Henry was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 8^th 1949 to the late Mary (Gross) and Henry E. Gaffney. In 1971, he started visiting the Northwest corner of Connecticut that he loved so much. Sharon became his home in 2002.

Henry had a career in music that spanned almost four decades.  He was a professional recording artist in his early career with two witty and romantic albums (“Waiting for a Wind” and “On Again Off Again”). In a review of “On Again Off Again,” Rolling Stone magazine said “Henry Gaffney’s pop songs are often touched with brilliance.”  He then became a songwriter for many artists. Included among them are Roberta Flack, The Pointer Sisters, The Four Tops, Judy Collins, Jennifer Warnes, and Glenn Campbell, as well as for the Emmy award winning television series Fame, receiving gold and platinum records for his work.  He also composed, arranged, and produced the original score to Sidewalk Stories, the 1988 winner of the Prix du Public award at the Cannes Film Festival.

He joined the Songwriting Department’s faculty at the Berklee College of Music in the early 1990s, beginning a deeply fulfilling period as a professor. He later brought the same enthusiasm for teaching to the Tisch School of the Arts at N.Y.U., where he played an instrumental role in the development of The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music’s Songwriting wing. His door was open to all and he was deeply loved and admired by his students and colleagues alike. He was a brilliant man who was regarded by all for his voracious intellect and open mind. Despite his deep-felt understanding of his subject, his gift was to encourage and inspire his students to find their own voice.

Henry is survived by his wife, Lisa, and sons, Julian and Devin, as well as sisters Mary Stonitsch and Cathy Gaffney, and brother Ed Gaffney. His brother Chris died in 1995. He was beloved by all who had the pleasure to meet him and he will be greatly missed.

Henry loved the peace and beauty of Sharon and a memorial will be held there in the summer.

His family has been deeply touched by the fond memories posted on his Facebook wall. Henry would be moved to know how many lives he impacted.

In lieu of flowers, please send tax-deductible contributions to The Sharon Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Service, P.O. Box 357 Sharon, CT 06069.

We’re deeply saddened by the news that our beloved Adjunct Associate Professor Henry Gaffney passed away yesterday (May 23rd).

Henry began his career in music as a solo recording artist, releasing albums on both RCA  (“Waiting For A Wind”), and United Artists Records (“On Again Off Again”).  He was a staff writer for Koppleman / Bandier (EMI) for 9 years. His songs have been recorded by artist from all over the world, including: Roberta Flack, Judy Collins, The Four Tops, Jennifer Warnes, Tanya Tucker, Stephanie Mills, Glen Campbell, The Pointer Sisters, Nana Mouskouri, Chris Thompson, Peaches & Herb, Faye Wong and Camillo Sesto among dozens of others. He wrote numerous songs for the Emmy winning Television series “Fame”, in addition to other TV features and in 1987 composed, arranged and produced the original score to “Sidewalk Stories, winner of the Prix Du Public at the Cannes Film Festival.

Henry taught our required freshman core Songwriting course – “Writing the Hit Song” – for many years consecutively. With his trademark mix of folksy charm and razor-sharp intellect, Henry played an instrumental role on The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music’s faculty, bringing plenty of enthusiasm and vibrant ideas to the table. Above and beyond all else, we’ll remember Henry as a warm and generous human being.

We extend our deepest sympathy to Henry’s family and friends and we are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers at this time.

“MAKING IT IN THE MUSIC BIZ WITH KEVIN LILES”

Entrepreneur and philanthropist and KEVIN LILES – the storied former Executive Vice President of The Island Def Jam Music Group and The Warner Music Group – will offer a three-week masterclass entitled “Making It in the Music Biz.” He’ll teach the course alongside Recorded Music Chair Jeff Rabhan, the multiplatinum music manager for artists like Kelly Rowland, Kelly Clarkson and Jermaine Dupri. Liles will draw from lessons relayed in his popular how-to book Make It Happen: The Hip-Hop Generation Guide to Success, giving students the inside track on how to turn their music business fantasies into reality and providing hands-on workshopping of student music demos and business plans.

The Clive Davis Department also offers an official INTERNSHIP CLASS during the summer – one smart way to get in the door at major record labels and recording studios among other potential places of employment.

“MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERCLASS WITH MICK ROCK”

The visual genius behind the landmark iconic images of Bowie, Queen, T-Rex and Lady Gaga among others, MICK ROCK will join NYU’s faculty to offer sage advice in this summer’s “Music Photography Masterclass.” Teaming up with former Geffen Records creative director Joe Mama-Nitzberg, Rock will reveal his unique artistic process and will work directly with students to help shape their photographic vision. Students who enroll in the class will get the added benefit of studying music fashion history and they’ll also get the extraordinary opportunity to observe on a Mick Rock photography session as well.

“DJ-ING, PRODUCTION, MIXING AND REMIXING MASTERCLASSES”

NYC music maven DJ REKHA, one of the key figures behind the South Asian dance music scene, will team up with 2009 DMC World DJ Champion DJ SHIFTEE. Together they’ll offer “DJ History, Culture and Technique,” a masterclass that provides DJ history, entrepreneurial training and technique for aspiring turntable fiends, regardless of skill level. The course is taught both at New York University and at state of the art DUBSPOT DJ facilities just blocks away.

Journeyman remixer/producer MOCEAN WORKER will offer “The Art and Business of the Remix” for those interested in the finer points of cutting and mixing. Abd Grammy-award winning studio wizards KEVIN KILLEN (U2, Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello), and BOB POWER (D’Angelo, Common, Erykah Badu) will be on hand to offer masterclasses in mixing and production, respectively.

HOW TO REGISTER

It’s so EASY!

ENROLL NOW IN A SUMMER COURSE BY CLICKING HERE

FOR THE FULL SCHEDULE OF OUR SUMMER COURSES: CLICK HERE

Classes for the first summer session begin May 17, 2010 and spots are already filling up quickly. Act now.

You can also call 212.992.8400 for more information.

See ‘ya in class.

Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music instructor Vivien Goldman, who’s blessed us with innovative classes on Punk music, Reggae, and the history of Island Records, wrote a feature on multicultural British rock trio The Noisettes in today’s New York Times. You can read it here.

Vivien (pictured above on the left teaching a class, with famed special guest music entrepreneur/producer Joe Boyd, on the right) was also the subject of a The New York Review of Ideas feature this past summer. The article is called “Professor of Punk” and it gives a good overview of Vivien’s fantastically eclectic and rich career.

Most recently, Vivien has been writing for publications like the UK New Statesman and The Fader (did you see her David Byrne cover?). Her songwriting collaboration on the TAG project with Adriana Kaegi, (formerly of 1980s tropical funksters, Kid Creole and the Coconuts,) has also been making waves in the electro world.

pictured above: Arianne Phillips, guest lecturing at The Clive Davis Department, summer 2009.

It’s not often we’re discussed in the context of fashion and glamor, but this summer The Clive Davis Department was glad to get a shout out in August’s fifth anniversary issue of T, the New York Times’ style magazine, distributed on Sundays.

The subject was legendary fashion stylist/costume designer Arianne Phillips (pictured above), who gave a guest lecture/Q&A in adjunct instructor Joe Mama-Nitzberg‘s summer “Music and Fashion: Glam, Punk, Hip-Hop and Beyond” class.

Joe’s class focused on major historical moments in subcultural fashion and pop music…and students got a kick out of hearing Ms. Phillips talk about her groundbreaking work dressing iconic artists like Lenny Kravitz and Madonna.

It’s all here.

With record sales in seemingly never-ending freefall and artist tours and music festivals breaking records, you can’t afford to sleep on the live event industry.

Kobi Wu-Pasmore, the former director of special events at Cornerstone Promotions (where she played a big role in developing the stellar Pharrell-Santigold-Julian Casablancas Converse campaign) and the former manager for artists like Sy Smith, Macy Gray and Sunshine Anderson, joins us this Fall to teach a brand new course called “Curating Live Music Events.”

Kobi (pictured in the middle, flanked on the left side of your screen by Artistic Director Jason King and on the right side by student Jared Feldman) will be teaching students about what it means to be a successful “music curator.” Different per se from producing events, curating focuses on the marketing and promotion of events, including working with brands and third-party sponsors.

We asked Kobi to name her favorite event that she’s curated. Hard choice, she confessed – but she settled on Polaroid Presents…The Outkast Grammy After Party on February 8 2004. The lavish affair, held at a private mansion in the Hollywood Hills, was sponsored by Polaroid, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and XBox. The red carpet rolled out for guests like The Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Osbourne, and Lindsay Lohan.

Hear more about what Kobi had to say about curating this event:

“The event was a full scale production – me and my small team (of 3) handled everything- from selecting the mansion in Hollywood Hills; organizing the talent- the 3 super star DJs – Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, Mark Ronson, and Goldfinger; handling sponsorships; organizing the guest list; organizing the shuttle to carry people to the mansion; even the toilet paper for the executive style port-a-potties. It was a lot to handle for 2000 + guests, celebrities and executives.”

Kobi continues: “With Outkast, that Grammy event meant everything to them as they were finally realizing their superstar status. For me, it helped “put me on the map” of major players in the world of events.”

Welcome Kobi!

Composer, music supervisor and sound designer Michael Whalen has scored over 500 television scores, feature and short films, including the opening theme to the ABC News morning show Good Morning America, music for The Oprah Winfrey Show, Martha Stewart and the news magazine Inside Edition.

He’s been nominated for eight Emmys® and picked up two, including a 2008 win for PBS’ acclaimed 8-hour series America at a Crossroads – for which he also recently won the BMI Award.

Not too shabby, we think!

He joined us as an adjunct instructor at The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music this summer to teach a brand new course called The Soundtrack Auteur.

The innovative course, designed as an entree for students to begin to think about careers in the growing field of film music, particularly as music supervisors, looked at the often-neglected history of trailblazing film composers who also work in the pop music field, folks like Quincy Jones, Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman.

We decided to take this opportunity to ask Michael about his experience teaching this summer:

Q: Hey Michael. How did you arrive at teaching at The Clive Davis Department?

MW: I had heard about the programs offered in the program from some of my friends and colleagues. The courses offered are unique and taught by some of the most experienced people in the industry. Artistic Director Jason King helped me shape the Auteurs course.

Q: What exactly is a “Soundtrack Auteur”?

MW: The focus of the class was studying the history of film & TV music through the eyes of popular music. A “Soundtrack Auteur” is someone whose artistic point of view actually influences what we think soundtracks can SOUND like. Because it’s a Clive Davis Department course, we focused on artists working in pop and their influence on on film and vice versa.

Q: How important is music supervision these days in the overall scheme of the music business?

MW: Hugely important. I believe that this is the “golden era” of music supervision right now. There is a lot of great work being done and it’s shaping our cinematic experiences. It’s way more than taking a popular song and throwing it against a scene. Unlike supervision in the 1980s, much of the work is infused into the films and it’s being done a level of sophistication not seen (or heard) before.

Q: What makes a great music supervisor?

MW: A great music supervisor must be a great idea person – - working inside the director’s vision of the film. They must have great resources in the industry in terms of contacts and friends to execute the ideas that are developed. Finally, they must have a handle on bringing in the songs within the budgets they are given – - anyone can think of great music for a film without the constraints of dealing with money – but can the film afford it?

Q: What was a highlight moment in the class?

MW: Talking about composer and producer Jon Brion (the multi-instrumentalist producer behind Fiona Apple and the score to films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.) It was really cool to see an artist at the cusp of breaking through which Jon will certainly do soon – he is amazingly talented. One of the challenges of the class is there is no text that actually covers the points that I cover and some of theories I am developing. I have started outlining a book on the subject.

Q: If you were stranded on a desert island what three film soundtracks would you take with you?

MW: (Deep sigh…) Wow – just THREE??? The Road to Perdition by Thomas Newman – it’s sublime. The Hours by Philip Glass… I know many of the cues on this are adaptations of his classical music – but it is the whole feeling that is most deeply moving and wonderful. E.T. by John Williams…. Perfection….

Q: What can we look forward next from you?

MW: I am scoring and music supervising a indie feature this Fall. I am finishing a terrific theatrical doc about the United Auto Workers that I am scoring and supervising. And I have my “best of” CD coming out in November.

Michael Whalen‘s website.