Berklee's 2026 Commencement Honorees

Dear Berklee community,

I’m pleased to share news about our upcoming commencement exercises on May 9. 

Berklee College of Music will present honorary Doctor of Music degrees to Grammy-winning drummer Vinnie Colaiuta ’75; Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer Jacob Collier; and Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and actress Jill Scott. Boston Conservatory at Berklee will award honorary doctorates to Grammy-nominated opera and theater producer, vocalist, and educator Beth Morrison, and award-winning choreographer and dancer Moses Pendleton.

We are excited to honor the significant contributions and enduring impact that each of these exceptional artists has made to arts and culture as part of our celebrations recognizing the accomplishments of this year’s graduates.

You can learn more about the honorees below.

Please join me in congratulating the class of 2026 on this monumental achievement!

Yours,

Jim Lucchese
President, Berklee

Berklee College of Music Honorees

Vinnie Colaiuta moved to Los Angeles in 1978 after studying at 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 built an extraordinary career, collaborating with artists across genres, including Joni Mitchell, Sting, Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan, Wayne Shorter, Burt Bacharach, Ray Charles, Leonard Cohen, Chick Corea, and many others. A highly sought-after session musician, he has recorded extensively for albums, film scores, and television. He released his self-titled solo album in 1994. Colaiuta has earned 18 Drummer of the Year awards from Modern Drummer and was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1996. Widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers of all time, he won a Grammy in 2010 for his performance on Five Peace Band Live by John McLaughlin and Chick Corea.

Jacob Collier, beloved by audiences, musicians, and critics, is one of the most groundbreaking artists of the 21st century. A singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist, he has taken the music industry by storm. Collier’s radically joyous and genre-bridging discography has led to seven Grammy Awards and 16 nominations, making him the first British artist to win a Grammy for each of his first five studio albums. He has collaborated with more than 100 artists, including Coldplay, SZA, John Mayer, Kirk Franklin, Tori Kelly, Quincy Jones, Hans Zimmer, and Joni Mitchell. His latest album, The Light for Days, showcases a more intimate, guitar-centered sound. Recorded and produced in only four days, it 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. Collier continues to push the boundaries of what's creatively possible, with the mission of uniting and inspiring human beings across every continent of the world in a language beyond words. 

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. 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 charts, 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, 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.

Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honorees 

Beth Morrison is a three-time Grammy-nominated producer who has been hailed as a “contemporary opera mastermind” by The Los Angeles Times and “a powerhouse leading the industry to new heights” by New York Public Radio’s WQXR-FM. A tireless champion of new music, Morrison is the artistic and cofounding director of the PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now Festival and president and creative producer of Beth Morrison Projects (BMP), founded in 2006 to showcase living composers and redefine the future of opera. Under her leadership, BMP has commissioned, developed, produced, and toured more than 65 works in 19 countries, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning operas Angel’s Bone and p r i s m. A recipient of Musical America’s 2020 Artist of the Year award, recognized as an agent of change, and a Kennedy Center NEXT 50 honoree, Morrison is also a sought-after speaker at major institutions and conferences worldwide. 

Moses Pendleton is one of America’s most innovative and widely performed choreographers and directors. After cofounding the groundbreaking Pilobolus Dance Theater in 1971, he formed his own company, MOMIX, with Alison Chase in 1980, rapidly establishing an international reputation for inventive and often illusionistic choreography. For four decades, the troupe has been creating new work under his direction and touring worldwide. Pendleton has also worked extensively in film, TV, and opera, and as a choreographer for ballet companies and special events, including the closing ceremony of the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid and the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He has also made music videos with Prince, Julian Lennon, and Cathy Dennis, among others. Over his 50-year career, Pendleton has earned numerous awards and recognitions, including a Guggenheim Fellowship (1977), the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Governor’s Arts Award (1998), the Positano Choreographic Award (1999), and the American Choreography Award (2002) for his contributions to choreography for film and television.