Scotty Johnson is an associate professor in the Guitar department at Berklee College of Music. Signed to Mike Varney's heavy blues rock label, Blues Bureau International, in 1994, he has since toured the world many times and recorded CDs with artists such as Paul Gilbert (Bee Hive Live, Alligator Farm, 11,000 Notes), Robben Ford (Fords and Friends), The Ford Blues Band, and The Blindside Blues Band. As a pit musician, he has over 30 theater credits to his name, including The Lion King, The Color Purple, Legally Blonde, Chicago, and many more. Johnson brings a unique, real-world perspective to his students with an emphasis on stylistic diversity and musical literacy.

For more information, visit:

http://www.ScottyJ.com

Steve Vai

"Steve Vai's guitar wizardry is so profound that in earlier times he would have been burned as a witch." - Guitar World

As a Grammy award-winning guitar virtuoso with career sales of over 15 million records, Steve Vai's sheer breathtaking facility on the guitar is acclaimed in the rock world and beyond. While Vai clearly had what was needed to make indelible impressions during his stays with Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth, it's as a solo artist that he's made his most precious contributions. The Long Island, NY native has spent the last three decades writing, recording, scoring for films, orchestra, and performing the most exciting music ever created with a guitar. His virtuosity and custom six and seven string instruments continue to inspire young musicians who celebrate Vai as the "Alien Guitar Master." Although Vai is hailed as a musical alchemist of the highest order and tours regularly in over 50 countries, he is also highly sought after to lend his talents to commercial enterprises and has appeared on American Idol, The Tonight Show, games for Xbox. Playstation, and Guitar Hero. In addition to his recording career, Steve is involved with many worthwhile organizations. He is a former Trustee for the National Academy of the Recording Arts and Sciences, is on the advisory board of Hollywood Arts, and works closely with his own Make a Noise Foundation, raising money for music education. Steve attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the college. In 2011 Berklee will launch an eponymous course devoted to the study of Vai's technique and style.

Website

www.vai.com

Facebook

www.facebook.com/stevevai

About Robin Stone

Robin Stone is an associate professor in the Guitar department at Berklee College of music. While she teaches many styles of music, she concentrates on the history and playing styles of classic rock guitarists, including Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, and the Allman Brothers. She has taught at Berklee since 1990, when she became the second woman ever hired by the Guitar department.

Stone is the managing editor and Web designer of the Guitar department's online newsletter, "Open Position," which showcases the many talents of the faculty and provides an insider's look into the work being done in the school's largest department. She contributes articles under the title "String Theory," exploring harmonic concepts for guitarists. In 1993, she composed a piece entitled "Adagio for Oboe and String Orchestra," which was released on the MMC label. In 1996, she was awarded the Japan Foundation's Uchida Fellowship, allowing her to live in Roppongi, Tokyo, to study the traditional Japanese instrument, the Koto.

Stone received her bachelor's degree in professional music from Berklee in 1983. She graduated with academic honors and is a member of the Phi Kappa Lambda music honors society. She received her Master's degree in jazz studies from New England Conservatory in 1988, where she studied composition with William Thomas McKinley and George Russell.

Ready to Enroll?

• Yes, I'm ready to enroll
• I'm interested and have a few questions