Jacob Collier, Jill Scott, and Vinnie Colaiuta to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee College of Music’s 2026 Commencement

Berklee College of Music will present honorary Doctor of Music degrees to Grammy-winning artists Jacob Collier, Jill Scott, and Vinnie Colaiuta ’75 at its 2026 commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 9, at 10 a.m. at Boston University’s Agganis Arena.

Commencement festivities will begin on the evening of Friday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. with a reception and concert at Agganis Arena. The concert will feature a global cast of more than 200 student vocalists, instrumentalists, dancers, arrangers, and track producers from the graduating class, who will perform a musical tribute to the work of each of the honorees.

This year’s honorary doctorate recipients will be celebrated and recognized for their invaluable artistic contributions to the world of music. Past recipients from the college include Duke Ellington (the first, in 1971), Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones ’51, Celine Dion, B.B. King, Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, esperanza spalding BM ’05, André 3000, Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, Ringo Starr, Tito Puente, Gloria Estefan, Roberta Flack, Juan Luis Guerra ’82, Rita Moreno, Ledisi, Q-Tip, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Sara Bareilles, and John Legend.

Jacob Collier

Beloved by audiences, musicians, and critics the world over, and heralded as one of the most groundbreaking artists of the 21st century, Jacob Collier has taken the music industry by storm as a singer-songwriter, producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and world builder. With unquestionable depth and imaginative range, he plays, writes, and communicates with a human warmth, openness, and inclusivity that melt hearts, expand minds, and inspire millions. Collier’s radically joyous and genre-bridging discography has led to seven Grammy wins and 16 nominations, making him the first British artist in history to win at least one Grammy for each of his first five studio albums. His fearless approach to music has attracted more than 100 collaborators, including Coldplay, SZA, Shawn Mendes, John Mayer, Stormzy, Kirk Franklin, Tori Kelly, Anoushka Shankar, Quincy Jones, Oumou Sangaré, Hans Zimmer, and Joni Mitchell.

Collier’s latest album, The Light for Days, finds him at his most present and immediate, centered on a single instrument: the guitar. Recorded and produced in four days, the album reflects a core pillar of Collier’s artistry, offering a sonic counterpart to the moments in his live shows when everything falls away to just him and the music he loves. Whether writing songs in keys that do not exist, breaking track-count limits in DAWs, or bringing 100,000 people together in improvised song, he continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible, with a mission to unite and inspire people across every continent in a language beyond words. All the while, he is brewing his next adventure.

Jill Scott

Jill Scott is a three-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, New York Times bestselling poet, and acclaimed actor, producer, and philanthropist whose influence has shaped soul, R&B, and Black storytelling for more than two decades. She broke through with the double-platinum classic Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Vol. 1, followed by Beautifully Human and The Real Thing. Her fourth and fifth albums, The Light of the Sun and Woman, respectively, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the latter of which also topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, solidifying her status as a consistent chart force and cultural mainstay. In 2026, Scott returned with To Whom This May Concern, her sixth studio album and first in over a decade.

Beyond music, the Philadelphia native is the founder of Blues Babe Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Philadelphia students pursuing higher education. She commands equal impact across film, television, publishing, and audio, with screen credits including Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? and its sequel, Why Did I Get Married Too?, as well as Get on Up, Highway to Heaven, and The First Wives Club. She also hosts the award-winning Jill Scott Presents: J.ill the Podcast, continuing to elevate artists and shape culture with authority, purpose, and soul.

Vinnie Colaiuta

Originally from Pennsylvania, Vinnie Colaiuta moved to Los Angeles in the spring of 1978 after attending Berklee College of Music. Just four months later, at age 22, he landed a breakthrough role with Frank Zappa, performing both live and in the studio. His work on Zappa’s Joe’s Garage (1979) was recognized by Modern Drummer as one of the top 25 drumming performances of all time. Following his time with Zappa, Colaiuta worked with Gino Vannelli, Joni Mitchell, Barbra Streisand, Sting, and Chaka Khan, as well as jazz artists such as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, and John McLaughlin. Throughout his career, he has recorded and performed with a wide range of artists across genres, including James Taylor, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Leonard Cohen, Tori Amos, and many others. Since releasing a self-titled solo recording in 1994, he has become one of the most in-demand studio musicians, appearing on countless albums, film soundtracks, and TV and radio jingles.

Colaiuta has won 18 Drummer of the Year awards in Modern Drummer’s Readers Poll, including 10 in the Best Overall category, and was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1996. The publication also cited him as “the most important drummer of our time." Rhythm lauded Colaiuta as one of the 50 most influential drummers of all time, while Rolling Stone listed him among the 100 greatest drummers. In 2010, he received his first Grammy Award for his performance on Five Peace Band Live by Chick Corea and John McLaughlin.