Berklee to Take Part in Barcelona's Sónar Festival

Berklee and Sónar, the international festival of advanced music and new media art, announce their alliance for the 20th edition of Sónar in Barcelona June 13-15. Berklee in Valencia will participate for the first time at Sónar, bringing together two pioneers in music, innovation, and technology.

At the festival, Berklee in Valencia will present information about its latest master’s degree in music technology innovation, and will discuss the future of the music industry as well as share and analyze new business models developed at its recent Rethink Music event. Berklee in Valencia will also play an active role in the festival’s activities, from live performances by Berklee master’s students and faculty to meetings, presentations, and workshops demonstrating the ever-increasing role of technology and innovation in the music of today and tomorrow.

“Now more than ever, innovation is a key element to a successful career in music. From composition to live performance and even education, the musicians who are thriving are the ones inventing the future,” said Stephen Webber, director of the master’s program in music technology innovation at Berklee in Valencia.

“Berklee and Sónar have a common vision of the future of the music industry and our collaboration will enable us to share our knowledge and experience, involving participants in the excitement, enjoyment, and potential of embracing innovation and technology in music to achieve new creative artistic directions,”  he said.

Berklee will be showcasing its new master’s degree program in music technology innovation at Sónar+D, a new part at the festival. Sónar+D offers workshops and hackathons, interactive installations, product demos and presentations, services, and entrepreneurial initiatives in the field of creativity, technology, and music. The degree launches in September 2013 and the application process is now open. The program will aim to develop students’ abilities to apply technology and forward-thinking musical innovation to create, compose, perform, and produce music.

Festival participants will be able to meet and hear from Webber, the Emmy-winning composer and prolific music producer who created the program. He will take part in the festival’s “Meet the Expert” event (Friday, June 14, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.). 

Berklee College of Music Scratch Ambassadors will be among the performers at the Sónar de Dia event on Friday, June 15, at 5:00 p.m. The band, comprised of Berklee in Valencia master’s students, are accomplished musicians from around the world who mash up their cultures and talents to produce groundbreaking music. Incarnations of this group have toured China, Europe, the U.S., and Central America, bringing audiences to their feet to dance.

Find out more about Sónar and Berklee’s participation here.