As Berklee Valencia Turns 10, Grads Reflect on the Campus's Personal Impact

In this video series, hear the stories of Berklee Valencia alumni from around the globe, in their own words.

August 12, 2022

Since Berklee launched its campus in Valencia, Spain, in 2012, more than 4,000 students from 85 different countries have passed through its doors. Some were undergraduates starting their college experiences with a first year abroad or spending a later semester there. Others came for a summer program, or as graduate students pursuing master's degrees in global entertainment and music business; contemporary performance; music production, technology, and innovation; or scoring for film, television, and video games. But whatever stage of their academic career they were in, these students were transformed personally, artistically, and professionally by their time at Berklee Valencia.

In this special video series celebrating Berklee Valencia's 10-year anniversary, program alumni share memories of those moments of transformation and self-discovery, and they reflect on how Valencia campus faculty, peers, and coursework have influenced the musical paths they've pursued since graduating. Below, hear the stories of the artists and entrepreneurs whose journeys from Valencia have led them into successful careers in performance and production, artist management, the gaming industry, and more, and get a glimpse of what has made the Berklee Valencia experience such a profound turning point in the lives of so many.


Clémentine Charuel M.M. ’18
Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games

"My year at Berklee helped me in so many ways. It gave me all the tools I needed to start working efficiently in this industry. I received a ton of advice from top-notch faculty, and I will be forever grateful to them for everything they taught me."

Zoe Schneider M.A. ’19
Global Entertainment and Music Business

"Berklee Valencia and the time that I spent there was really transformative for me. Not only was I meeting new people all the time, I was meeting new versions of myself all the time."

Nitish Kulkarni M.M. ’16
Music Production, Technology, and Innovation

"Things I learned in Berklee I use in my job every single day, whether it's educating clients on pro audio concepts, recording setups, signal flow, and so on, or just knowing the right piece of equipment for the right end-user, those are all things that I learned at Berklee."

Jana Šušteršič M.M. ’15
Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration)

"Berklee Valencia has contributed in such an incredible way to my own self-research—to being able to put all the assets that I had together and use them now as a singularity. I came in as a vocalist, and I came out as a pianist/vocalist/songwriter/arranger."

Tonina Saputo B.M. ’17
Berklee Study Abroad (Spring 2016)

"My biggest takeaway from Berklee Valencia... was: I can trust in my process, and my art is valid. When I went to Valencia I felt the room and the space to be able to create what I really wanted to, and that was encouraged by my teachers and my peers."

Paolo Cognetti M.M. ’13
Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games

"What I will never forget about Berklee Valencia is the feeling of being a part of a community in which you can grow both as a musician and a human being—because at the end of the day, only a meaningful life can lead to meaningful music."

Chiara Michieletto M.A. ’17
Global Entertainment and Music Business

"Berklee actually put me in touch with my first job in the music industry, so I got a foot in the door in London thanks to Berklee...that was pretty important."

Mohannad Nasser M.M. ’18
Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration)

"Berklee came to give me the guidance in... how I can become the kind of musician who is independent, and instead of waiting [for] the opportunities to show up, I will work to create the opportunity."

Sharon Onyango-Obbo M.M. ’20
Music Production, Technology, and Innovation

"I still work with a lot of my classmates—my mastering engineer is a classmate from Berklee.... It really shows you that you can do things alone and suffer and struggle, but through leveraging the power of networks and the amazing Berklee alumni who've come before, I think that for me has been such an amazing takeaway."
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