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.