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Socratic Summit (Page two)
During a meeting held by videoconference between Boston and Athens, Berklee President Lee Eliot Berk, Executive Vice President Gary Burton, and Berklee Assistant Vice President for Operations Tom Riley discussed long-range planning with BIN partners, Berklee's mission, its vision for the future, and its strategy to get there. The group also encouraged BIN partners to develop cooperative relationships among themselves, beyond their connections to Berklee, and to strengthen efforts to prepare students for careers in the music industry.
In the evening after that session, Berklee hosted a dinner meeting in a restaurant overlooking a moonlit harbor in Piraeus, the port of Athens. The next day, the summit shifted to Elatos Resort at Parnassos Mountain, a location that could be reached only after driving past groves thick with pistachios and olive trees, and through winding mountainous roads.
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Pablo Prieto, a Mexican educator, answers a question posed by Executive Vice President Gary Burton. |
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Berklee's Assistant Vice President for Information Technology David Lustig spoke about the use of technology to help people learn music over distance, and discussed how that means of communication has changed over the years. He described in depth the use of the four ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) telephone lines that had been used for videoconferencing experiments earlier in the week.
He also addressed the technical realities and costs required should each school wish to prepare themselves to use the same technology. He talked of the desire to use videoconferencing for future Berklee International Network visits, alumni meetings, distance learning, and special festivals. There was also talk of a worldwide Berklee International Network event, which might be webcast on the Internet.
Summit participants agreed that while videoconferencing and other new technologies will facilitate distance learning and expose students and faculty to other musical styles, it will never replace the onsite experience of being at a vibrant college like Berklee, where it is the relationships and bonds created with musicians from around the world that make the experience so irreplaceable.
Nonetheless, the students at all BIN schools will have to a chance to become better musicians, thanks to this new technology, because of the exposure to diverse musical styles and teachers. For example, Brazilian rhythms or Argentinean tango would be available to musicians in distant countries.
After David Lustig's presentation, the group left Elatos and moved on to the city of Delphi. Everybody settled into the picturesque Amalia Hotel, which is known for its rooms with spectacular mountain views.
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| Associate Vice President Larry Monroe (left) and Nakas Managing Director Leonidas Arniakos pause in Galixidi. |
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The next morning, BIN Summit participants journeyed to the Delphi Archeological Site. In antiquity, Delphi was believed to be "the center of the earth" and the site of the Delphic Oracle. The oracle, perched on yet another summit, is famed for answering the great questions, and people are thought to have traveled from very far for these answers. This became another relaxing way for BIN partners to interact, and to seek answers to common questions along the way.
The next meeting was held that afternoon at the hotel conference room at the Amalia Hotel. Berklee Web Site Producer Matthew Skelly presented a talk on how to use the web to improve visibility of BIN partners schools. That presentation evolved into a discussion of exchange programs that would help students learn about different musical styles and cultures.
The summit returned to Athens for the final day of meetings. Berklee Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs/Enrollment Steve Lipman spoke about specifics of student exchange ideas, and the possibilities of future scholarships for study overseas. Berklee Assistant Director of Admissions for International Students and BIN Gojko Damjanic spoke about requirements of course completion for transfer credits and for admission to Berklee, the admissions procedures for international students, and use of an Internet-based pre-registration manual.
BIN school representatives established a number of subcommittees to address key issues. Focus areas for these committees include technology, institutional advancement, the Internet, articulation, transfers and scholarships, and the bookstore. Members of each team will stay in contact to work toward meeting goals in each focus area. Each subcommittee came up with two goals to achieve over the next 12 months.
As he was preparing to head home, Jerry Kim, president of Seoul Jazz Academy relayed an anecdote about having once been asked, "What is your religion?" "Music," he had answered. For all convening, the same seemed to be true.
From the panoramic view of the many summits of this Summit, BIN partners were able to look back at the past, and look forward to the future. The next Berklee International Network Summit will take place in Boston in 2002.
Return to Page one of this story.
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