Since retiring from my full-time work at Berklee I have been making music full time, and also giving back to the music community through service on a few boards of organizations whose missions I embrace and support.
Berklee City Music® enables youth from underserved communities to develop musically, academically, socially, and emotionally, primarily through the study of contemporary music and the performing arts
Founded over 25 years ago by Berklee College of Music, the organization reaches over 55,000 students annually through a variety of programs and initiatives including the Berklee City Music Network®, Berklee City Music Boston, and the innovative online Berklee PULSE® Music Method. By using culturally relevant music as a vehicle for holistic youth development, City Music helps young people flourish as students, musicians, performing artists, and—perhaps most importantly—confident and well-rounded individuals ready to shape the world.
In 2006, Berklee President Roger Brown asked me to take the leadership of Berklee City Music, and I became Vice President for Technology and Education Outreach. I worked closely with J. Curtis Warner to build the City Music Network and the Berklee PULSE Music method. Today I am honored to still contribute to City Music’s success through service on its Board of Advisors.
The Record Co (TRC) seeks to remove the technical and social barriers between Boston’s music makers and their creative visions through truly affordable music workspace and professional development programs.
I joined TRC as a director in 2019, to help the board and Executive Director Matt McArthur and his team realize the important vision and mission they have for supporting Boston music makers of all ages, and regardless of their financial capacity.
Bob Moog’s innovations in music synthesis revolutionized almost every genre of music. The Bob Moog Foundation, a small 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, carries his pioneering legacy forward to future generations. Our mission, to ignite creativity at the intersection of music, science, history and innovation, is accomplished through three programs.
We provide hands-on opportunities for children and adults to explore the science of sound through Dr. Bobs SoundSchool and the preservation of Bob Moogs archives and musical inventions, which will converge in a future interactive museum, or Moogseum, online and in Asheville, NC.
I first met Bob Moog in the mid 1980s, when he was Vice President for Engineering at Kurzweil Musical Instruments, and I was doing some consulting on the early stages of the Kurzweil 250. We became good friends and collaborated on a number of projects including the K250 (for which Bob commissioned me to write a User’s Guide), the Kurzweil 150, the Kurzweil MIDIBoard, and several projects that didn’t come to market.
During that time, my wife Erica and I became very good friends with Bob and his wife Shirleigh, and their 3rd daughter Michelle (Mimi) became our babysitter. Here she is with Reesa, aged about 3.
Later, after Bob’s passing, Michelle would become the Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation. When I retired from Berklee in 2017, I began advising Michelle on strategy for the Foundation, and in 2019 I joined the Board. Shortly after joining, the Board voted to elect me President, in which capacity I now serve. It is an honor to help advance Bob’s legacy through my work with the Foundation.
The Alan R. Pearlman (ARP) Foundation
The ARP Archives & The Alan R. Pearlman Foundation is a small, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Our mission is to celebrate the legacy of inventor, musician, entrepreneur and engineer Alan R. Pearlman, by making his innovative inventions publicly accessible, and by inspiring future generations to imagine and create.
My very first synthesizer was an ARP 2600, and I became good friends with Alan, as chief engineer, and David Friend, who was president of ARP. Here is me with Michael Brigida and Alan during a special day of events honoring Alan in 2015:
When Alan passed in 2019, I was honored to perform at his funeral, and shortly after, his daughter Dina Pearlman asked me to help her start up the Alan R. Pearlman (ARP) Foundation. I was happy to help, and now that it is up and running, I am proud to serve as Chairman of the Board. I recently donated my 1976 era ARP 2600, keyboard and 16-step sequencer to the Foundation to help them build a collection of original instruments. I was proud that Alan had autographed it for me:
