Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive (Five-Week) is the world's preeminent summer musical performance program. With one-on-one instruction from Berklee’s renowned faculty and a curriculum that offers college credit, this immersive program is designed to enhance the playing or singing performance skills of precollege and high school students.
Past students include Meghan Trainor, Jon Batiste (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), Daniel Platzman (Imagine Dragons), and Jackie Foster (The Voice).
You'll learn how to play in a band, develop your improvisational and reading skills, improve your instrumental craft in weekly private lessons, and participate in classes and demonstrations by well-known faculty and visiting artists.
Attend Five-Week to get a head start on your college experience. In addition to exploring the studios, neighborhoods, and performance venues Berklee has to offer, you can earn college credit and scholarships. Approximately $10 million in scholarships to the Berklee College of Music undergraduate program are awarded during Five-Week.
You must be at least 15 years old by the start of the program and have been playing your instrument (or singing) for a minimum of six months to attend the Five-Week program. Most students who attend this program are of high school and college age.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security requires that any student who is not a U.S. citizen participating in Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive apply for an F-1 student visa. Students may not attend the program with a B-1 visa, B-2 visa, or ESTA visa waiver. Please visit our International Students page for more information.
From the rise of the popular Moog analog synthesizer in the 1960s to the digital synthesizer push of the 1980s and on into the contemporary usage of MIDI controllers and pads, electronic digital instruments have long been capable of offering artists a wide range of musical expression. Today, musicians from all over the world, playing in many contemporary styles, use electronic digital instruments to create and perform their music.
As a student at Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive, you can choose an electronic digital instrument as your principal instrument and develop as an electronic musician while taking full advantage of the program’s core music curriculum and all associated music opportunities.
Watch music videos from Berklee electronic music students.
EDI Criteria
An EDI is considered a laptop computer running Ableton Live and at least one of the following, or similar, controllers:
AKAI APC 40
Ableton Push
Roli Seaboard Rise
Roli Seaboard Blocks
Novation Launchpad or Launchpad Pro
Arturia Beatstep Pro
Any 25- or 49-note keyboard controller that has pads, faders, and knobs such as the Arturia Keylab Essential, Novation LaunchKey, or the AKAI MPK or similar
Roger Linn Linnstrument
Please note that in order to declare EDI as your principal instrument, you are responsible for bringing a laptop with the required software already installed, as well as your own MIDI controller.
Scholarships
Learn about Berklee summer scholarship opportunities, application processes, and deadlines.
Specialized Workshops
In addition to the standard Five-Week programming, you may apply to one of three highly competitive focused workshops. The costs for these specialized tracks are paid entirely by scholarships that cover full tuition, on-campus housing, and a meal plan.
The Summer Sessions: Women’s Performance Program is a special intensive track for female musicians that addresses gender justice in the jazz community, and is included as part of Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive. Led by Grammy Award–winning drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, the intensive emphasizes teaching, empowerment, mentorship, and advocacy for high school and college-level students who wish to pursue careers as professional musicians. Eight outstanding female instrumentalists will be selected by Carrington to study with her and other faculty. Participants will also have the opportunity to study with guest artists.
Students are selected for the Summer Sessions: Women’s Performance Program through the scholarship application process and are awarded a scholarship covering full tuition, on-campus housing, and a meal plan. Learn how to apply.
Led by artistic director and veteran rocker Marty Walsh, the Rock Workshop gives students an opportunity to gain valuable insight into the world of rock music and performance while studying at Five-Week. Berklee seeks to recruit the most talented young rock instrumentalists and vocalists in the world for this workshop, which is a specialized program designed for students interested in studying and performing rock music at the highest level. Students collaborate to develop the band's musical identity, culminating in vocal-centric recordings and performances on campus.
Students are selected for the Rock Workshop through the scholarship application process and are awarded a scholarship covering full tuition, on-campus housing, and a meal plan. Learn how to apply.
Led by Grammy Award–winning drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and Rick Dimuzio, the Jazz Workshop gives students an opportunity to gain valuable insight into the world of jazz music and performance while studying at Five-Week. Berklee seeks to recruit the most talented young jazz students in the world for this workshop, which is a specialized program designed for students interested in studying and performing jazz at the highest level. Students will explore classic and modern jazz repertoire as well as students' original music, culminating with several public performances.
Students are selected for the Jazz Workshop through the scholarship application process and are awarded a scholarship covering full tuition, on-campus housing, and a meal plan. Learn how to apply.
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