Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Berklee and Electronic Arts Celebrate Annual EA Day

12/04/2024

Berklee and Electronic Arts Celebrate Annual EA Day The second annual EA Berklee Day celebrated women in the screen scoring industry and presented the Electronic Arts/Berklee Charting Change Scholarship to students Carol Gao and Rachel Ray McFarlane.

By

Tori Donahue

April 10, 2024

(Center left to right) Students Carol Gao and Rachel Ray McFarlane were presented with Electronic Arts/Berklee Charting Change Scholarships by (left to right) Berklee Interim President and Provost David Bogen, Worldwide Executive and President at EA Music Steve Schnur, and Screen Scoring Chair Sean McMahon at the college's annual EA Berklee Day.

Scott Zuehlke Photography

(Left to right): Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, Stephanie Economou, Natalie Holt, Nainita Desai, and Kathryn Bostic participate in a panel discussing the state of the media scoring landscape moderated by Steve Schnur, worldwide executive and president at EA Music (far left).

Scott Zuehlke Photography

Berklee and Electronic Arts (EA) celebrated the second annual EA Berklee Day Charting Change at the college's Boston campus with a day of activities, which included a panel of groundbreaking composers and musicians and the presentation of the Electronic Arts/Berklee Charting Change Scholarship to students Carol Gao and Rachel Ray McFarlane.

As part of the EA Berklee Day celebrations, a panel of acclaimed composers including Stephanie Economou (Assassins Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnar k), Natalie Holt (Loki), Kathryn Bostic (Women of the Movement), Nainita Desai (The Deepest Breath), and Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch (Living) shared their insights and expertise on working in the entertainment industry, concluding with a Q&A section with students. The panel was moderated by Steve Schnur, worldwide executive and president at EA Music, and introduced by Sean McMahon, chair of the college's Screen Scoring Department. At the panel's conclusion, all composers offered advice to students. Bostic spoke to the importance of authenticity as an artist, saying, Your voice is always changing-the constant is you.

In February 2023, the Screen Scoring Department at Berklee College of Music and EA Music announced their partnership, which will enable greater equity in the entertainment industry and world of screen scoring. Each semester, the Electronic Arts/Berklee Charting Change Scholarship will offer one qualified woman or non-cisgender composer studying in the Screen Scoring Department the chance to not only receive a financial scholarship but to be mentored by an industry-leading team and learn how they compose, orchestrate, and arrange an original score for an EA video game title.

This year's EA Berklee Day celebrated the next generation of great composers with the current generation of great composers, said Schnur. Together we've made an unprecedented commitment to the future of music composition, and to the women who will create.

Ahead of the panel, the Electronic Arts/Berklee Charting Change Scholarships were awarded to Carol Gao, the fall semester recipient, and Rachel Ray McFarlane, the spring semester recipient. In a special virtual appearance, Pinar Toprak BM '00 (Captain Marvel, Fortnite, NFL Thursday Night Football) presented McFarlane's scholarship. Both students received $15,000 and professional mentorship opportunities with a team of world-class video game composers at EA after they graduate.

Gao, a native of Toronto, Canada, is double majoring in game and interactive media scoring and electronic production and design at Berklee. She is a pianist and member of the leadership board of Berklees Video Game Music Club. After graduation, she will move to Los Angeles for an internship with Sparks and Shadows Inc. While in LA, she hopes to build her career as a media composer and secure an in-house position at a game company or production house, in addition to freelance work. Gao's other passions include session playing and teaching piano, composition, and music theory.

McFarlane, also a native of Canada, is double majoring in game and interactive media scoring and film scoring at Berklee. She is currently a member of the Composer Diversity Collective and intern at Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project. She currently works with Orchestral Tools, EastWest Sounds, and Spitfire Audio as a social media influencer to promote positive inclusion within the video game scoring community. After graduation, McFarlane hopes to continue elevating her skills by attending a master's program at either the University of Southern California or New York University.

Related Categories

News

Most Popular

Ledisi, Q-Tip, and Gilberto Santa Rosa will receive honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music at its 2024 commencement ceremony.

Ron T. Young

Ledisi, Q-Tip, and Gilberto Santa Rosa to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee 2024 Commencement The ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 11.

Latest

Berklee's Yoon-Ji Lee Receives Guggenheim Fellowship Lee, an assistant professor of composition, creates music based on unconventional and nonlinear structures that weaves together acoustic and electroacoustic mediums.

Youssou N'Dour

Image courtesy of the artist

Youssou NDour to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee Valencia's 2024 Commencement The ceremony will be held on Monday, July 8.

(Center left to right) Students Carol Gao and Rachel Ray McFarlane were presented with Electronic Arts/Berklee Charting Change Scholarships by (left to right) Berklee Interim President and Provost David Bogen, Worldwide Executive and President at EA Music Steve Schnur, and Screen Scoring Chair Sean McMahon at the college's annual EA Berklee Day.

Scott Zuehlke Photography

Berklee and Electronic Arts Celebrate Annual EA Day The second annual EA Berklee Day celebrated women in the screen scoring indust
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/berklee-and-electronic-arts-c...
See more stories from berklee

North America Stories

10/05/2025

Samsung Ads Debuts the Samsung Television Network

NEW YORK During the IAB NewFronts 2025, Samsung Ads announced the debut of STN, the Samsung Television Network, a FAST channel with live content that will be av...

10/05/2025

TMobile Demo Sets a 5G Uplink Record

SEATTLE T-Mobile has announced that it set a new uplink speed record of 550 Mbps in sub-6 GHz spectrum using cutting-edge 5G Advanced tech....

10/05/2025

22 Republican U.S. Senators Urge FCC to Modernize Ownership Rules

WASHINGTON Twenty-two U.S. Senators have sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr urging him to modernize ownership caps that are...

10/05/2025

Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2025

Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2025 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next. ...

09/05/2025

Netflix to Rollout New More Flexible UI Starting May 19

LOS GATOS, Calif. Netflix has announced that starting May 19 it will begin rolling out a major upgrade to its user interface and the TV experience it offers str...

09/05/2025

Iger: Pay TV Subs to Get Upcoming ESPN DTC App

The Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger told analysts the direct-to-consumer ESPN app often referred to as ESPN Flagship will be available to the linear channel'...

09/05/2025

Berklee Online Signs Transfer Articulation with Conservatorio Nacional de Msica

Berklee Online Signs Transfer Articulation with Conservatorio Nacional de M sica The new agreement allows CNM students in the Dominican Republic to transfer i...

09/05/2025

Wooden Camera Launches Accessories for the Blackmagic URS...

Wooden Camera, a leading innovator in camera accessories, is proud to announce the launch of a new line of products for the Blackmagic URSA Cine Cameras. These ...

09/05/2025

LYNX Technik Expands Series 5000 Platform with New 12G-SD...

LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions is expanding its popular Series 5000 platform with three new 12G-SDI cards. The new cards provide ...

09/05/2025

Pebble migrates ON TV to new technology platform

Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, has completed a project to migrate ON TV, the major independent broadcaste...

09/05/2025

NUGEN Audio Unveils DialogCheck Speech Intelligibility So...

NUGEN Audio launches its new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck. A mono, stereo and multichannel dialog clarity meter, the software provides an objecti...

09/05/2025

Disguise to Showcase Turnkey Solutions at Middle Easts To...

Disguise the technology platform and solutions provider that powered MDL Beast Soundstorm 2024, Dubai Expo's Al Wasl Dome and visual displays at the Burj ...

09/05/2025

CVP Brings Cutting-Edge Broadcast Live Production and Stu...

CVP has announced it will demonstrate its cutting-edge broadcast, live production and studio solutions at MPTS 2025. Taking place at Olympia London from 14th - ...

09/05/2025

Mediagenix and White Peaks Solutions Team Up to Power Sha...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, and White Peaks Solutions, the prominent e...

09/05/2025

SportsEngine Play Extends Award-Winning Collaboration Wit...

SportsEngine Play, the first-of-its-kind streaming service for youth sports, has agreed to a multi-year extension with AI-automated sports content leader, Pixel...

09/05/2025

TOD by beIN goes live with Friend MTS to tackle piracy in...

Friend MTS, a leading global provider of content protection services, today announced that TOD, the premier sports and entertainment OTT subscription service fo...

09/05/2025

ZEISS Demos One-Click Virtual Lens Tech for VFX and Compo...

ZEISS announces that it is in development on a new virtual lens technology that will allow visual effects and compositing artists to apply an authentic lens loo...

09/05/2025

Cerberus Tech at MPTS Unifying Cloud and On-Premises Cont...

At the 2025 Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), Cerberus Tech will showcase the latest major enhancement to its Livelink IP video delivery platform the...

09/05/2025

Warren Thomas Named Vice President and General Counsel of Capitol Broadcasting Company

Capitol Broadcasting Company welcomed Warren Thomas as the new Vice President an...

09/05/2025

Harvard Taps Studio Technologies for Sports Telecasts

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Studio Technologies said the Harvard University athletics department has integrated Dante-enabled equipment from the vendor into its broadcast ...

09/05/2025

ITN, Magnite Launch Programmatic Solution for Local Linear TV

NEW YORK ITN, a provider of a local linear supply side platform, and Magnite, a independent sell-side advertising company, have announced that they working toge...

09/05/2025

Nugen Audio Unveils DialogCheck Speech Intelligibility Software

LEEDS, U.K. Nugen Audio has launched a new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck and offered up quotes from technologists working at places like Netflix p...

09/05/2025

AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution

AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution Brie Clayton May 8, 2025 0 Comments When working remotely on broadcas...

09/05/2025

What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course?

What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course? Roland Kahlenberg May 8, 2025 0 Comments There aren't many advanced After Effects co...

09/05/2025

Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025

Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025 Brie Clayton May 8, 2025 0 Comments Trevor Morgan, COO of OpenDrives, shares how the co...

09/05/2025

Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates

Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates For the first time, BPMI will bring Berklee-affiliated artists and students to the ...

09/05/2025

MLB Sunday Leadoff' 2025: MLB Local Media Pulls the Production, Operational Strings in Second Season on Roku

MLB Sunday Leadoff' 2025: MLB Local Media Pulls the Production, Operational ...

09/05/2025

LTN, Pro Volleyball Federation To Wrap Second Season With Championship Weekend

LTN, Pro Volleyball Federation To Wrap Second Season With Championship Weekend PVF's broadcast coverage has risen 350% from its debut season By Mark J Burn...

09/05/2025

Evertz's Ray Kasprzyk on Meeting the Unique Technological Needs of Massive Live Esports Productions

Evertz's Ray Kasprzyk on Meeting the Unique Technological Needs of Massive L...

09/05/2025

With Real Madrid-FC Barcelona, ESPN Preps for Most Ambitious LaLiga Match Coverage Yet

With Real Madrid-FC Barcelona, ESPN Preps for Most Ambitious LaLiga Match Covera...

09/05/2025

SO JI-SUB Returns With Cold and Intense Noir Action Series Mercy For None', Premiering June 6

Back to All News SO JI-SUB Returns With Cold and Intense Noir Action Series Me...

09/05/2025

Netflix Announces Our First-Ever Nordic Medical Drama Starring Sara Khorami in the Lead Role

Back to All News Netflix Announces Our First-Ever Nordic Medical Drama Starring...

08/05/2025

What to Watch: 6 Sundance Institute-Supported Films by Filipino Directors

A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...

08/05/2025

Managing the Mission: Teaching Technique to C3ISR Operators

For skyward-bound operators, training focuses on the unique aspects of flying ISR missions, including the management of onboard surveillance equipment and the e...

08/05/2025

Cable Industry Backs Broadcasters' Move to Software-Based EAS

The cable industry has told the Federal Communications Commission it supports the National Association of Broadcasters' proposal to allow broadcasters to us...

08/05/2025

CTA Tells FCC: Dont Mandate ATSC 3.0 Tuners

WASHINGTON The Consumer Technology Association has continued its opposition to mandates requiring that NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuners be included in new TV sets, sa...

08/05/2025

TAG Video Systems Appoints Paul Maroni as Vice President...

TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real time visualization, has named Paul Maroni as Vice Pres...

08/05/2025

BroadcastAsia 2025 Showcases Best of British Innovation

This year's UK Pavilion in hall 5, once again managed by Tradefair, will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to discuss and be involved in cutting ...

08/05/2025

Rohde & Schwarz to highlight innovative broadcast technol...

Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Broadcast technologies, designed to support network operators and content provider...

08/05/2025

Nexstar Appoints Bill Nardi VP of Station Operations

IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group has tapped Bill Nardi as vice president of station operations, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day broadcast operations ...

08/05/2025

LumaTouch Partners With CNN Academy on Training

SEATTLE LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy's training simulat...

08/05/2025

SBE Backs NAB Proposals to Change EAS Rules

WASHINGTON The Society of Broadcast Engineers has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission that support a proposal by the National Association ...

08/05/2025

OAN to Provide News to VOA, USAGM Networks

Senior adviser to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake has announced that One America News Network (OAN) will provide newsfeed services for fre...

08/05/2025

EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden and Beyond

EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden an...

08/05/2025

Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro

Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro Graham Quince May 7, 2025 0 Comments This very quick tutorial shows you how to take an RGB clip and apply its ...

08/05/2025

OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Native Data Services Platform

OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Nativ...

08/05/2025

Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan

Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan The Armenian composer, who was named Boston Conservatory at Berklees 2025 student commencement speaker, talks about his ...

08/05/2025

News Corp Reports Third Quarter Results for Fiscal 2025

News Corp Reports Third Quarter Results for Fiscal 2025 Fiscal 2025 Third Quarter Key Financial Highlights Third quarter revenues were $2.01 billion, a 1% in...

08/05/2025

Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music

May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music Slick Rick's Victory with Idris Elba a...

08/05/2025

Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit

May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit 11-Day Industry Event Launches with Tal...