Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Boston Conservatory at Berklee to Honor LaChanze and Lar Lubovitch at Commencement Ceremony

11/04/2024

Boston Conservatory at Berklee to Honor LaChanze and Lar Lubovitch at Commencement Ceremony Interim Executive Director Michael Shinn will present honorary doctorates during the Conservatory's commencement on Saturday, May 11.

By

Colette Greenstein

April 11, 2024

Boston Conservatory at Berklee will present honorary doctorates to Lar Lubovitch (left) and LaChanze (right) during the Conservatory's commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 11.

Boston Conservatory at Berklee Interim Executive Director Michael Shinn will present an honorary doctorate to three-time Tony Award-winning actor and producer LaChanze and internationally renowned dancer and choreographer Lar Lubovitch at the Conservatory's commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 11.

LaChanze and Lubovitch will be recognized for their achievements and influences on stage, screen, and television. Past honorary degree recipients for Boston Conservatory at Berklee include Cynthia Erivo, Awadagin Pratt, Debbie Allen, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Chita Rivera, Andr De Shields, Betty Buckley, Billy Porter, Sutton Foster, Nicholas Paleologos, Victoria Livengood (M.M. 85, voice), Leontyne Price, and Brian Stokes Mitchell, among others.

It is an absolute honor to welcome award-winning Broadway actor, singer, and producer LaChanze and award-winning choreographer Lar Lubovitch to Boston Conservatory at Berklee as part of this year's commencement festivities, said Shinn. LaChanze's illustrious career has garnered a multitude of theater, television, and film fans across the U.S., and Lar Lubovitch's celebrated performances have brought joy and inspiration to audiences around the world for decades.

Boston Conservatory at Berklee will hold its commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 11 at 4:00 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center.

LaChanze

With a career that has spanned 38 Broadway seasons, LaChanze consistently brings women of complexity and triumph into the cultural lexicon. As an actor, LaChanze won her first Tony Award for her performance as Celie in the musical The Color Purple. She originated the role of Ti Moune in Once on This Island, and upheld her commitment to artistic excellence as Wiletta in Alice Childress's historic play, Trouble in Mind, which led to her earning Tony Award nominations for both productions. Other notable stage performances include roles in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, A Christmas Carol, The Secret Life of Bees, If/Then, The Wiz, Ragtime, Uptown... It's Hot!, and Dreamgirls.

On screen, she has delivered memorable roles in both television and film including East New York, The Blacklist, The Help, HBO's The Night Of, Law & Order: SVU, The Good Fight, Sex and the City, and the Disney animated feature film Hercules, among other titles.

Now, in a new phase of her unparalleled career, the award-winning stage actor is transitioning from performer to producer in an effort to expand diversity behind Broadway's curtains. In 2023, LaChanze made her debut as a producer on two shows, the 20th anniversary revival of Suzan-Lori Parks's acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Topdog/Underdog, and the musical Kimberly Akimbo by Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. Topdog/Underdog won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play and Kimberly Akimbo won five, including one for Best Musical. LaChanze also produced the groundbreaking musical Here Lies Love by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, and the play Jaja's African Hair Braiding, written by award-winning Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Obie Award winner Whitney White.

In the coming year, LaChanze will join the producing team of The Outsiders, a new musical based on S.E. Hinton's beloved novel, and she is also slated to make her New York City directorial debut with Alice Childress's Wine in the Wilderness at Classic Stage Company this fall.

LaChanze is the president of Black Theatre United, a community of creatives dedicated to awareness, accountability, and advocacy.

Lar Lubovitch

Praised by the New York Times as one of the ten best choreographers in the world, Lar Lubovitch was born in Chicago and educated at the University of Iowa and the Juilliard School in New York. His teachers at Juilliard included renowned ballet masters Antony Tudor, who founded the London Ballet; Jos Lim n, who developed what is now known as the Lim n technique; Anna Sokolow, whose work is known for its social justice focus and theatricality; and Martha Graham, whose style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance.

Lubovitch danced in numerous modern, ballet, jazz, and ethnic dance companies before forming the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in New York City in 1968. Over the course of 56 years, the company has gained an international reputation as one of America's top dance companies and has been called a national treasure by Variety. Celebrated for both its choreographic excellence and its unsurpassed dancing, the company, under his direction, has created more than 120 dances, and has performed throughout the United States and in more than 40 foreign countries. His dances have been performed by American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, among other distinguished dance companies.

Lubovitch's work is renowned for its musicality, rhapsodic style, and sophisticated formal structures. His radiant, highly technical choreography and deeply humanistic voice have been praised around the globe. His Othello: A Dance in Three Acts (created for American Ballet Theatre in a three-way collaboration with the San Francisco Ballet and the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company) was featured on PBS's Great Performances and earned an Emmy Award nomination.

Lubovitch made his Broadway debut in 1987 wit
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/boston-conservatory-at-berkle...
See more stories from berklee

North America Stories

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...

18/03/2026

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...

18/03/2026

Brainstorm transforms productivity and sustainability with Suite 7 at NAB Show 2026

Brainstorm transforms productivity and sustainability with Suite 7 at NAB Show 2...

18/03/2026

Neutrik To Showcase opticalCON ADVANCED Connectors At 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Details 2026 NAB Show Educational Sessions

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/03/2026

Ben Bradshaw Joins PSSI as Director, Product and Network Development

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/03/2026

Peter Thordarson Joins ASG as Technical Account Executive

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/03/2026

Survey: Voters Trust TV News Over AI, Social and Search

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/03/2026

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Insight: Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today unveiled its educational presentations for the 2026 NAB Show. This year SMPTE will ...

18/03/2026

Maxon Marks Its Official Entry Into the AEC Market With I...

Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects, gaming, and more, today ann...

18/03/2026

Digital Alert Systems NAB Preview 2026

Digital Alert Systems Preview 2026 NAB Show April 19 - 22 Booth C3452 At the 2026 NAB Show, Digital Alert Systems will showcase Version 6.0 of its DASDEC ...

18/03/2026

Setplex Transforms Video Streaming with AI and Super Aggr...

Setplex today announced that it will showcase its complete, fully integrated Zapflex platform for the first time at the 2026 NAB Show, introducing powerful new ...

18/03/2026

COW Jobs: Seeking DP for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago

COW Jobs: Seeking DP for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago Brie Clayton March 17, 2026 0 Comments Seeking Director of Photography for Low Budget Dramedy Fe...

18/03/2026

COW Jobs: Seeking Gaffer for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago

COW Jobs: Seeking Gaffer for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago Brie Clayton March 17, 2026 0 Comments Seeking Gaffer for Low Budget Dramedy Feature Film- I...

18/03/2026

COW Jobs: Seeking Location, Sound for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago

COW Jobs: Seeking Location, Sound for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago Brie Clayton March 17, 2026 0 Comments Seeking Location/Sound for Low Budget Dramed...

18/03/2026

COW Jobs: Seeking Child Wrangler for Low Budget Film - Chicago

COW Jobs: Seeking Child Wrangler for Low Budget Film - Chicago Brie Clayton March 17, 2026 0 Comments Seeking Child Wrangler for Low Budget Dramedy Fe...

18/03/2026

Calrec Redefines Broadcast Workflows at NAB 2026 with its Most Powerful Hardware, Virtual and Hybrid Audio Lineup Yet

Calrec Redefines Broadcast Workflows at NAB 2026 with its Most Powerful Hardware...

18/03/2026

Oscar Nominated Two People Exchanging Saliva Posted with DaVinci Resolve Studio

Oscar Nominated Two People Exchanging Saliva Posted with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton March 17, 2026 0 Comments DaVinci Resolve Studio handle...

18/03/2026

Boston Conservatory Presents Celebrated Musical Satire Urinetown

Boston Conservatory Presents Celebrated Musical Satire Urinetown Performances for this Center Stage production will take place at Boston Conservatory Theater ...

18/03/2026

Charlie Puth Joins Switched On Pop at Berklee NYC

Charlie Puth Joins Switched on Pop at Berklee NYC The Berklee alum spoke with host and Berklee NYC professor Charlie Harding for a live taping, answering audi...

17/03/2026

NASA+ Prepares To Live Stream Historic Artemis II Mission, Bringing Deep-Space Exploration to Global Audiences

NASA+'s Rebecca Sirmons and Brittany Brown offer unique look at live streami...

17/03/2026

BBright's TTML & SMPTE ST 2110-43: One Single Stream For the Whole World

The transition to IP has fundamentally reshaped professional media infrastructures. Video, audio, and increasingly metadata now circulate as independent, precis...

17/03/2026

Op-Ed: How Generative AI Is Transforming Live Sports Streaming Optimization

Live sports streaming can push every element in your video delivery chain to its limit, exposing every potential weakness in seconds. When the Super Bowl, the O...

17/03/2026

Dell Case Study: Powering the Future of Sports Media One Experience at a Time at UT Austin

Texas Athletics sought to modernize its media production, enhance fan experience...

17/03/2026

NAB 2026: Ikegami to Showcase Latest Generation TV Production Cameras, Controllers and Monitors

Ikegami USA will demonstrate the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast...

17/03/2026

TNA Wrestling and iHeartMedia Announce Major Multi-Platform Collaboration

TNA Wrestling and iHeartMedia announces a new multi-platform collaboration that will integrate iHeartMedia across TNA's premium live events, weekly televisi...

17/03/2026

The Miami Dolphins and Dell Boost Fan Experience, Safety, and Efficiency at Hard Rock Stadium

The goal was to transform Hard Rock Stadium into a global leader in sports and e...

17/03/2026

Spectrum Launches Multiview for NCAA Basketball Tournaments

Spectrum has announced the launch of its new Multiview feature in the Spectrum TV App, giving customers the ability to watch up to four NCAA men's or women&...

17/03/2026

Pac-12 Inks Integrity/Data Deals With Genius Sports, IC360

Genius Sports deal also covers data technology, AI, fan engagement, and performance analysis....

17/03/2026

Rede Massa Chooses Net Insight to Enable State-Wide Centralized Operations

Net Insight is supporting the rollout of a new state-wide centralized operation with Rede Massa, which is an SBT affiliate, the Brazilian regional television ne...

17/03/2026

F1 The Movie' Wins the Academy Award for Best Sound

Featuring audio from practice sessions, qualifying races, and Grand Prix races, the film represents Apple's sports-media ambitions At Sunday night's Ac...

17/03/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Oracle's Mark Ramberg on the Future of Live Broadcast in the Cloud with OCI

Live broadcast has always been one of the most demanding environments in media a...

17/03/2026

DIRECTV Adds Multiview and Sports Central Features Ahead of NCAA Tournament

DirecTV is introducing several new viewing features, including a multi-screen March Madness Mix channel and an updated Sports Central mobile app hub, ahead of...

17/03/2026

Deltatre and ATP Media Announce Multi-Year Broadcast Graphics/Data Partnership

Deltatre has announced a multi-year partnership with ATP Media, the media arm of the ATP Tour, covering broadcast graphics, data, and production across the 2026...

17/03/2026

Detroit Pistons, Scripps Sports To Air Five Games Free Over the Air on TV-20 Detroit

The Detroit Pistons have announced a third consecutive season partnering with Sc...

17/03/2026

NAB Appoints Two New Members to Television Board of Directors

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/03/2026

PMVG's TechConnect Goes Virtual for 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/03/2026

Miris unlocks high-fidelity 3D asset streaming at scale

3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced the launch of a public beta for its new 3D asset streaming platform. Miris is building the infrastruc...

17/03/2026

Tedial Powers the Future of Media Operations at NAB Show...

As media organizations face mounting pressure to produce more content, faster, while maximizing value and operational efficiency, Tedial, a leading provider of ...

17/03/2026

Brainstorm transforms productivity and sustainability wit...

Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is launching the newest version of its platform, Brainstorm Suite 7,...

17/03/2026

Limecraft Introduces New Platform Update Adding Greater C...

Limecraft today announces the release of Limecraft 2026.2, the second platform update in its 2026 release cycle. Limecraft is an AI-powered production platform ...

17/03/2026

Pioneering the Next Era of Sports Broadcasting - Broadcas...

Broadcast Solutions, a leading system integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, showcased its latest broadcast and V...

17/03/2026

FCC Announces TV Translator Call Sign Changes

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/03/2026

2026 NAB Show Offering Free Show Floor Passes to Creators

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/03/2026

QuickLink's Latest StudioEdge Models to Make North American Debut at NAB 202

QuickLink's Latest StudioEdge Models to Make North American Debut at NAB 202 Brie Clayton March 16, 2026 0 Comments The Multi-platform Remote Gues...

17/03/2026

Frankenstein Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio

Frankenstein Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton March 16, 2026 0 Comments Sonnenfeld enhances the controlled interplay between warm and c...

17/03/2026

New Voyavox from Link Electronics with Real-Time Speech-to-Text Captioning to be Featured in NAB Booth #W2910

New Voyavox from Link Electronics with Real-Time Speech-to-Text Captioning to be...

17/03/2026

Berklee City Music Stewards META Fellowship Supporting Massachusetts Music Educators

Berklee City Music Stewards META Fellowship Supporting Massachusetts Music Educa...