About Berklee College of Music

Berklee Valencia will draw upon the resources, tradition, and the culture of innovation, opportunity, and creativity that have defined Berklee College of Music since it began.

Founded in 1945, Berklee is the world's largest independent music college and the premier institution for the study of contemporary music. The college's 4,000 students and 500 faculty members interact in an environment designed to encourage innovation and the most complete learning experience possible, including all of the opportunities and challenges presented by a career in the contemporary music industry.

Members of our community perform, write, produce, manage, study and teach music in every imaginable style. From the beginning the college has embraced new musical ideas, and an open, progressive approach to the music of the current day is at the heart of the Berklee experience.

Using Berklee's extensive facilities, located in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, students develop musical competencies in such areas as composition, performance and recording/production, and also learn to make the informed business decisions necessary to career success.

Throughout the college’s history, one of its primary goals has been to foster international understanding through the medium of contemporary music. Young musicians come to Berklee from every corner of the earth to study music, and Berklee is a uniquely international college as a result. Of all U.S. colleges and universities, Berklee has one of the largest percentages of undergraduate students from outside the U.S.—22 percent—representing more than 70 countries.

To further this international exchange, in 1992 the college founded the Berklee International Network, which today includes 15 member schools in 13 countries, all sharing a common mission of contemporary music career preparation.

Berklee offers student musicians courses of study toward a fully accredited four-year baccalaureate degree or diploma. The curriculum includes majors in such fields as Performance, Composition, Music Production and Engineering, Film Scoring, Music Business/Management, Music Synthesis, Music Education, and Music Therapy.

Berkleemusic.com is Berklee’s online extension school. The category-leading online school offers more than 60 instructor-led courses in subjects such as songwriting, music production, theory, guitar, ear training, and music business. Students from all over the world learn at their own pace, with one-on-one guidance from Berklee’s renowned instructors.

Roger H. Brown became Berklee's third president in 2004. Bringing vast experience to the college as an early childhood educator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Brown was inaugurated in December 2004. He has already had a huge impact on the college, and in his inauguration address he announced a bold new vision for the college's future.

Many Berklee alumni are prominent music industry professionals, including producer/arranger Quincy Jones; rock singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge; Steely Dan leader Donald Fagen; producer and Atlantic Recording Studios VP Arif Mardin; meringue composer/ performer Juan Luis Guerra; jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton; singer/songwriter Patty Larkin; rock singer/songwriter John Mayer; guitarist John Scofield; Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun; singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn; film composer Alan Silvestri; guitarist and Tonight Show bandleader Kevin Eubanks; singer/ songwriter Paula Cole; film composer Howard Shore; and jazz saxophonist/composer Branford Marsalis.