Articles » "Berklee College of Music"

About Berklee
Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music.

For more than half a century, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With more than a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing more than 70 countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today—and tomorrow.

Berklee College of Music is a nonprofit, coeducational institution of higher learning incorporated under the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students and to train veterans under the G.I. Bill of Rights.

Berklee - Overview

Student Life
A trademark of the Berklee experience—beyond the extraordinary music, performances, and faculty that await you—are the friends, bandmates, and mentors you will keep for the rest of your life.

Student life at Berklee is built on more than just instruments, ensembles, and concerts. Here, Boston's unique attractions become an extension of our campus and urban surroundings, overflowing with college students.

Student life at Berklee gives you the skills you'll need to succeed in careers in music and in life.

A Brief History of Berklee

Lawrence Berk at the blackboard with students

• 1945: Founded by Lawrence Berk, Schillinger House is the first U.S. school to teach the popular music of the time, jazz.
• 1954: Changes its name to Berklee School of Music.
• 1960s: Recognizes guitar as a principal instrument, and rock music hits campus.
• 1966: Graduates its first fully accredited baccalaureate degree class.
• 1970: Changes name to Berklee College of Music.

Duke Ellington plays at a commencement reception

• 1971: Duke Ellington receives the college's first honorary doctorate.

John Williams (pointing at TV) discusses his score for "Jaws"

• 1979: Lee Eliot Berk becomes the college's second president. Establishes the world's first undergraduate degree program in film scoring.
• 1984: Launches the world's first college-level major in music synthesis.

Ricky Skaggs talks to a student

• 1987: Begins offering the world's first college-level songwriting major.
  Students spend several days in Nashville, attending clinics, concerts, and jam sessions, giving birth to an annual pilgrimage to Music City.

Curtis Warner leads a theory class

• 1991: City Music, Berklee's program to make music education available to underserved youths, is launched.
• 1993: Establishes hand percussion as a principal instrument. Founds Berklee International Network to support contemporary music education globally.
• 1994: Opens Berklee Center in Los Angeles to build strategic relationships for the college throughout the music industry.
• 1995: Launches student-run Heavy Rotation Records to promote student rock, pop, and hip-hop talent.
• 1996: Establishes music therapy major.

Grandmaster Flash teaches a clinic

• 1999: Incorporates hip-hop into the curriculum.
• 2002: Launches www.berkleemusic.com, an online music school.
• 2003: Students found the college's second label, Jazz Revelation Records.
• 2004: Roger H. Brown is named the college's third president.
• 2005: Music business/management becomes the most populated of the college's 12 majors.
• 2006: Increases presence of bluegrass on campus as mandolin and banjo become principal instruments.

Student Mario Guthrie records his show on the BIRN

• 2007: The Berklee Internet Radio Network (BIRN) hits the digital airwaves.
• 2008: Opens Cafe 939, a student-run, 200-seat, live-music venue and coffeehouse.

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(Source) Official website of Berklee: ~www.berklee.edu