This is a short excerpt of a live performance by the Berklee Metal Ensemble at the Berklee Performance Center in Spring 2010. The excerpt features my guitar solo in the song 'Forgiven' by Within Temptation.

This recording is a rough demo of a new song called "For Our Doubts" that I co-wrote with Chloe Pappas for a songwriting contest at Berklee College of Music. It's more in the Pop/Rock vein, but it definitely has a hard edge. On this recording I experimented with some new production ideas - check out some of the layers of guitars, as well as the screams under the improvised guitar solo section. The song was recorded during Spring 2009 by Chris Rude, who also programmed the drums. I played guitar and bass on the track and Chloe Pappas did the vocals.

During the Fall of 2008 I was asked to play guitar on several "Sound-A-Like" sessions by students of the Music Production/Engineering department at Berklee. The idea is to go into a studio an try to recreate a track by a well-known artist as closely as possible, in both performance and sound. The first track is "Meant To Live" by Switchfoot and the second is "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence.

These tracks are projects that I was asked to play guitar on by two Contemporary Production & Engineering students at Berklee in Fall 2008. Both were recorded at MixOne Studios in Boston, MA. The first track is an ambient jam by Ben Backus and the second is a raunchy little piece called B.O.B. (Battery-Operated Boyfriend) and it's by Matt Baamonde and Jeremy Engel. All my parts were improvised and on B.O.B. I only play the solo (2:22).

These two covers were recorded in Spring 2008 with just one microphone placed at the end of a rehearsal room. I chose Liquid Tension Experiment's 'Acid Rain' and Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb' due to the contrast of styles these songs demonstrate in my playing. I have had the great privilege and honor of being one of the few guitarists in the history of Berklee to be chosen for both the Rock/Pop and Jazz/Blues Guitar Showcases, and possibly the first to get both in the same year. Here's the line up for this recording:

Ivan Chopik (Lead Guitar/Vocals)
Ray Reich (Keyboards)
Ben Backus (Bass)
Dave Vanderline (Drums)
Chalie Shaughnessy (Rhythm Guitar)
Chloe Pappas (Background Vocals)
Hannah Sumner (Background Vocals)
Sarah Jane Pugh (Background Vocals)

Press release for the show:

"Guitar Department Student Showcase: Rock and Pop
Thursday, April 24, 8:15 p.m., Berklee Performance Center

The Berklee College of Music Guitar Department presents a student showcase featuring Berklee's finest student rock/pop guitarists. Hosted by Mike Ihde and Abby Zocher, the concert will feature a variety of styles within the rock/pop realm, including metal, rock, fingerstyle, fusion, and singer/songwriter. Featured guitarists for the evening are Keppie Coutts, Nili Brosh, Ivan Chopik, Nathan Reich, Lee Moretti, Sabi Saltiel, Serghio Jansen, and Bhrigu Sahni."