Second Valencia Graduating Class Tops 100
During the commencement exercises in June, 108 graduates from 30 different countries received master’s degrees earned at Berklee’s Valencia, Spain campus. Histeria Producciones
More than 100 students from 30 countries were part of Berklee College of Music’s second graduating class at its Valencia, Spain, campus in July. Festivities began on Saturday, July 12, at Valencia’s Teatro Martín i Soler with the commencement concert: a multimedia event that features student talent from the various majors and a collaboration with dancers from the Ballet de la Generalitat Valenciana.
The commencement ceremony, which was held on Monday, July 14, included the first graduates of the Music Technology Innovation program, which was launched in the fall of 2013. Other graduates received their master’s degrees in Contemporary Performance; Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games; and Global Entertainment and Music Business.
Addressing the grads, Lawrence J. Simpson, senior vice president for academic affairs/provost, stated, “This second Valencia graduation is the culmination of an important year that not only confirms our Valencia campus, but we can now say that our growth objectives in quality, diversity of students, and academic outcomes have happily met our expectations. We believe that the strong musical and cultural roots of the city of Valencia play a key role in these achievements.”
The multinational class comprised 108 students representing the United States, Canada, Jamaica, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, India, Russia, Iceland, Italy, Slovenia, France, and Spain, among other countries.
In addition to Lawrence Simpson, other college administrators attending the graduation ceremony included Lawrence E. Bethune, vice president for student affairs/dean of students; Ann Kreis, chair of the Berklee Valencia campus advisory board; and Guillermo Cisneros, vice president for global initiatives and executive director of the Valencia campus.
“We are very excited to start our third year of master’s programs in Valencia,” says Maria Martinez Iturriaga, Berklee Valencia’s associate dean of enrollment and career development. “Our master’s applications for 2014–2015 increased by 33 percent. The Valencia campus is experiencing solid growth, and we look forward to a very promising future.”
