Jeff Apruzzese

A New Jersey native, Jeff Apruzzese '08 got his start playing bass in jazz trios and punk rock bands around the Jersey Shore before studying music business/management at Berklee. As a student, Apruzzese dreamed of working at a major record label as an operations manager after graduation. In his final semester, Apruzzese's dream shifted after getting the opportunity to cofound a Berklee and Emerson student band called Passion Pit. Apruzzese loved the energy of the band and instantly knew it was a project worth seeing through.

The band quickly gained popularity via the social media platform, MySpace, as well as traction on the major music online publication, Pitchfork. Within the next year, Passion Pit was signed to the independent label French Kiss, and then later jumped to Columbia Records. During his tenure in Passion Pit, the band released three full-length records, one of which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard charts, and toured around the world, headlining iconic venues such as Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl. The band also made appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

After spending nearly seven years on the road, he was ready for a change, and became a publicist at Girlie Action Media in New York City. In summer 2015, his one-time dream of working as an operations manager resurfaced when, after an invitation from his former professor, Jeff Dorenfeld, Apruzzese returned to Berklee as a media and operations manager for the Music Business/Management's newest initiative, the Berklee Popular Music Insitute.