Shelton G. Berg:Dean of the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music

Shelton G. Berg:Dean of the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music

Shelton G. Berg became dean of the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music in June 2007. Formerly the McCoy/Sample Endowed Professor of Jazz Studies at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, Mr. Berg is an internationally recognized pianist, composer, arranger, and educator and is widely acclaimed for his energetic and innovative approaches to jazz performance, composition, and pedagogy. He was chair of the Thornton School's Department of Jazz Studies from 1994 to 2002 and is credited with raising the department's profile to one of the top jazz studies programs in the nation. From 1979 to 1981 he was chair of Instrumental Music at San Jacinto College North in North Shore, Texas. He was chair of Instrumental and Commercial Music at the San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas from 1981 to 1991. A virtuosic jazz pianist, Berg has performed and recorded with top music industry professionals and has contributed and/or orchestrated music for major orchestras and motion picture studios. Berg received a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in piano performance from the University of Houston.

Additional Information on Shelton (Shelly) Berg:

Shelton (Shelly) Berg is dean of the Frost School of Music and holder of the Patricia L. Frost Professor in Music, an endowed chair. He was named 2003 "Educator of the Year" by the Los Angeles Jazz Society as well as one of three "Educators for the Millennium" in 2000 by the Los Angeles Times. Recipient of the 2002 IAJE Lawrence Berk Leadership Award, Berg is known for his collaborations with jazz vocalists, and has performed, recorded, and arranged for Patti Austin, Monica Mancini, and Tierney Sutton, among many others. Berg's 2005 CD Blackbird reached number one in U.S. jazz radio (Jazzweek), and garnered Record of the Year and Artist of the Year nominations. A finalist in the 1988 Great American Jazz Piano Competition, he maintains a busy worldwide schedule of jazz festival and club performances, and has performed and/or recorded with a "who's who" of jazz legends including Ray Brown, Louie Bellson, and Woody Herman.

Berg's composing and orchestrating for television includes ABC's Fudge, CBS's A League of Their Own, and HBO's Dennis Miller Live. He has orchestrated for Chicago, KISS, Lou Rawls, Steve Miller, Ray Charles and the Count Basie Orchestra, among others. Film orchestration work includes Warner Bros. Almost Heroes and For Your Consideration, Fox's Men of Honor, and the NBC miniseries The 60s. He has written for the Royal Philharmonic, the American Symphony, and orchestras worldwide. Berg composed the theme song to the 1986 U.S. Olympic Festival, and orchestrated Japan Concerto for the 10th anniversary of the Emperor's coronation.