Miralles was selected from a group of students from the business school who also applied for the scholarship, which is offered by both institutions. The scholarship jury highlighted his entrepreneurial drive, experience in the music business, and the fact that he is self-taught. In addition, his YouTube channel, on which he teaches people how to play the guitar, has over 58,000 subscribers.
Hortensia Roig, president of EDEM and a member of Berklee’s advisory board, praised Miralles’s “proactive attitude” and “passion for music,” and said that this summer course will help him complete his music education. The Music and Entertainment Business module, together with the undergraduate degree for which he is currently studying, will provide Miralles with more possibilities for launching his own music business in the future. “Berklee and EDEM share the same fundamental values, which are integral to any entrepreneur and musician: passion for what you do and a culture of effort and resilience to remain strong when things don’t work out the first time,” Roig said.
Shortly after he was awarded the scholarship, Miralles thanked EDEM for the opportunity and said that this was “a dream come true.” “Thanks to this scholarship, I will be able to study at a renowned institution in the field of music management. The union between EDEM and Berklee provides young people with the possibility to develop new businesses in music,” he said.
The creation of this scholarship was announced by Roig and Berklee President Roger H. Brown last October, and it reflects the longstanding relationship between both institutions, which started in 2013. “I met Brown and his team at the launch party of Berklee’s campus in Valencia, which took place at Palau de les Arts. After several conversations, I quickly realized that both institutions have a very similar way of viewing education, based on the ‘learning by doing’ motto and by the understanding of music as a wide discipline, as Berklee not only teaches music as a craft, but as a tool to make a living from,” she said. In a city with more than 400 bands, Roig felt it was an act of responsibility to support an institution new to Valencia.
“This agreement is possible thanks to Berklee’s campus in Valencia and EDEM’s shared mission of fostering the interaction between cultural and educational institutions in Valencia,” said Pilar Vicente, director of enrollment at the Valencia campus. Both centers have established regular collaborations through several initiatives, which include Berklee students visiting EDEM’s facilities and faculty members from the Master of Arts in Global Entertainment and Music Business program like Emilien Moyon and Alexandre Perrin giving presentations and teaching at EDEM, and vice versa: Lucía Egea, director of the EDEM University Center, has lectured several times at Berklee Valencia on topics like how to finance a startup.
“In addition to this shared passion for education, a focus on entrepreneurship, and creativity, we have similar links in terms of location as both EDEM and Berklee are located in very inspiring places: La Marina and the City of Arts and Sciences, which surely contribute to students’ inspiration to help them achieve their goals,” said Vicente.
