Berklee City Music Professional Development Opportunities
What is Berklee City Music®?
Berklee City Music is a nonprofit organization that leverages the power of contemporary music to empower youth from underserved communities to develop musically, academically, socially, and emotionally. Founded over 20 years ago by Berklee College of Music, the organization provides access to thousands of students annually through a variety of programs, partners, and initiatives including Berklee City Music Network, Berklee City Music Boston, Amp Up NYC, and public school partners, all of whom have access to the innovative Berklee PULSE Music Method. By using culturally relevant music as a vehicle for holistic youth development, Berklee City Music helps young people flourish as students, musicians, and—perhaps most importantly—confident and well-rounded individuals ready to shape the world.
What is Berklee PULSE®?
The Berklee PULSE Music Method is a unique and innovative online music education portal that enables students to study, jam, and practice using interactive modules and an engaging collection of contemporary music and grooves. PULSE gives students the benefits of a Berklee education—no matter where they live.
What's it like working with City Music?
As experts in the field of creative youth development, cultural relevancy, and contemporary music education, City Music offers a variety of professional development opportunities to international programs. Engagement with City Music at any level provides access to PULSE for all educators and students in your program, training for student assessment and program evaluation using Berklee's custom network information system (NIS) database, and access to our global learning network in the fields of creative youth development and music education for youth. As an initial step, City Music will ask you to provide information about your students, teachers, and outcomes as well as your own goals for your organization. Based on that information, City Music will provide a proposal based around one of the following three commitments:
- One-time training: Berklee will identify one–three City Music administrative and educational staff to provide a one-week, on-site training and consultation for your faculty and staff. This on-site visit includes a PULSE master class and setting up assessment and evaluation measures through the NIS. Your organization will have three years of access to PULSE, including technical and educational support, as well as access to City Music’s vast learning network of educators.
- One-year commitment: You will receive all of the above, with three–five City Music administrative and educational staff visiting your organization up to three times in one year to provide tailored professional development in specific areas (e.g., music technology, fundraising, and more) during each visit, according to your organization’s curriculum and goals.
- Three-year commitment: You will receive all of the above, with three–five City Music administrative and educational staff visiting your organization up to three times per year over a three-year period, with the potential to eventually engage a researcher to conduct impact studies in your region.
Ongoing Relationship Building
When engaging with City Music, there is a shared commitment in the development of your youth and local programs. By bringing new cultures and music to the City Music family, we can grow and diversify our impact to students across the globe. New partnerships can be explored to include relationships with local artists to expand the PULSE library, introductions to local education administrators to provide wider access to education for youth, and collaborative fundraising opportunities for scholarships to the Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance Program.
Depending on your own goals and the direction of your work with City Music, professional development with City Music also allows organizations a pathway to membership in the Berklee City Music Network, with potential for access to scholarships for students to attend Five-Week and Berklee College of Music, continued access to PULSE with additional resources and training for further implementation, and engagement with the network practitioners and thought leaders at 46 sites across North America. Additionally, organizations may become part of an international consortium of Berklee Global Partners.
How do I get started?
Contact our partnership staff at acanbolat@berklee.edu to learn more about the application process and submit an application to work with City Music today.