{"id":1001,"date":"2024-09-17T15:35:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T15:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/?p=1001"},"modified":"2024-09-17T16:23:54","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T16:23:54","slug":"its-always-been-about-the-music-for-alumna-jennifer-caraluzzi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/2024\/09\/17\/its-always-been-about-the-music-for-alumna-jennifer-caraluzzi\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s always been about the music for alumna Jennifer Caraluzzi"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jennifer

Jennifer Caraluzzi (Photo credit: Michael Kushner Photography)<\/p><\/div>\n

Western Connecticut State University<\/a> is known among musicians, actors and artists as an institution that offers a conservatory-level education at the cost of a public university. Jennifer Caraluzzi, a 2009 graduate from WestConn\u2019s Department of Music<\/a> in the School of Visual, \u00a0Performing and Communication Arts<\/a>, should know: she\u2019s currently the Director of Academic Operations and Academic Success at the Berklee School of Music\u2019s New York City campus.<\/p>\n

As a Bethel High School graduate in 2005, Caraluzzi knew she wanted to pursue music as a performer and singer. \u201cWestConn had a great program,\u201d she said. \u201cI got into other schools, but decided to stay local and it was one of the best decisions I made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caraluzzi continued, \u201cWestConn\u2019s price compared to the other music schools is so much better. It was such a foundational place for me, and you can get into so many things with the support of the professors in your major. There are a multitude of opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from WestConn with a Bachelor of Music in Performance-Voice, Caraluzzi\u00a0started teaching for New England Conservatory\u2019s Preparatory School and working as a program coordinator\u00a0for the School of Continuing Education. Over the last three years, she has sung as a soprano in an Octet with the Boston Pops as part of their holiday shows. She joined Actor\u2019s Equity shortly after performing with the Boston Pops in \u201cRagtime.\u201d Caraluzzi then switched gears and worked for five years at a hedge fund in Boston. \u201cThe performance path can be so challenging,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to be able to support myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer

Jennifer Caraluzzi performs the National Anthem at a New England Patriots game.<\/p><\/div>\n

To further broaden her opportunities, Caraluzzi obtained an M.B.A. with a Music Business specialization from SNHU\/Berklee online and a Master of \u00a0Music in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory. During the pandemic, she worked remotely for Berklee College of Music in Boston and additionally maintained\u00a0teaching a course online for Berklee Online and voice lessons remotely for the New England Conservatory\u00a0Prep School.<\/p>\n

Caraluzzi\u2019s next role was as Director of Academic Operations and Academic Success at Berklee in New York City, which offers three graduate specializations. Her work for Berklee Online is separate from her work with Berklee NYC, but keeps her teaching on the side. Caraluzzi also is authoring the Wellness for Musicians course with Berklee Online to bridge her work in the health and wellness world \u2014 she is a 500-hour certified yoga instructor and integrative\u00a0nutrition health coach \u2014 and her career as a musician.<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer

Jennifer Caraluzzi in a performance of “Candide.”<\/p><\/div>\n

For Caraluzzi, it has always been about the music. \u201cAt WestConn, there was so much that inspired me. I participated in a Jazz workshop with Cedar Walton, and I was able to attend a singing program in Italy after my sophomore year. The faculty was always advocating for me. My professor, Dr. Margaret Astrup, became both my mentor and a dear friend, and would send me competition information and encouraged me to go to graduate school \u2014 and I\u2019m glad I did. \u00a0I stay in touch with her to this day and was so happy to see how many of my fellow music graduates not only attended her retirement party, but also performed together there.\u201d<\/p>\n

She did not realize it at the time, but Caraluzzi\u2019s positive experiences at WestConn inspired her two younger sisters to follow in her footsteps and enroll. Despite their different majors and programs of study, her sisters, Nina and Valerie, had similar outcomes: supportive relationships with faculty and staff, internship opportunities, and flourishing careers as a result of their WestConn educations.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a college administrator, I tell my students now to build strong relationships with their professors and explore all the opportunities available to them,\u201d Caraluzzi said. \u201cYou can do so many things with their support.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Western Connecticut State University is known among musicians, actors and artists as an institution that offers a conservatory-level education at the cost of a public university. Jennifer Caraluzzi, a 2009 graduate from WestConn\u2019s Department of Music in the School of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":1003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[11,6],"class_list":["post-1001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-stories","tag-music-education","tag-success-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}