumni dinner.
On of my closest friends from Berklee, Robin Kinchen, surprised me and showed up at the dinner. It was wonderful catching up with her again as the last we saw each other was in May of 2004 in Los Angeles. Robin, her friend Clove and I walked the city and then I went back to my hotel at about 9:30pm.
Somehow, this day was not packed enough...so I knocked on my buddy Jason's door to do some more exploring. Jason's friend Brian is also here. He drove 10 hours from Florida to help us out. The three of us hit up a Hookah bar, drank some hard cider/beer and listened to this great DJ.
On a side note the group has all been contributing to a Berklee blog that you can view here. Ok, I seriously need to get some rest now so I'll be off. The sandman awaits.
Last night after our workday we all headed out to an African restaurant. This was another first for me and to my surprise the food was quite good. One of the group members brought an old Berklee friend who as it turns out used to work concerts with me. He told us countless stories of his Katrina experiences and how the only thing he salvaged was two Gibson guitars. After dinner we went to Lafitte's Blacksmith Bar, an old blacksmith shop from the 1700's converted to a bar. We all sat on stools around a grand piano in a dark room that was only lit by a few candles. It was one of the greatest bars I have ever been to. I took some artsy pics that you can now view in today's pics page.
This morning I had breakfast with my new buddy Rob on his balcony and then we headed off to our 3rd day of work. I was able to do work on some flooring, painting and cutting of materials to prep the siding for the house. I have a new found respect for people that work in construction. This is not easy by any stretch. Roya, our group leader also did a phone interview for NPR radio here in New Orleans. We are really getting the word out with our progress here. I was also able to shoot a quick video displaying all the hard work we are doing.
At lunch time I got a call from a big time Video Director/Producer here in NOLA named Jim Gabour. My Vice President at work put me in touch with Jim who has lived here for many years. Jim was gracious enough to pick me up at the hotel, show me more of the area and took me to his home. We drank Bourbon as he told me some hilarious stories about his life experiences. Jim then dropped me off at the "Red Fish Grille" where I attended an Alumni dinner.
On of my closest friends from Berklee, Robin Kinchen, surprised me and showed up at the dinner. It was wonderful catching up with her again as the last we saw each other was in May of 2004 in Los Angeles. Robin, her friend Clove and I walked the city and then I went back to my hotel at about 9:30pm.
Somehow, this day was not packed enough...so I knocked on my buddy Jason's door to do some more exploring. Jason's friend Brian is also here. He drove 10 hours from Florida to help us out. The three of us hit up a Hookah bar, drank some hard cider/beer and listened to this great DJ.
On a side note the group has all been contributing to a Berklee blog that you can view here. Ok, I seriously need to get some rest now so I'll be off. The sandman awaits.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Worksite Day 2
Relaxing now, having some Shiraz/Cabernet in my hotel room as I log my second day's work. Now before I begin there was one thing I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that I wanted to share with "y'all." During the Habitat start of day meeting at the work site one of the leader's was giving a speech on safety. He said "There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. I was stupid (as he holds up his 4.5 fingers on his right hand.)" Sorry I don't have a pic to post but thought that was a genius of a lesson. Lesson learned.
Today was MUCH more tolerable than yesterday. I'm not sure if the weather was milder, just knowing what to expect or the fact that most of my day was spent working underneath a nearly completed home away from the sun. Today I fixed some insulation that was improperly installed, preventing a huge fire hazard. After all these people lost their homes to a hurricane and massive flooding, I'm sure they don't want to lose their new one to a fire. For lunch we went to a now four month resident of a Musician's Village's home that Habitat built. His name is Ricardo Crespo and he is from south Brazil. He performed a concert on his porch and was such a cool spirit. Someone asked if he played the blues and his response was "To play the blues you need a certain feeling. And I don’t feel that way now. I feel love and celebration." He then did a rendition of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry." Here is a video of Ricardo telling his story this morning.
As the work day was winding down and we were putting our tools away a car drove by us, slowed down, and thanked us all for helping rebuild his neighborhood. A woman who will be receiving a Habitat home in the future was also on site today for her first day on the job. Habitat requires homeowners to log a certain amount of time on the job site. As they say "We don't offer a hand out, we offer a hand up." A few people in my group got to know her pretty well today. When we left she was hugging them and said "God Bless You." It was extremely touching to say the least. The gratitude these people have is mind blowing.
In other news there was a feature today in the New Orleans Times about the Musicians Village. Someone in my group noticed I was in the picture on the front cover. One of my coworkers here, Chris Jones, was also featured in a local Massachusetts paper which you view here. I know some of our photos have been submitted for other press releases too.
I also have more pics that I took last night and this afternoon for you to check out here. Keep the comments coming, I love reading them all.
Miss you much,
Matt
Today was MUCH more tolerable than yesterday. I'm not sure if the weather was milder, just knowing what to expect or the fact that most of my day was spent working underneath a nearly completed home away from the sun. Today I fixed some insulation that was improperly installed, preventing a huge fire hazard. After all these people lost their homes to a hurricane and massive flooding, I'm sure they don't want to lose their new one to a fire. For lunch we went to a now four month resident of a Musician's Village's home that Habitat built. His name is Ricardo Crespo and he is from south Brazil. He performed a concert on his porch and was such a cool spirit. Someone asked if he played the blues and his response was "To play the blues you need a certain feeling. And I don’t feel that way now. I feel love and celebration." He then did a rendition of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry." Here is a video of Ricardo telling his story this morning.
As the work day was winding down and we were putting our tools away a car drove by us, slowed down, and thanked us all for helping rebuild his neighborhood. A woman who will be receiving a Habitat home in the future was also on site today for her first day on the job. Habitat requires homeowners to log a certain amount of time on the job site. As they say "We don't offer a hand out, we offer a hand up." A few people in my group got to know her pretty well today. When we left she was hugging them and said "God Bless You." It was extremely touching to say the least. The gratitude these people have is mind blowing.
In other news there was a feature today in the New Orleans Times about the Musicians Village. Someone in my group noticed I was in the picture on the front cover. One of my coworkers here, Chris Jones, was also featured in a local Massachusetts paper which you view here. I know some of our photos have been submitted for other press releases too.
I also have more pics that I took last night and this afternoon for you to check out here. Keep the comments coming, I love reading them all.
Miss you much,
Matt
Monday, June 11, 2007
Worksite Day 1
My cable is out now...seems a thunderstorm is heading this way. So instead of watching ESPN I'm listening to "Louisiana Bayou" by Dave Matthews Band and writing to you all. Seems fitting.
I didn't sleep too well last night...wasn't sure if it was the noise of Bourbon Street or just plain old nerves. I woke up at 6am today to shower, grab some breakfast and hit the road for the work site. It was about a 15 minute drive and we were taken to a whole new world. I had finally witnessed in person everything I had seen on tv, in documentaries and on the Imax movie. While nothing can fully prepare you for what I witnessed today I am really glad I did my homework.
Here is a satellite view of where I worked today. I believe it's the open field where the houses are going. This map is a little outdated. Click on "Satellite" to see the actual view.
When we arrived we were greeted by about 200-300 other volunteers. Both kids and adults from all over the country were there to help. It was astounding. Yet I don't see enough of this in the news. Apparently Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton are more important. Today I realized that there are a lot of good people still out there.
The temp was 90-95 and it was humid. The workload wouldn't be half as intense if it wasn't for the sun. It is hot here for sure. Today I didn't get to build anything but did help in transporting wood, fencing and also repaired a few saw horses so I did get to hammer a little. Hopefully before I leave I'll get to do some construction. I was also able to chat with some local sewer workers who told me some crazy stories about crocodiles being carried miles and miles inland during the hurricane. Amazing, amazing stories. I also heard some of their frustration first hand on the local and national government's lack of response during that time. At the end of the day they dedicated a house to a local drummer and put up the front wall of the house. He and his wife seemed beyond appreciative. Fox news in New Orleans was there to cover it.
After that we started walking to a main street to get a cab. We ended up at a Baptist Church to rest. At this point I practically passed out on the front steps, I was beyond exhausted. Now for some reason we couldn't get in touch with our cab company so one of my group members asked a cop at the Police Station across the street about a way to get back to the French Quarter where we are staying. He had a pickup truck and said he would drive us. So here I am, about to pass out, now in the back of a cop's pickup truck. Yes this is completely illegal, but again only in the south my friends. I must admit it was a fun ride, except for the 15 minute wait at the train tracks with the sun baking on me. Some cargo train was moving at about 3 mph for some reason. On the ride back I saw a lot more of the city that was effected. Unreal.
Went back to the hotel, showered, swam in the pool and now about to grab some grub. As you could imagine I am starving.
Here are pics by the way documenting my day. I'm looking into getting some vids up here too.
Have a good night...miss you all (especially you "The Mrs.")
I didn't sleep too well last night...wasn't sure if it was the noise of Bourbon Street or just plain old nerves. I woke up at 6am today to shower, grab some breakfast and hit the road for the work site. It was about a 15 minute drive and we were taken to a whole new world. I had finally witnessed in person everything I had seen on tv, in documentaries and on the Imax movie. While nothing can fully prepare you for what I witnessed today I am really glad I did my homework.
Here is a satellite view of where I worked today. I believe it's the open field where the houses are going. This map is a little outdated. Click on "Satellite" to see the actual view.
When we arrived we were greeted by about 200-300 other volunteers. Both kids and adults from all over the country were there to help. It was astounding. Yet I don't see enough of this in the news. Apparently Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton are more important. Today I realized that there are a lot of good people still out there.
The temp was 90-95 and it was humid. The workload wouldn't be half as intense if it wasn't for the sun. It is hot here for sure. Today I didn't get to build anything but did help in transporting wood, fencing and also repaired a few saw horses so I did get to hammer a little. Hopefully before I leave I'll get to do some construction. I was also able to chat with some local sewer workers who told me some crazy stories about crocodiles being carried miles and miles inland during the hurricane. Amazing, amazing stories. I also heard some of their frustration first hand on the local and national government's lack of response during that time. At the end of the day they dedicated a house to a local drummer and put up the front wall of the house. He and his wife seemed beyond appreciative. Fox news in New Orleans was there to cover it.
After that we started walking to a main street to get a cab. We ended up at a Baptist Church to rest. At this point I practically passed out on the front steps, I was beyond exhausted. Now for some reason we couldn't get in touch with our cab company so one of my group members asked a cop at the Police Station across the street about a way to get back to the French Quarter where we are staying. He had a pickup truck and said he would drive us. So here I am, about to pass out, now in the back of a cop's pickup truck. Yes this is completely illegal, but again only in the south my friends. I must admit it was a fun ride, except for the 15 minute wait at the train tracks with the sun baking on me. Some cargo train was moving at about 3 mph for some reason. On the ride back I saw a lot more of the city that was effected. Unreal.
Went back to the hotel, showered, swam in the pool and now about to grab some grub. As you could imagine I am starving.
Here are pics by the way documenting my day. I'm looking into getting some vids up here too.
Have a good night...miss you all (especially you "The Mrs.")
Sunday, June 10, 2007
"Take Me To The City Beneath The Sea"
Today was the day I have been looking forward to over the last couple of months. I was pretty nervous last night but managed to sleep well and awoke to a feeling of excitement and curiosity. I was the first to arrive at the airport, although I was convinced I'd be late for some reason.
After meeting up with my group we flew to Atlanta for a layover. At the airport we found this great Southwestern food stand called "Moe's." Apparently others knew of this gem judging by the long line. They had some great names for their dishes. My fav was the "Art Vandelay" for all you Seinfeld freaks out there. We then boarded the plane en route to NOLA (an acronym I learned which stands for New Orleans, Louisiana.) On our plane they had XM so I was able to catch the score of the Mets game. They lost....big time.
We arrive in New Orleans and meet our driver Jerry. Jerry had a thick southern accent and a great knowledge of the area. He knew what we were here to do and seemed extremely grateful. We all rode in a 20 passenger van and drove for about 20 minutes, even passing the Superdome where the Saints play. We finally make it to our hotel which you can view here.
When we arrived the woman at the front desk told me also how grateful she was that we were there to help out. She said and I quote "The people of New Orleans are extremely humble right now." It gave me a chill that I can not put into words. I can not wait to get started tomorrow!
Since we arrived at 3pm we all figured we'd do some exploring. We are a block from Bourbon Street so we definitely hit that up. To describe Bourbon Street...well...it's tough. It's about 50+ bars, all with open windows, having live bands of all genres playing as loud as humanly possible. People walk the streets, closed to traffic, with open containers. It's Vegas meets Cancun. Crazy. We also hit up a dueling piano bar and went out to dinner for some good ol' southern cookin'. I had some of the biggest oysters, hush puppies, jambalaya, fried catfish, gumbo, rice and beans.
Although you have to be here to experience it click here to see the pics I took today.
Off to bed now, gotta big day ahead of me tomorrow.
After meeting up with my group we flew to Atlanta for a layover. At the airport we found this great Southwestern food stand called "Moe's." Apparently others knew of this gem judging by the long line. They had some great names for their dishes. My fav was the "Art Vandelay" for all you Seinfeld freaks out there. We then boarded the plane en route to NOLA (an acronym I learned which stands for New Orleans, Louisiana.) On our plane they had XM so I was able to catch the score of the Mets game. They lost....big time.
We arrive in New Orleans and meet our driver Jerry. Jerry had a thick southern accent and a great knowledge of the area. He knew what we were here to do and seemed extremely grateful. We all rode in a 20 passenger van and drove for about 20 minutes, even passing the Superdome where the Saints play. We finally make it to our hotel which you can view here.
When we arrived the woman at the front desk told me also how grateful she was that we were there to help out. She said and I quote "The people of New Orleans are extremely humble right now." It gave me a chill that I can not put into words. I can not wait to get started tomorrow!
Since we arrived at 3pm we all figured we'd do some exploring. We are a block from Bourbon Street so we definitely hit that up. To describe Bourbon Street...well...it's tough. It's about 50+ bars, all with open windows, having live bands of all genres playing as loud as humanly possible. People walk the streets, closed to traffic, with open containers. It's Vegas meets Cancun. Crazy. We also hit up a dueling piano bar and went out to dinner for some good ol' southern cookin'. I had some of the biggest oysters, hush puppies, jambalaya, fried catfish, gumbo, rice and beans.
Although you have to be here to experience it click here to see the pics I took today.
Off to bed now, gotta big day ahead of me tomorrow.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Final Meeting
Today I had a final lunch meeting with my New Orleans group before we depart. I gotta say I am really excited about working with these people. Everyone seems so eager to get down there, explore the city, listen to some great live music and most importantly build some homes! We met with a 19 year old volunteer who just spent the last 3 months down there. He told us the good, the bad and the ugly. This is going to be a tough one my friends.
Monday, June 4, 2007
In Preparation
Less than one week away and I am off to the "Big Easy." This weekend I have purchased all the things I need for my trip although I'm sure nothing can fully prepare me for what I am about to witness. I am now watching a PBS documentary called "The Right to Return" to try to better understand where I will be helping out. It's beyond unreal. We haven't even left Boston yet and the press has already gotten word of our trip. It makes this all that more surreal for me. I will be doing a phone interview with a local paper "The Patriot Ledger" this week and some work with CBS-4 Boston upon my return. At this point I am just counting the days...
Friday, June 1, 2007
Berklee Press Release
Berklee College of Music Sends Staff from America’s First College of Jazz to the Birthplace of Jazz to Build Homes for Displaced Musicians, June 10 - 16
BOSTON, June 1, 2007 – Eight staff members from Boston’s Berklee College of Music will travel to New Orleans from June 10 – 16 to spend a week building homes in the New Orleans Musicians Village, a Habitat for Humanity development with 300 new, affordable dwellings in the city’s Upper Ninth Ward for musicians and other residents who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The village will also feature the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music with performance spaces and classrooms for the residents.
Staff members traveling to New Orleans are:
Roya Nassery - Project Manager - Faculty Development, Academic Affairs
Catherine Boger – Lab Monitor, Professional Writing
Rob Hochschild – Senior Editor, Communications
Jenna Logue – Internship Coordinating, Office of Experiential Learning
Kris Quinones – Administrative Assistant, Music Production and Engineering
Christopher Jones - Sr. Process and Quality Assurance Analyst, Administrative Systems
Jason Clinkscales - Senior Cashier, Bursar's Office
Matthew Iorlano - Customer Service Manager, Berklee Media
This is Berklee’s first sponsored volunteer program for staff. A committee reviewed staff-submitted letters of intent that described the motivations and expectations for the experience. The group was announced at a staff appreciation day in the Berklee Performance Center. Sponsorships include travel, hotel, meals, and daily expenses. The team will work from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. No previous construction experience was required; all training will be done on site. The trip is sponsored by the college’s Gracenotes Volunteer Program, in collaboration with the Office of Academic Affairs, the Office of Human Resources, Information Technology, and Office for Cultural Diversity.
America’s first college of jazz began reaching out to the birthplace of jazz within a month of the disaster. Berklee organized the New Orleans Resurrection Brass Band that marched from Boston’s Back Bay to City Hall Plaza to present a concert that raised donations and featured alumni and Big Easy natives Donald Harrison and Christian Scott with Kendrick Oliver and the New Life Jazz Orchestra. Berklee also hosted on campus New Orleans musicians for teaching and performing residencies whose lives were affected by Hurricane Katrina, including Harrison, Ellis Marsalis, Suzanne St. Amand, George Porter, Jr., and Marva Wright.
Visit www.berklee.edu/katrina to read a blog updated by the staff while in the Ninth Ward.
BOSTON, June 1, 2007 – Eight staff members from Boston’s Berklee College of Music will travel to New Orleans from June 10 – 16 to spend a week building homes in the New Orleans Musicians Village, a Habitat for Humanity development with 300 new, affordable dwellings in the city’s Upper Ninth Ward for musicians and other residents who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The village will also feature the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music with performance spaces and classrooms for the residents.
Staff members traveling to New Orleans are:
Roya Nassery - Project Manager - Faculty Development, Academic Affairs
Catherine Boger – Lab Monitor, Professional Writing
Rob Hochschild – Senior Editor, Communications
Jenna Logue – Internship Coordinating, Office of Experiential Learning
Kris Quinones – Administrative Assistant, Music Production and Engineering
Christopher Jones - Sr. Process and Quality Assurance Analyst, Administrative Systems
Jason Clinkscales - Senior Cashier, Bursar's Office
Matthew Iorlano - Customer Service Manager, Berklee Media
This is Berklee’s first sponsored volunteer program for staff. A committee reviewed staff-submitted letters of intent that described the motivations and expectations for the experience. The group was announced at a staff appreciation day in the Berklee Performance Center. Sponsorships include travel, hotel, meals, and daily expenses. The team will work from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. No previous construction experience was required; all training will be done on site. The trip is sponsored by the college’s Gracenotes Volunteer Program, in collaboration with the Office of Academic Affairs, the Office of Human Resources, Information Technology, and Office for Cultural Diversity.
America’s first college of jazz began reaching out to the birthplace of jazz within a month of the disaster. Berklee organized the New Orleans Resurrection Brass Band that marched from Boston’s Back Bay to City Hall Plaza to present a concert that raised donations and featured alumni and Big Easy natives Donald Harrison and Christian Scott with Kendrick Oliver and the New Life Jazz Orchestra. Berklee also hosted on campus New Orleans musicians for teaching and performing residencies whose lives were affected by Hurricane Katrina, including Harrison, Ellis Marsalis, Suzanne St. Amand, George Porter, Jr., and Marva Wright.
Visit www.berklee.edu/katrina to read a blog updated by the staff while in the Ninth Ward.
Hurricane on the Bayou
Last night I met with some of the other Berklee staff that will be joining me in New Orleans. We attended an IMAX showing of the film "Hurricane on the Bayou." I highly recommend seeing this documentary to learn more about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The film also features some amazing music performed by local residents. For more information please visit this site:
http://www.hurricaneonthebayou.com/
http://www.hurricaneonthebayou.com/
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