Shea Rose
Position
Assistant Professor
Affiliated Departments
Faculty Bio E-Mail
Telephone
617-747-8098
Personal Websites
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Shea Rose has possessed numerous titles throughout her career: singer, songwriter, style icon, and music curator are just a few. Her music, influenced by soul, hip-hop, rock, and folk, speaks to identity, self-acceptance, and transformation. She has received numerous honors for her musical talents, including multiple Boston Music Awards and a SESAC National Performance Activity Award, and she is the recipient of the Abe Olman Scholarship from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Rose is a featured songwriter and performer on two Grammy Award–winning jazz albums, The Mosaic Project (2011) and Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue (2012), both produced by legendary drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.
Before her current releases, Rose put out two independent albums, the Little Warrior mixtape (2011) and the Rock 'n Rose EP (2010). Rose released the D.T.M.A. (Dance This Mess Around) EP in 2017. She recorded and produced the album independently with funding from Kickstarter before being offered a contract by Virgin Records, which she turned down. The songs describe a struggle with identity and the conformity that often accompanies mainstream success. In advance of releasing D.T.M.A., Rose recorded a cover of Sinéad O’Connor’s “Black Boys on Mopeds,” a striking commentary on police brutality in black communities.
Rose has performed in Cuba, Jamaica, Italy, Greece, and Romania as well as at Boston’s Symphony Hall and South by Southwest. When she is not on stage, Rose curates music events like the RISE Music Series at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. She is a student of yoga and meditation, and she writes a poem every day.
Career Highlights
- Independent releases include D.T.M.A. (Dance This Mess Around) EP (2017), "Black Boys on Mopeds" single (2016), Little Warrior mixtape (2011), and Rock 'n Rose EP (2010)
- Performances include Red Bull Soundstage performer (South by Southwest); Rhythm of the Universe Performance (Symphony Hall); and Women in Rock featuring Terri Lyne Carrington, Meshell N’degeocello, Cindy Blackman, and Nona Hendryx (Berklee Performance Center)
- Topline writer and vocal producer for Anthem for the Amazon, commissioned by the Amazon Aid Foundation
- Visiting artist at Kuumba Singers of Harvard College (Harvard University) and the Vocal Summit (Berklee College of Music)
- Certificates include Registered Yoga Teacher, Yoga Alliance; Certificate in African Healing Dance; and Estill Voice Training Certificate (Level 1 and Level 2)
- Curator and executive producer of Berklee's first hip-hop compilation, The Identity Project: Volume 1
- Performer on Grammy-winning jazz album The Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue
- Songwriter and performer on Grammy-winning jazz album The Mosaic Project
Awards
- Boston Music Awards winner, Artist of the Year, Pop/R&B
- Boston Music Awards winner, Artist of the Year, R&B/Soul/Urban Contemporary
- SESAC National Performance Activity Award for collaboration on Grammy-winning jazz album The Mosaic Project
- Recipient of the Berklee College of Music Walter W. Harp Liberal Arts and Society Award
- Recipient of the Berklee College of Music Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship
- Recipient of the Berklee College of Music Faculty Development Grant
- Recipient of the Abe Olman Scholarship from the Songwriters Hall of Fame
- Recipient of the City of Boston Opportunity Fund Grant
Education
- Diploma, Berklee College of Music, professional music
- B.A., Pine Manor College, English
- B.A., Pine Manor College, communications
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