Berklee College of Music, whose headquarters is located in Boston, Massachusetts, recently announced that its new Valencia campus would be opening its doors in September 2012 in order to welcome students enrolled for the Master’s Degree Programme.
Berklee College was founded in 1945 by Lawrence Berk with the aim of preparing students for a career in the music business. Naturally, in the intervening years the amount of technology available to both musicians and technicians has increased greatly, and Berklee has responded by remaining abreast of all the latest trends.
Now the college is a notable presence in Valencia, based in the superbly futuristic Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, which has been chosen as Berklee’s first overseas venture; no doubt this breath-taking building will provide some added inspiration for the first postgraduate intake.
Apart from the formal Master’s programmes, Berklee Valencia will also offer summer schools and special courses, which will benefit talented students not only from Valencia but the whole of Spain. Berklee’s President, Roger Brown, says: “Valencia was selected for our new campus since not only is it one of the most popular destinations for students in Europe, but the city has a strong musical symphonic band tradition and is also connected to some of the richest musical cultures in the world, including Latin America, the Mediterranean and Europe, making it the ideal location.”
Students will be able to enjoy fantastic facilities at the new college, including the Music Technology Complex, with its state-of-the-art acoustic design courtesy of the Walters-Storyk Design Group, which houses a recording studio, project production studios and technology laboratories. There are also several impressive auditoriums for live performances, seating a total of 1,490 spectators. The Teatri Martín i Soler is a 400-seater theatre suitable for opera performances, including a full orchestra pit and the latest in stage equipment.
Berklee College has produced some illustrious alumni in its time, including Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Aimee Mann, Branford Marsalis, John Mayer and Howard Shore, probably best known as the composer of the scores for The Lord of the Rings. Apart from offering Valencia’s musically talented youngsters a fine education, Berklee College plans to contribute to the city’s cultural life, so there will be plenty for valencianos to look forward to in 2013.
