Berklee in Valencia Programs and Schedule Announced

Berklee announced the schedule and further details of the programs—including innovative, category-defining graduate-level studies—that will animate Berklee in Valencia, its first international campus.

In addition to previously announced graduate programs in scoring for film and multimedia, electronic composition and audio design, global entertainment and music business, symphonic band studies, and studio performance, the college announced several more initiatives, along with the timetable for their introduction at the college's new campus located in Valencia, Spain's Palau de les Arts, the iconic opera house complex designed by Santiago Calatrava.

The announcement was made following a concert by some of the Boston institution's finest students—Berklee Flamenco—at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Attending the concert were Francisco Camps, president of the Valencian Community; representatives of the embassy of Spain; former governor Tim Kaine of Virginia, chair of the Democratic National Committee; representatives of the U.S. Department of State and the National Endowment for the Arts; and Berklee president Roger H. Brown. The concert is archived on the Kennedy Center's site.

"While we have all been reminded of the political importance of the Mediterranean rim in recent weeks, the region's cultural dynamism has been a constant, and central to our choice of Valencia for our first campus beyond Boston," said Brown. "The Berklee in Valencia project is an ambitious plan to enrich the entire Berklee community with a campus in one of Europe's most livable and exciting cities. Our students will pursue their music in the iconic Palau de les Arts of Valencia, next to the Mediterranean Sea and in close proximity to the great musical traditions of North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. This impulse is consistent with the founding mission of the college: to teach jazz, the indigenous music of the Americas."

Berklee plans to invest $3.5 million to equip the new campus with state of the art technology, to provide the students with the best tools and environment for their education. The Berklee in Valencia campus will occupy 38,000 square feet and will have the capacity to house 220 students. It will include academic spaces for classrooms, practice rooms, ensemble rooms, a library, and a black box theater, as well as recording facilities designed by celebrated architect John Storyk.

The schedule of program introductions at Berklee in Valencia is as follows:

April 2011: With the Mediterranean Music Institute, Berklee in Valencia students, experienced Berklee educators, visiting musicians, and new faculty from Spain and beyond explore fusions of global music prevalent in and around the Mediterranean rim. The institute will help make Berklee in Valencia a hub for the study, evolution, and global proliferation of many musical genres associated with the region, including flamenco.

Summer 2011: A series of special, short-term programs are conducted at Berklee in Valencia, beginning this coming summer. The first of these will be a program in vocal performance and songwriting, followed later in the year by programs in such areas as performance, music production, music business, film scoring, and even flamenco.

Spring 2012: The international curriculum begins, as Berklee Boston undergraduate students come to Valencia for the first time, to pursue course work rooted in music business disciplines. Sample courses are expected to include subjects such as international management and legal aspects of the European music industry.

At this time, the International Career Center will also debut, serving Berklee students—whether studying in Valencia or Boston—with focused studies in international leadership, high-value internships in the international music industry, and networking opportunities tied directly to Berklee in Valencia's signature areas of study.

Summer 2012: Innovative short-term summer programs return, including songwriting, flamenco, music production, film scoring, and performance.

Fall 2012: Graduate-level studies begin at Berklee in Valencia, a first in the history of Berklee College of Music. Each area of study will be designed to take full advantage of the campus location, drawing upon the rich cultural resources of the region and the proximity to Europe's music industry. These include:

• Contemporary writing and production provides students with the highest level of preparation for careers as composers, arrangers, and producers in the music industry. Combining contemporary technology and music production with a strong foundation in composition, arranging, and orchestration, this intensive program prepares students to write and produce music for live performance, studio recording, and a variety of contemporary media.


• Electronic production and design looks to the future of music and sound from both creative and technological perspectives. With sound and audio design at the core of the curriculum, electronic production and design advances student knowledge of interactive music and arts, composition, performance, software/hardware design, audio for visuals, and the role of music technology in today's culture. The program focuses on a variety of traditional and emerging musical technology artistic formats, including audio recording, acoustic and technology systems innovation and design, multi-focus music technologies, and manipulation of computer-generated images that are musically integrated with computer-based musical composition and sound design.


• Global entertainment and music business focuses on the skills, concepts, and methodologies of business models that can be applied to the artistic, management, and entrepreneurial challenges of music and digital media in the international contemporary entertainment industry.


• Contemporary studio performance offers an advanced program to instrumentalists and vocalists who possess excellent musical proficiency and desire to further enhance performance capabilities. Students accepted into the program will perform frequently on a wide array of projects, with an emphasis on recording studio sessions.


• Scoring for film, television, and video games offers an advanced course of study for students seeking to enhance their knowledge and skills in the art and craft of composing, orchestrating, editing, and integrating music for film, television, and video games.


• Symphonic band studies will be the first program of its kind, designed for students with prior musical education who are interested in working with symphonic bands. Course work will emphasize conducting, arranging, score analysis, and historical context. With nearly 500 symphonic and concert bands in the area, Valencia and the neighboring communities are viewed by many as the "band capital of the world" and provide a rich educational and training environment for advanced study and work with symphonic bands.

Learn more about Berklee in Valencia.