New Music Teacher Ken Berman Settles in the Dase Center

Athenian’s instrumental music program is composed of three main parts: the advanced jazz band, “A Train,” instrumental ensemble, and music theory. Last year, Daniel Ibarra stepped in as an interim music teacher, teaching music students for part of the year. This year, a new music teacher from New York City, Ken Berman, was hired for the permanent position. As a freelance musician, he did many gigs throughout his lifetime. Ken still works as a professional musician, and has recorded five CD’s, the most recent of which is called “Sound Poetry.” 

A lovely tune marks the beginning of the hour long album “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis. It carries with it a sense of antiquity, suddenly interrupted by the radiant howl of a bass, one so subtle it sneaks up on you and whispers an ephemeral voice. Ken Berman, Athenian’s new music teacher, says that this is “possibly the greatest jazz album ever recorded.” To him, this piece is very accessible, but still has an incredible level of depth. 

Ken has always been a fan of jazz music, but he is not particular. He considers himself an open-minded person; he loves classical, rock, and avant-garde music as well. However, most of all, he loves teaching and playing music. He said, “It is my whole life’s desire.” Zinar Sahle, a ninth grader, said, “He seems pretty enthusiastic about it.” He said this was demonstrated by the fact that he has to commute from San Francisco everyday, a city over one hour away by car.

Born in New York City, Ken has had many experiences with music and musical education. He studied philosophy and music at the University of Michigan, which he called two practically useless skills which nonetheless permanently altered his life. He later studied at the UC Berkeley music department, sometimes practicing contemporary and jazz piano music for up to 10 or 11 hours a day. He would later become part of the faculty at UC Berkeley.  

Last year, Ken worked at the French International High School. At the same time, the Athenian had a vacant music teacher position. In the spirit of Athenian democracy, students would receive a lesson from three candidates and then provide input. Ken had known a bit about Athenian, having a distant connection with the late Steven Herrick, a former Athenian instrumental music teacher. Ken said “[The Athenian] has a robust music program with a lot of potential. [...] I knew it had a great ensemble space.” 

He likes the system that is currently in place, and part of the reason he joined Athenian was because of its strong jazz program. He also likes the location and frequently visits Mount Diablo. 

Ken loves teaching because he has the ability to inspire people. Ultimately, his favorite part of working at Athenian is fostering a space in which people have agency and can push themselves to their full potential. 

He said, “The thing about teenagers is that if they have the desire to do something, they can do it.” He encourages people to go outside of their comfort zone and interact with music they have little to no experience with. Zinar, one of his students, said, “He lets everybody have a chance to […] do their scales and have a chance to shine.” 

Ken prefers that students form their own groups and have agency during class time. Audrey Shotland, a senior in his music theory class, said, “He’s able to balance our skill levels very well.” He frequently gives his instrumental music students opportunities to practice outside of class and make choices about their work. Audrey said, “He is approachable and chill. [...] I feel like I can ask him questions at any time. He creates a very welcoming environment.”

According to Ken, “When I’m playing, it’s [the best part of music] ability to articulate something you can’t say in words.” He frequently channels this philosophy into his teaching style, encouraging students to improvise and master the basics of music theory to build upon them. He says scales are the “building blocks” of Western harmony.