There's always an international flavor around Berklee, but for one week in April, the multilingual murmur on campus increased in volume as Berklee hosted music educators from around the globe at its Berklee International Network (BIN) Summit. Attended by representatives of BIN's 11 partner contemporary music schools from 10 countries, the summit covered topics ranging from student exchange programs to changes in immigration regulations.

"Berklee is the mecca for schools of our kind," said Orlee Sela, Managing Director of Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Tel Aviv, Israel. "This gathering helped the partner schools get to know each other better and talk about dilemmas we share," Rimon was one of three founding members of BIN, along with Philippos Nakas Conservatory in Athens, Greece, and Fundacio L'Aula de Musica in Barcelona, Spain.

Bias Against Contemporary Music

According to Irene Savaree, Principal for International College of Music (ICOM) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, one dilemma all the partner schools share is the struggle to deflate a bias in many countries against contemporary music institutions.

"The biggest challenge is the constant battle in promoting contemporary music education as a serious form of music education, one that is equal to that of traditional music education," she said.

Such bias can take its toll on these schools, Savaree said, making it difficult at times to find qualified contemporary music teachers or to secure funding required to upgrade facilities.

At the same time, each BIN school has success stories and a list of graduates who are succeeding as professional musicians in their home countries and abroad. Many of these students had continued their education at Berklee and, while here, were ranked among the best musicians on the Boston campus.

A Rapidly Growing Network

Berklee formed the three-school BIN in 1993 with the primary goal of improving contemporary music education globally. In addition to the partner schools mentioned above, BIN partners now include:

• Escuela de Musica Contemporanea del B.A. Art Center Loft in
  Buenos Aires, Argentina
  
• Pop and Jazz Conservatory in Helsinki, Finland
  
• American School of Modern Music in Paris, France
  
• Jazz and Rock Schule in Freiburg, Germany
  
• Pan School of Music in Tokyo, Japan
  
• Koyo Conservatoire in Kobe, Japan
  
• Seoul Jazz Academy in Seoul, Korea

Berklee annually travels to each BIN school, giving clinics and auditioning students for scholarships to the Boston campus. These trips and the relationships with the BIN schools help Berklee to better understand and serve its international students, who make up 40 percent of the student body, and to recruit new students. About 250 students who have attended classes or Berklee auditions at BIN schools have enrolled at Berklee.

"International students have had a major impact on the Berklee culture from the very beginning, and BIN is an extension of our physical outreach," said Monroe. "For the partner schools, BIN enables them to be in touch with their pop and jazz spiritual brethren here in the U.S."

The recent summit at Berklee not only put the partner schools in touch with Berklee administrators and faculty members; it also brought the schools in touch with each other, forging bonds that Monroe hopes will encourage cooperation between schools that have complimentary institutional needs.

In addition to daily summit meetings, BIN representatives reconnected with students from their home countries at a reception and attended Berklee's commencement weekend ceremonies in early May.

"Having these partner schools carries our mission and our message further," says Executive Vice President Gary Burton.

The group will hold its next summit in the year 2000 in Athens.