ABOUT
Mitchell Hale
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
I am a progressive, innovative, experienced, self-starting, highly creative Learning and Development professional, as well as a Berklee alum possessing a deep fluency with the music creative process, from music composition to live performance and studio production – and with practical, hands-on experience as a music composer and producer in the corporate world as well as the music business. I possess a passion for music, online learning, and quality – but most of all - I am passionate about making a difference – someone who can help make a difference in the musical lives of Berklee students.
As a Learning and Development professional, I am innately dedicated to maintaining current knowledge of innovations, research, theories, technologies and trends in the fields of Instructional Design, Adult Learning Theory and Curriculum Development and instruction. Additionally, as a Berklee alum, I am a creative-minded, highly skilled musician, composer/producer and audio engineer, passionate about music technology and sound design, intimate with current professional audio production techniques and technologies. I presently own a state-of-the-art audio recording studio in my home, which I use for music production and elearning voiceover projects.
Thus, as both a seasoned learning and development professional and composer/musician, I not only am fluent and both speak and understand the languages of instructional design / learning development and music composition and theory, I possess the unique ability to instruct contemporary composition courses for the next generation of musicians and composers and the ability to help Berklee College of Music sculpt the future landscape of music. With my prowess as a professional instructor, instructional designer, elearning developer, educator and communicator who is also a professional composer, musician, and music technologist, I possess the unique vantage point from which to communicate Berklee curriculum with real world ideas, stories and scenarios with a high sensitivity for detail. Thus, I am exactly what you are looking for – a highly creative composer and musician with professional, interactive instructional and curriculum experience who can create exciting, compelling learning experiences for Berklee students.
After graduating from Berklee cum laude – where I studied music production, synthesizer programming, arranging, contemporary composition, film scoring and audio engineering, my work experience found its roots in audio and video production for radio and television after a stint as editor of “Home & Studio Recording” magazine, an internationally distributed music technology trade publication. Eventually, my career evolved to encompass video production and interactive multimedia production for corporate and marketing communications and then online training development.
Since moving to Houston in 1996, I’ve worked on full lifecycle Learning and Development and Corporate University implementation projects aligning employees to the core values and cultures of global Fortune 500 corporations - such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, Apache, ConocoPhillips, PathFinder Energy Services, Precision Drilling, National Oilwell Varco, BP, Schlumberger, and Halliburton Energy Services in the oil & gas and energy industries – and MD Andersen, Concentra, American Cancer Society and Service Corporation International in the healthcare / medical industry. In this capacity, I help shape and implement learning interventions that focus solely on developing adult learners to deliver measurable results.
My experience with Learning and Development and Corporate University implementation has provided me fluency with Learning Management Systems (LMS) and HRIS systems such as SABA, SumTotal, Moodle, Plateau, Cornerstone, Success Factors, Canvas, Blackboard and others – and I possess expertise in using LMS technologies in the management of global learning programs. I am fluent with SCORM, AICC and rapid eLearning authoring tools such as Articulate Studio & Storyline, Adobe Captivate and Trivantis Lectora. I possess over two decades of hands-on expertise and fluency with the individual software that make up both Adobe Creative Suite and Adobe Video Production Suite, (now called Adobe Creative Cloud) as well as 3D animation / 3D engineering tools such as Maya, 3D Studio Max, Autocad and Solidworks. I am also fluent with Virtual Classroom technologies such as Saba Centra, WebEx, Microsoft Lync, Adobe Connect and others as well as many other collaborative Social Learning Apps. I am fluent with mobile social media tools such as Yammer, Google Apps, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and use them for learning purposes. I utilize music sharing apps like Allihoop, iTunes, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Tunecore, YouTube and many, many others. Thus – I have the technical, hands-on skills to harness the technologies used to instruct the next generation of compelling Berklee courses for student consumption.
However, along with the knowledge of how these different disciplines can be integrated together to create state-of- the-art, cutting edge, global Learning and Development programs - I also understand the big picture that underlies it all: Global learning programs serve as tools for the development of an organization’s student-base, customer-base, workforce and the general public – and must do so compellingly and innovatively with functionality and clarity, while enhancing the competence and confidence of all learners. And I understand how to do that effectively by managing project scope and goals within budgetary and time constraints.
MITCHELL HALE - MUSICAL PROFILE
My involvement with music started when I was 7 years old, beginning with violin lessons from a private teacher. I've been performing, producing and studying music ever since. I read music and studied music theory, harmony, and ear training. I have been composing music since I was 12 years old.
My musicianship has evolved over time to encompass being a multi-instrumentalist. I play all stringed instruments – particularly the violin (the instrument on which I started) 6 and 12 stringed acoustic and electric guitars and bass guitar – but I also play viola, cello, upright bass, banjo and mandolin. I also studied and play brass instruments – such as the trumpet, trombone and French horn - which I studied in junior high school and college. I can play keyboard instruments - piano, organ and synthesizer – but only up to a certain extent. I'm nowhere near a concert pianist with regard to technique. I also play percussion and drums. I sing – and am a baritone.
In 1986, I graduated cum laude from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA with a Bachelor's degree in Music Production and Engineering - and for nearly a decade, worked full time as a recording engineer in professional recording studios, as a composer/arranger of jingles, and as a live and studio musician – before becoming a learning development professional.
In 1990 - while living in Los Angeles - I was the Managing Editor of "Home & Studio Recording" magazine (now called “Recording” magazine) and wrote and edited many articles covering cutting-edge, state-of-the-art music production techniques and technologies as well as conducted interviews with recording artists, producers and engineers on how they utilize music technologies in their composition. As editor, I managed the production of the magazine and also interacted with many music technology manufacturers. (Please see attachment). After my stint with “Home & Studio Recording” magazine, I worked briefly as Marketing Communications Manager for audio technology manufacturers Fostex and MIDIMan, after which, I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
During the early to mid 1990s, while in Santa Fe, NM, I performed live, original flamenco, latin and middle eastern music in the flamenco/world music duo, “Sangrelectrika” in upscale restaurants and hotels around the Santa Fe area. In this duo, I composed all our music, sang vocals and performed on my 5-string black Barcus-Berry violectra as well as keyboards. I used sampling and sequencing to create backgrounds that made two musicians sound like an entire flamenco troupe and orchestra. (Please see attachment)
During my time in Santa Fe NM, I also helped to organize and present a proposal for a 4-year Bachelor of Fine Arts program in Music Composition and Production to the former “College of Santa Fe” in Santa Fe, NM. (Please see attachment). In this capacity, I helped to develop and present the business proposal for the program to the college, and upon the program proposal’s acceptance and funding, designed curriculum for a wide variety of courses and helped run the program. As an adjunct, non-tenured member of the faculty, I taught courses in Music Production, Audio Engineering, Synthesizer Programming, Live Audio Reinforcement, and Radio Commercial/Jingle Composition.
As a schooled musician - schooled in the language and craft of music making - I am extremely eclectic with regard to the kinds of music I play and listen to and am very respectful of someone else's musical creativity. Although I favor "art" vs. "product", and adore "world music" in general - I feel there is good and bad in every genre of music, and will listen to everything and anything. I listen to alternative as well as jazz, classical and classic rock. Yes - that also includes hip hop, rap, and country (I'm a fiddle player, after all).
As far as live musical performance - I've pretty much done it all. I have performed in both non-professional and professional symphony orchestras starting from elementary school, middle school, high school and college – including membership in GBYSO (The Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra) and All-State Orchestra honors - and pit orchestras for both opera and broadway musicals. I have performed in church, classical and jazz choirs - jazz ensembles - rock and punk bands - country bands. Latin. Flamenco. Etc.
In my current professional life, I utilize my recording studio in my home to write, produce and perform original compositions in many genres for usage in a variety of corporate vehicles: commercials, corporate videos, elearning modules and corporate communications. I have been composing music for over four decades, starting with songwriting. It has always been my focus to use my abilities as a songwriter for good - to send a positive message - to comment on the human condition and society. I am currently a Propellerhead Reason Power User and Beta Tester due to its ease of use and intuitive architecture and graphic user interface. However, I also am fluent with many DAWs such as Logic Pro, Pro Tools and most recently Korg's Gadget App on my iPad.