Contemporary Writing and Production Alumni

Composer, arranger, and transcriptionist Adam Burgess ‘14 came to Berklee from Newcastle, Australia, to study contemporary writing and production. Before attending Berklee, he studied at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music.

A songwriter for television series, documentaries, and commercials, Alejandra Jimenez ’13 is a Colombian songwriter, composer, and producer who has established an impressive resume for a young musician. Jimenez has been studying music since she was six-years-old. She won her first award for songwriting at age 18 and went on to receive a bachelor of music degree from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia. Subsequently, she moved to Boston to attend Berklee on a full scholarship from the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers.

Composer Kazuma Jinnouchi ’02 has always dreamed of doing work that could cross cultural boundaries. After growing up in Japan and then attending Berklee College of Music, he returned to Japan to work on two Metal Gear Solid games with Konami and Kojima Productions. When he moved back to the U.S. in 2011, he was hired by 343 Industries to work on Halo 4, and though just one of his tracks was in the first volume of Halo’s soundtrack, the second volume had nine of his songs. Now, for Halo 5: Guardians, he’s composing the game’s entire soundtrack.

Before arriving in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1993, cellist and composer Okkyung Lee said she knew little of the jazz and experimental music for which she is now known. Born in South Korea in 1975 and educated in classical piano and cello, Lee first heard of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and other jazz greats when she came to Berklee College of Music. She quickly bought CDs to listen to the music she was trying to understand.