Berklee Today

JUN 2012

Berklee today is the official alumni publication of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a forum for contemporary music and musicians.

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Letter from Valencia PLAYING IT FORWARD by Sophie Maricq The Palau de les Arts is the home of Berklee in Valencia, Spain. International Initiative by Marjorie O'Malley and Mirek Vana It's an exciting time at Berklee's new campus in Valencia, Spain, as we prepare to launch three master's degree programs this fall. Graduate degrees will be offered in contem- porary studio performance; scoring for film, television, and video games; and global entertainment and music business. Each is designed for highly qualified students who already hold an undergraduate degree. Let me introduce the faculty mem- bers who will direct these new pro- grams. Andy Hill will serve as the direc- tor of the Scoring for Film, Television and Video Games program. He is a composer, educator, and Grammy Award–winning music producer and music supervisor for motion pictures who worked at Walt Disney Pictures as the vice president of music production for a decade. Hill says that the goal for this small, selective program won't simply be to train and certify compos- ers but also to help transition them into the professional world. Hill and company look forward to preparing a bench of skilled talent to fill the needs of global media producers. Valencia sits at the cultural and geographical epicenter of the world music scene, with lifelines to European media centers and to developing media hubs in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. The environment around Valencia's Palau de les Arts and the city's proximity to two major festivals that celebrate film music will provide a fantastic atmosphere for Berklee in Valencia students. Allen Bargfrede will direct the Global Entertainment and Music Business Graduate Program. He's an entertainment and technology attor- ney, executive director of Rethink Music, and an assistant professor of music business at Berklee's Boston 10 Berklee today campus. Previously, Bargfrede worked at law firms; at corporations as in- house counsel; and as an adviser to artists, record labels, managers, pub- lishers and producers, Internet search providers, and content distribution and technology companies. This program is designed to give students the tools they need to suc- ceed in tomorrow's entertainment industry and will emphasize entrepre- neurship and innovation. An educa- tional background in the music indus- try is not a prerequisite. Bargfrede hopes to enroll critical thinkers who are passionate about learning how to implement their ideas. Victor Mendoza will direct the Contemporary Studio Performance Graduate Program. A vibraphonist and composer, Mendoza ranks among today's finest Latin-jazz artists and performs with his own group and as a guest soloist with top artists from around the globe. Mendoza describes the program as a three-semester concentration on concert performance in a variety of styles and production of performance projects in a variety of media with a subspecialization in either music busi- ness or music technology. The over- arching goal is to ensure that students become knowledgeable about per- forming, producing, and marketing their projects for the concert stage and to digital audiences. In addition to the Berklee in Valencia faculty members, students will work with such guest artists as Joe Lovano, Antonio Sánchez, and Danilo Pérez; world-class flamen- co artists; and more. For more information about this new chapter in Berklee's story, visit www.berkleevalencia.org. Sophie Maricq '11 is Berklee's communications manager for global relations. African visiting artist Joseph Mgcina (left) works with members of Professor George Russell Jr.'s R&B; Gospel Jazz ensemble during his time at Berklee. Since the 1950s, Berklee has been proactive in reaching out to musi- cians around the world. Fully 25 per- cent of our degree-seeking students are international, representing 80 countries. After Berklee faculty mem- bers conducted 8,000 auditions and interviews worldwide last year, they confirmed that Africa is teeming with talented musicians vying for a spot to study at the college. The question for Berklee is how to reach the maximum number of aspir- ing young musicians in Africa seek- ing continuing education. Over the past seven years, Berklee has attract- ed several outstanding students to the college from African countries. Afterward, many have returned to their home countries to become top performers and educators. Margot and George Greig of Chicago, parents of a former Berklee student, recognized that African stu- dents returning home to teach music are vital to improving music educa- tion on the African continent. To augment Berklee's efforts to enroll talented musicians at the college, the Greigs made a generous gift to under- write the cost of bringing established African educators to Berklee. Throughout the spring semester, Michael Sibanda, Godfrey Mgcina, Nduduzo Makhathini, and Victor Masondo—all of whom are accom- plished performers, writers, and educators—came to campus as visit- ing artists for weeklong residencies. During this time, each artist had a full schedule of classes, performances, and ensembles tailored to his specialty. All enjoyed exchanging ideas with Berklee faculty members and students. The program benefits music students in Boston and in Africa. As the Greigs hoped, the African visitors absorbed Berklee's methods, tech- niques, style, and use of technology to incorporate into their curriculum at home. As well, their presentations and performances imparted insight and conveyed the richness and texture of their music to Berklee audiences. Collectively, these visiting scholars educate hundreds of young musicians, and they brought home new skills and information that they can immediate- ly incorporate into their curriculum. As important, they gained an expanded network of music innovators from the Berklee community with whom they can collaborate in the future. Cecil Adderley, the chair of Berklee's Music Education Department, recruited the artists and coordinated their visits. "The informa- tion they gathered from the Music Business and Music Therapy courses and select performance classes has enabled them to view arts instruction from a different perspective," Adderley notes. "This will be valuable in their own communities among those seek- ing arts instruction and performance opportunities." Motivated by the success of the program in its inaugural year, Berklee is poised to invite visiting artists from a larger number of African countries in coming years. The Greigs helped launch this initiative with a generous gift that they hope others will match to enable the program to reach its full potential. To learn how to support this effort, contact Marjorie O'Malley via e-mail, at momalley@berklee.edu. Ben Meyers

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