Ultra Music Festival Delivers on Anticipated Phase 2 Lineup

The second phase of talent confirmed for the 2013 ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL taking place March 15-17 and 22-24 during Miami Music Week, has been unveiled with what is undoubtedly the most diverse, forward thinking line-up ever billed in the event’s 15 year history.

Set to annihilate the newly designed, never-before-seen ULTRA MAIN STAGE and the aptly titled ‘MEGA STRUCTURE,’ MID PARK and more the Phase 2 DJ billing is quite simply out of this world. ALESSO, BENNY BENASSI, DIRTY SOUTH, DOG BLOOD (Boys Noize & Skrillex), ERIC PRYDZ, FEDDE LE GRAND, HARDWELL, LOCO DICE, LUCIANO, LAIDBACK LUKE, MARTIN SOLVEIG, PRETTY LIGHTS, STEVE AOKI and SVEN VÄTH are among just some of the names to join the already eye-catching line-up delivered in Phase 1, which included ABOVE & BEYOND, AFROJACK, ARMIN VAN BUUREN, AVICII, BASSNECTAR, CALVIN HARRIS, CARL COX, DAVID GUETTA, FATBOY SLIM, KASKADE, KNIFE PARTY, RICHIE HAWTIN, SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA and TIËSTO.  After 14 consecutive years of delivering the ultimate dance music experience, it was never in doubt that ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL would deliver for its 15th anniversary.

Set to shake the revamped ‘LIVE STAGE’ to its very core, the next slew of LIVE acts confirmed includes AZELIA BANKS, FAITHLESS (Live DJ & PA Set), SLEIGH BELLS, SNOOP DOGG and THE WEEKND. Joining the likes of THE BLOODY BEETROOTS, BOOKA SHADE, BOYS NOIZE, CRYSTAL CASTLES, deadmau5, DISCLOSURE, DJ FRESH (LIVE), HOT CHIP, MAJOR LAZER, MATT & KIM, MODESTEP, RUDIMENTAL, THIEVERY CORPORATION and YEASAYER announced in Phase 1 at the beginning of the year, it’s safe to say that never before has an electronic music festival offered so much variety and such an array of top live talent than this year’s fifteenth edition of ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL.

“In celebration of Ultra Music Festival’s double weekend and 15 year anniversary, what we’ve achieved with this edition’s ocean of talent and stage production is we feel unprecedented. As the industry we work in continues to explode, with so much talent emerging and the taste of our consumer changing in the process, diversity was key,” says Russell Faibisch, Ultra Music Festival Founder, Executive Producer, CEO & President. “We’ve never put so much time and effort into programming an event as we have for this year’s Ultra Music Festival. We truly hope everybody attending this year will value and more importantly enjoy the unique experience we’ve worked so hard to create,” adds Adam Russakoff, Ultra Music Festival Executive Producer, Director of Business Affairs & Talent Buyer.

There is more. ULTRA have also announced the incredible array of arenas set to appear over the two weekends this year. It wouldn’t be ULTRA without the legend that is CARL COX. Bringing his titanic CARL COX & FRIENDS ARENA to Bayfront Park this March, he’ll be playing host to some of the finest names in house and techno, including CASSY, FATBOY SLIM, JAMIE JONES, JOHN DIGWEED, LOCO DICE, LUCIANO, MAGDA, NICOLE MOUDABER, RICHIE HAWTIN, SVEN VATH, UMEK and UTO KAREM. Expect seriously big things from this much-loved ULTRA veteran and his merry following. Once again, the world’s #1 DJ ARMIN VAN BUUREN delivers his breathtaking A State Of Trance 600 stage, where ABOVE & BEYOND, ATB, COSMIC GATE, DASH BERLIN, FERRY CORSTEN, MARKUS SCHULZ, TRITONAL and W&W will all be joined by the legendary PAUL VAN DYK who will be making his long-awaited return appearance to the world’s premiere dance music event.

Finally, the MEGA STRUCTURE serves up an all-star lineup of the world’s top acts, which includes main stage regulars ALESSO, CALVIN HARRIS, DAVID GUETTA, ERIC PRYDZ and TIËSTO, just one example of what ULTRA meant by “2 Weekends, 2 Unique Experiences.” Fans will rejoice to see their favorite artists tackle both the Main Stage and the Mega Structure at ULTRA 15. Keeping it going for underground fans, new to ULTRA this year is SURFACE, a brand new concept arena held each Sunday of the festival at the Bayfront Stage. Reading as a ‘who’s who’ from the world of the underground scene, look forward to seeing the likes of ART DEPARTMENT, CLAUDE VONSTROKE, DAMIAN LAZARUS, DANNY DAZE, DROOG, FRANCESCA LOMBARDO, GUY GERBER, JUSTIN MARTIN, LEE FOSS, MACEO PLEX, MAYA JANE COLES, MIGUEL CAMPBELL, SETH TROXLER, SOUL CLAP, SUBB-AN, TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS, WOLF & LAMB and more.

ULTRA is not only delivering the world’s greatest underground sounds each Sunday, but every day of the festival. The MIXMAG STAGE will play host to performances by tech gurus CARLO LIO, DUBFIRE, ELIO RISO, JON RUNDELL, JOSH WINK, SHADED and YOUSEF on Friday of Weekend 1. The second Friday will boast additional techno sounds from AUDIOFLY, CARL CRAIG, KEVIN SAUNDERSON, NINA KRAVIZ, PAUL WOOLFORD, RADIO SLAVE and STACEY PULLEN. Each Saturday will also see a myriad of techno and deep house artists that include DAVID SQUILLACE, tINI + GUTI, MARTIN BUTTRICH, NIC FANCIULLI B2B JORIS VOORN, REMO, ROBERT DIETZ, SCUBA, STEVE LAWLER, and TIGA on Weekend 2, and an undisclosed arsenal of premier DJs to play on Weekend 1. SPACE IBIZA (voted #1 Club in the world and winning multiple awards) plans a triumphant return on Saturday, March 23 to host the tech house and techno acts that they are known for.  Also hosting stages will be Skrillex’s formidable OWSLA label, Afrojack’s JACKED, Mark Knight’s TOOLROOM, with more to be announced in Phase 3.Completing the full house, the brand new ‘TRAPPED’ arena, featuring the likes of BAAUER, BRO SAFARI, DJ CRAZE, DILLON FRANCIS, FLOSSTRADAMUS, NADASTROM and many more look more than adequate to cater to the new trap craze.

Finally, for the ninth consecutive year, ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL proudly welcomes back the “ECO Village”.  This area is dedicated to the exposure and understanding of numerous non-profit organizations and charities, and will run over both weekends of the festival.  You can find several interactive booths that provide an informative outlook on the world today.

About ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL:
As the world’s most famous outdoor electronic music festival, ULTRA has won “Best Music Event” by the International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) six consecutive years, from 2005 to 2011, “Best International Dance Music Festival” by the Ibiza DJ Awards in 2008 and “Best Festival” by the Village Voice Media New Times consecutively five years running from 2005 through 2009.  Originally created as a pure EDM (electronic dance music) festival in 1999, ULTRA has grown through the years to present not only the genre’s hottest, biggest and best headline artists (The Prodigy, Swedish House Mafia, The Chemical Brothers, Tiësto, David Guetta, deadmau5, Underworld, Kraftwerk, Armin van Buuren, Moby, Fatboy Slim, Justice, Carl Cox and Avicii to name a few), but also crossover headline bands that incorporate EDM elements in their music and have a history or new beginning in the EDM community and culture (The Cure, The Killers, New Order, Duran Duran, The Black Eyed Peas, Erasure, M83, Santigold, The Ting Tings, Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun and Bloc Party). In 2012, global pop icon Madonna appeared as a special surprise guest—the festival’s gift to their fans—to introduce the main stage final headlining artist AVICII, joining him behind the decks to premiere his UMF remix of her new single “Girl Gone Wild.”  The year also was the subject of CAN U FEEL IT, a major documentary feature about the festival, which was shown in over 500 theatres nation-wide.  Together with its signature, cutting-edge productions, ULTRA is unrivalled by consistently presenting the world’s greatest, most diverse EDM line-ups year after year.
In 2013, as it celebrates its 15 year anniversary, ULTRA will become the first major EDM festival in the world to expand to two weekends with dates set for March 15, 16 and 17 and March 22, 23 and 24.
A global brand, ULTRA takes place in Miami, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ibiza and Korea, expanding into Europe with ULTRA EUROPE July 2013 in Croatia.

UM Frost School of Music Dean Shelly Berg Nominated for Grammy Award

Shelly Berg

Last month, nominees for the 55th Annual Grammy Awards were announced by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and pianist-arranger-composer Shelly Berg, who is also dean of the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, was nominated in the category “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)” for his arrangement of “Out There,” on Lorraine Feather’s CD Tales of the Unusual (Jazzed Media). Berg and Feather are frequent musical collaborators and co-wrote the song.

Other nominees in the same category this year include Esperanza Spalding, Vince Mendoza and Nan Schwartz. Winners will be announced at the Grammy Awards show in Los Angeles on February 10.

An accomplished pianist in both classical and jazz styles, Shelly Berg is a recording artist for Concord Music Group, and a Steinway piano artist. He has arranged and recorded with many award-winning artists and is currently arranging and co-producing a new CD with Gloria Estefan (Sony International). He is featured as an arranger and pianist on two Grammy and Latin Grammy Award winning Arturo Sandoval projects on the Concord label. The Shelly Berg Trio (Shelly Berg, piano; Gregg Field, drums; Chuck Berghofer, bass) recently recorded an all-Gershwin CD with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, José Serebrier, conductor.

Berg was a featured speaker at the TEDxMIA conference on Miami Beach in October and performs at major music festivals and venues throughout the world. He was named dean of the UM Frost School of Music in 2007 where, in addition to teaching both privately and in the Frost Experiential Music Curriculum, he administers the academic, musical and research pursuits of over 700 music students and 100 faculty. He was formerly the McCoy/Sample endowed music professor at USC Thornton School of Music where he taught for 16 years.

Berg was a featured performer on several concerts during the 29th annual Festival Miami in October, and performed on piano and the B-3 organ at the Hollywood Bowl in July for a Ray Charles Tribute concert (Gregg Field, producer). Upcoming appearances in South Florida are December 12 for the Gold Coast Jazz Society at the Broward Center with vocalist Cheryl Bentyne (nine-time Grammy winner with Manhattan Transfer) and on January 11, 2013 at the Adrienne Arsht Center in downtown Miami as part of Larry Rosen’s JazzRoots Series.

For more information, http://www.shellyberg.com or http://www.music.miami.edu.

Lorraine Feather

Lorraine Feather’s Tales of the Unusual follows on the heels of her stages-of-life album Ages, which received a 2011 Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. All of the lyrics on Tales of the Unusual are by Feather, with music by her close longtime collaborators Russell Ferrante, Eddie Arkin and Shelly Berg; it also features music by Duke Ellington, Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi and film composer Nino Rota. The album is aptly described in Carl L. Hager's liner notes as "a musical inquiry into that mysterious labyrinth at the distant edges of rational human behavior, a foggy moor equal parts chilling nightmare and blinding vision quest, vaudevillian adventure and paralytic terror." Despite the far-fetched nature of some of the stories, common human emotions underlie them—loneliness, longing, and unexpected joy. Lorraine Feather is a prolific lyricist and has written lyrics for many Disney Channel television shows. She has received seven Emmy nominations.

For more information, http://www.lorrainefeather.com

55th Annual Grammy Award Nominees:

Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) Category

“City of Roses”
Thara Memory & Esperanza Spalding, arrangers (Esperanza Spalding)
Track from: Radio Music Society [Heads Up International]

“Look to the Rainbow”
Gil Evans, arranger (Gil Evans Project and Luciana Souza)
Track from: Centennial - Newly Discovered Works Of Gil Evans [ArtistShare]

“Out There”
Shelly Berg, arranger (Lorraine Feather)
Track from: Tales of the Unusual [Jazzed Media]

“Spain (I Can Recall)”
Vince Mendoza, arranger (Al Jarreau And The Metropole Orkest)
Track from: Live [Concord Records]

“Wild Is the Wind”
Nan Schwartz, arranger (Whitney Claire Kaufman And Andrew Playfoot)
Track from: The Greatest Film Scores of Dimitri Tiomkin [LSO Live]

About the University of Miami Frost School of Music

The Frost School of Music, one of two schools created in 1926 when the University of Miami was founded, is one of the largest and most relevant schools in the U.S., and one of the most comprehensive in all of higher education. The naming gift from Dr. Phillip and Patricia Frost was one of the historic highlights in the life of the School. The Frost School has pioneered new curricula including the ground-breaking Frost Experiential Music Curriculum, and was the first in the nation to offer professionally accredited bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music Business and Entertainment Industries, Music Engineering Technology, and a master’s in Arts Presenting. Its premier ensembles include the Frost Symphony Orchestra, Frost Wind Ensemble, Frost Opera Theater, Frost Jazz Vocal Ensemble and Frost Concert Jazz Band. Now the home of the Henry Mancini Institute, the Frost School also offers a songwriting minor through the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program and was among the first to offer degrees in Music Therapy, and Studio Music and Jazz. Its graduate jazz program is ranked among the top three in the nation. The University of Miami School of Law and the Frost School now offer the first-ever joint degree program in law and music business (J.D./M.M.). The Frost School’s innovative programs, combined with its traditional areas of concentration, offer its students one of the widest choices of career programs of any music school in the nation.

http://www.music.miami.edu.

Virgil Guitars Create The Most Elaborate Custom Guitars Ever Built

An artist and guitarist since the 1970's, Virgil Mandanici set out to make guitars that would be exceptional in tone and playability first. After 35 years of playing guitar, he decided it was time to create guitars that would feel, play and look better than anything anyone has ever played before – thus Virgil Guitars was born! As a master craftsman, Virgil has drawn his building career from several luthiers over the past couple years to make these incredible guitars. The inlay and appointments on his guitars are simply a testament to his attention to detail.

Says Virgil, “After playing guitar for over 35 years, I knew what I was looking for in tone and how a neck should feel and had been willing to go to any length to achieve the 'perfect' guitar fit for myself, and ironically, other players. On my Signature & Artisan Series guitars, they come with a DVD that shows the birth of my guitars starting out with a chunk of wood all the way to a music video – I do every step of this process by myself, in-house. I am not aware of any other builder in the world that is doing this... Yet, I am also planning on making ALL unique guitars – there will NEVER be two guitars alike, so all owners of a Virgil Guitar will have their own unique tone and feel. I am also working on making guitars to fit different budgets.”

Virgil Guitars makes custom, one-of-a-kind boutique guitars in Tampa, Florida. Each guitar has its own story, a one-of-a-kind inlay and certain models even come with a DVD of the build. Virgil carefully documents each build with amazing photography and videography assuring the buyer the guitar's tone/sound before purchase. Says Virgil, “The inspiration for all designs comes naturally since I have been a guitarist and artist since the '70s. Watching the masters like Larry Robinson and Grit Laskin helped quite a bit as well – I was amazed at the detail. I love the fact that I can also 'paint' my designs with no paint... I use various shells, stone, prehistoric shark teeth, precious metals and natural wood for all the colors I would ever need.”

“As a player, the most important thing for me in a guitar is playability and sound. Virgil Guitars are the best playing and sounding electric guitars I have ever played. Honest. Then when you add the amazing beauty of the inlay and woodworking, you really have something special.” - Guitarist Todd Grubbs

Bottom line, why would someone want to purchase a custom crafted guitar from Virgil Guitars? Virgil explains, “They should buy them for their playability – don't let the fancy schmantzy inlay and detailing fool you – everyone who has played my guitars does the same thing; they first give some 'ooohs' and 'ahhhs' with the inlay or detailing and even some of them have said, 'Well, I'm not really into a lot of inlay...' However, as soon as they put it in their laps, it's the exact same thing we all do as guitarists; we feel the balance of it in the lap, we feel the neck, how open chords and then barre chords feel, then we feel the action of the strings, then the accessibility to the higher frets. The next critique is focused on the tone. I am the same person who pays attention to the details on the inlays as much as every other aspect of my guitars. It would make no sense to spend all the time on the inlay and just blow off the IMPORTANT aspects of a guitar. I make all of my guitars as if it was my last guitar I was to build and have as a guitar!”

For more information, visit the official Virgil Guitars website: http://www.virgilguitar.com/

Full Sail Announces 2012 Hall of Fame Induction Class

Full Sail University is proud to announce the 2012 Full Sail University Hall of Fame inductees comprised of six graduates recognized for their outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment, media, and the arts. A week long series of events including an induction ceremony to celebrate and acknowledge these latest additions to the hall is scheduled to take place in early 2013.
The 2012 Full Sail University Hall of Fame inductees are:

Marcella “Ms. Lago” Araica

Current Title: Recording & Mix Engineer
Industry Credits Include: Sound Engineer on projects for such artists as: Missy Elliot, Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Nelly Furtado, Mariah Carey, Timbaland, Christina Aguilera, Wyclef Jean, Usher, Jennifer Lopez and many more.
Received numerous accolades for her craftsmanship and has been honored with two prestigious ASCAP awards for her work and chart topping hits with Pop vocalists Pink and Keri Hilson.
2002 Graduate (Recording Arts)

Dylan “3-D” Dresdow

Current Title: Mix Engineer
Industry Credits Include: Multi platinum Mix Engineer who has mixed songs for artists including: Madonna, Michael Jackson, Usher, and will.i.am.
His work on the Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D. earned him a GRAMMY award in 2010 for Best Pop Vocal Album, as well as nominations for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best Dance Recording. He has also been nominated for multiple GRAMMY awards with the group in 2004 on their Elephunk album.
In August 2012, he engineered will.i.am’s previously unreleased track Reach for the Stars, which was broadcast to Earth from Mars via the Curiosity rover.
1997 Graduate (Recording Arts)

Chance Glasco

Current Title: Senior Animator at Infinity Ward
Industry Credits Include: His first project out of school was Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for 2015, Inc. Shortly thereafter he joined, as an original founding member, the video game development studio Infinity Ward, and the critically acclaimed Call of Duty franchise, with credits, including: Call of Duty® (2003), Call of Duty® 2 (2005), Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare® (2007), Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 (2009), and Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 (2011).
His specialty and area of expertise is in weapons and first person animations.
Upon its release last November, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 set a new entertainment launch record surpassing $775 million worldwide in its first five days.
2001 Graduate (Computer Animation)

Joey Morelli

Current Title: Senior Video Editor & Compositor at Electronic Arts Tiburon (EA SPORTS)
Industry Projects Include: Worked on game titles Tiger Woods PGA TOUR (Lead Franchise Video Editor / Compositor), Madden NFL, MMA, NCAA Football and NASCAR Kart Racing.
Over the span of his 14-year career, he has earned 13 TELLY awards, 10 ADDY awards, and 1 PROMAX award for his work as a Compositor / Motion Designer / Visual Effects Artist and Editor.
Clients throughout his career include: EA SPORTS Marketing and Game Teams, the Golf Channel, the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Marlins, the Florida Panthers, Nissan, AutoNation and many more.
1998 Graduate (Digital Media)

Susan Rose

Current Title: Lighting Designer, Director and Programmer
Industry Credits Include: Lighting Designer, Director and Programmer for 23 years working around the globe on tour with major artists including: Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band, Louise Mandrell, Hank Williams Jr., John Berry and many more.
Worked on numerous televised specials including the Stellar Awards, the Dove Awards, the Trumpet Awards, and the Freddy Awards; as well as special events for the Walt Disney Company, Dollywood, SeaWorld, and Nickelodeon.
1989 Graduate (Recording Arts)

Jeremy Vickery

Current Title: Lighting Technical Director
Industry Credits Include: Began in animation as a 3D Modeler / Texture Artist at Big Idea Productions working on the popular animated show Veggie Tales. Expanding his career, he shifted into the role of CG Generalist and then later the Lighting Director at Fathom Studios for the animated feature film Delgo.
In 2003, he joined Pixar Animation Studios as a Lighting Technical Director where he worked on the popular films The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille and WALL•E.
In 2007, he worked as a freelance artist for such clients as LEGO, Disney, Sony, and Ubisoft.
In 2011, he returned to Pixar where he recently completed work on the film Brave and is currently working on an upcoming project.
1997 Graduate (Digital Media)

In 2009, the university began the now time-honored tradition that is the Full Sail University Hall of Fame. Its purpose is to recognize those graduates who have made outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment, media, and the arts. This honor serves as a tribute to the creative inspiration, technical brilliance, and determination of each inductee, their unyielding dedication to more than a decade of excellence in their professional career, and their heartfelt commitment to the students, faculty, staff, and graduates of Full Sail University.
“On behalf of the faculty, students, staff and alumni of Full Sail University, it is our great honor to announce the 2012 Hall of Fame induction class,” said Garry Jones, President of Full Sail University. “With each passing year, we are humbled by the talent, humility, and dedication demonstrated by our graduates. Once again, we look forward to hosting this celebration on campus as a source of inspiration for our students and the community at large.”
Additional information including special guests, live performances and a complete schedule for the Hall of Fame celebration week will be announced at a later date.
About Full Sail University:
Full Sail University is an award-winning educational leader for those pursuing careers in the entertainment and media industry. Founded in 1979, Full Sail has been recognized as one of the Top Five Game Degree Programs by Electronic Gaming Monthly, one of the Best Music Programs by Rolling Stone Magazine, and one of the Best Film Programs by UNleashed Magazine. In 2011, Full Sail received the “21st Century Best Practices in Distance Learning Award” from the United States Distance Learning Association, was named the “School/College of the Year” by the Florida Association of Post secondary Schools and Colleges, and was recognized as one of the Top 100 Social Media Colleges by Studentadvisor.com.
Full Sail offers Master, Bachelor, and Associate campus and online degree programs in areas related to animation, art, business, education, graphic design, film, marketing, web development, music, recording arts, sports, and video games. Full Sail graduate credits include work on OSCAR®, Emmy®, GRAMMY®, ADDY®, MTV Video Music Award, and Spike Video Game Award nominated and winning projects.