Letter from Valencia

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 contemporary 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 members who will direct these new programs. Andy Hill will serve as the director 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 composers 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 attorney, executive director of Rethink Music, and an assistant professor of music business at Berklee’s Boston 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 succeed in tomorrow’s entertainment industry and will emphasize entrepreneurship and innovation. An educational background in the music industry 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 business or music technology. The over arching goal is to ensure that students become knowledgeable about performing, 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 Sanchez, and Danilo Perez; world-class flamenco 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.