BOSTON, MA, October 16, 2002 — Prolific musician and award-winning educator Matthew Nicholl was recently appointed chair of the Contemporary Writing and Production Department at Berklee College of Music.

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	Matthew Nicholl

Since 1980, Nicholl has worked as a composer/arranger and keyboardist. He has composed soundtracks for films by the National Geographic Society, NASA, the US Postal Service, the Marriott Corporation, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and scored station ID and promotional packages for PBS, as well as numerous local television and radio stations. He has composed and performed music for the national advertising campaigns of Maybelline, Radio Shack, Subway Sub Shops, and United Way.

He also composed scores to TV spots for the presidential campaigns of Bob Dole, Michael Dukakis, and George H. W. Bush, for which he also performed keyboards and synthesizer. His music has aired several times on the TV shows "One Life to Live" and "The Twilight Zone."

Nicholl has served on the faculty of Berklee College of Music since 1996, teaching courses in harmony, arranging, music production and ensembles. In 1998, he was the co-recipient of an award for the most valuable contribution to the Professional Writing Division curriculum. He created a course in Brazilian harmony, for which he transcribed over 300 Brazilian songs. Nicholl is fluent in Brazilian Portuguese.

Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs Harry Chalmiers welcomed Nicholl, commenting, "Matthew is a perfect fit for the Contemporary Writing and Production Department chair position. After serving for several years as one of our truly outstanding faculty members, we knew he would be a tremendous addition to our academic leadership team."

Nicholl commented, "I think Berklee has the best education in contemporary music available. It's wonderful to be a part of a program that prepares individuals for the wider world of music." Nicholl replaces Jay Kennedy, who was Chair of Berklee's Contemporary Writing and Production Department for seven years and is now Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Nicholl's first CD, "Windborne," featuring the Dallas Brass, was released by Moulin D'Or Records in 1994. His second CD, "From Here to There," released in 1995, is a collaboration with Grammy-winning bassist Eliot Wadopian. In 1999, he finished work on a third CD, trumpet player Wayne Naus' "Journey to Inland," in collaboration with Michael Farquharson. He is currently at work on his next CD, a collection of acoustic jazz, also in collaboration with Farquharson.

Matthew Nicholl attended the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton, receiving his B.M. in 1979 and his M.M. in 1981. For both degrees, Nicholl majored in music theory and minored in piano. He played piano in the renowned UNT One O'clock Lab Band. In 1980, he recorded an album and toured Switzerland with the band. Between 1980 and 1984, the One O'clock band recorded five of Nicholl's arrangements. After his tenure with the band, Nicholl taught jazz arranging at UNT for two years.

Nicholl joined the faculty of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, in August, 1990. He created a program in contemporary music technology, taught courses in jazz keyboard and music business, and directed a synthesizer ensemble. In 1995, Nicholl was the recipient of the WCU College of Arts and Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence.

About Berklee's Contemporary Writing and Production Major

As a Contemporary Writing and Production major, students study writing, arranging, scoring and production techniques and approaches. Students learn to apply those skills and concepts by writing for and overseeing the production of a wide variety of instrumental, vocal, acoustic and electronic combinations, ranging from small workshop groups to large ensembles in live performance situations and recording studio environments.

Students graduate with an understanding of traditional and contemporary writing and production styles. Among the variety of positions that Berklee Contemporary Writing and Production majors hold in the work world are: arranger, composer, conductor, copyist, jingle writer, orchestrator, record producer, and teacher.

Established in 1945, Berklee College of Music is the world's largest independent music college. Over 3,400 students and more than 450 faculty members interact in an environment designed to provide the most complete learning experience possible, including all of the opportunities and challenges presented by a career in the contemporary music industry. More than a college, Berklee has become the world's singular learning lab for the music of today — and tomorrow.

Media for more information, and for JPGs of Mr. Nicholl:

Emily Singer, Publicist, Office of Public Information
Berklee College of Music
(617) 747-2567
esinger@berklee.edu