Alum

Joe Carrier

Position
Associate Professor
Faculty Bio E-Mail
Telephone
617-747-2403

For media inquiries, please contact Media Relations

Career Highlights
  • Composed original scores and songs featured on award-winning independent film and TV projects, as well as numerous TV/radio ad campaigns, including American IdolSouth BeachDurham CountyThe Donnie and Marie Show, and stations Nickelodeon and PBS
  • Past clients include Sony Music, Columbia Records, Comcast Sportsnet, Boston Celtics, Irish National Television, EWTN Network, and Hasbro
  • Staff writer for EMI/Blackwood Music Publishing, 1999–2009
  • Multikeyboardist and music director
  • Performances with Jerry Seinfeld; Earth, Wind & Fire; Barry Manilow; Al Jarreau; Grover Washington Jr.; Sinbad; the Beach Boys; Paul Anka; and Regis Philbin
  • Appearances on the Rosie O'Donnell ShowEntertainment Tonight, VH-1, and the Fox Network
  • Writer and producer of music for various pop and R&B artists with Sony Music, TVT Records, and many indie labels
  • Publications include the Songbook of the Joey McIntyre CD Stay the Same (Warner Brothers) and "Easel," an original jazz composition, in Jazz Player Magazine
  • Nominated for Berklee College of Music's Distinguished Faculty Award, 2011–2016
Awards
  • Winner of the 2016 Ted Pease Excellence in Teaching Award, awarded annually to one outstanding faculty member by the Professional Writing and Music Technology Division
  • Winner of the 2017 Distinguished Faculty Award, which honors the best of Berklee's teachers for the influence they have on the development of our students and their part in maintaining the college's commitment to educational excellence
  • Winner of Telly Awards Best Original Music Score/Use of Music for "Textron Lasers" video 
  • Winner in the dance/electronica category by the 2008 Song of the Year songwriting contest for "Boy Watcher"
  • Winner of Song of the Year at the 1999 Boston Music Awards for "Stay the Same"
  • Winner of national R&B/hip-hop category in the 2003 Great American Song Contest for "Mm Mm Mm Mm Mm"
  • First place winner of the 1998 CINE Golden Eagle Award with “Love One Another” (Hart Productions)
  • First place winner from Healthcare Marketing Report for a TV/series corporate image campaign for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, 1990
  • Recipient of Distinctive Merit Award for a TV campaign for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, 1990 Hatch Awards
  • Winner of Bronze Award for a radio campaign for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, 1990 Hatch Awards
Education
  • B.M., Berklee College of Music
In Their Own Words

"Having started my professional career at the early age of 13, I had already been working as a multi-keyboardist for four years by the time I entered Berklee. Berklee was definitely the key to unlocking the potential within. There were so many amazing faculty members, but two in particular, Herb Pomeroy and Don Wilkins, instilled the meaning of passionate professionalism and inspired me so profoundly that it led to 'living the dream': working successfully as a composer, producer, and multi-keyboardist for over 30 years. Becoming a faculty member has changed my life in ways I couldn't have begun to imagine. It has sparked a renewed sense of awe, passion, and exhilaration for what we as writers and producers create in this industry. Now I strive to convey that enthusiasm in every lecture."

"I consider my students to be young professionals and less-experienced peers who have chosen to venture down the same road I chose long ago. In doing so, I remind them that my expectations are now much greater of them. One cannot succeed in the music business without a professional mindset from the very beginning. I demonstrate this repeatedly by showing examples of projects I've written and produced, and what it took to get it from a client's wish/requirements to a finished piece for broadcast, including the business aspects and timelines of that project."

"Over the years, the business has seen a paradigm shift, where often a budget only allows for a small or even one-person team to bring a song, score, or jingle to fruition. The CWP major is unique in that it provides the student the skills to become a one-stop shop: the person who has the ability to compose, program, produce, edit, mix, and deliver the product, and negotiate a good price for their work. I'm fortunate to work with students who are about to graduate from CWP, and I desire to leave them with a renewed sense of what is possible for their future, armed with the knowledge and tools necessary to 'live the dream,' much as I have had the honor of doing for so many years."

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