From Berklee Valencia to the World: Meet the Class of 2026
Sydney Young
Program: Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration)
Reflecting on your time at Berklee Valencia, what would be your proudest achievement or project, and your most memorable experience?
Throughout my time at Berklee Valencia, I’ve had lots of growth and many feats, but the one that stands out is the progress I’ve made on my instrument. I have found a deeper sense of confidence and freedom, and it has been life changing to witness the progression in my musicianship. This was the main goal I wanted to conquer here at Berklee this year, and I feel like I am walking away with tangible proof that the hard work paid off.
My most memorable experience this year was playing in an ensemble and being in a band. Being a part of a constructive group that I could trust and express myself in gave me a confidence that I have never felt before. I felt safety and joy in this community, and that truly made a lasting impression on me.
As you graduate, what are your aspirations, and how do you believe Berklee Valencia has prepared you for the future?
I have many aspirations for the future, but my main one is to launch my artist brand and artist project. Berklee Valencia has given me the knowledge, skills, courage, and confidence to go out into the real world and take charge of my career path. I feel ready to be in the driver’s seat of my life and pursue my passions fully.
What advice would you like to share with future Berklee Valencia graduate students now that you have lived experience?
Some important advice I wish that I had in the beginning of my time here at Berklee Valencia would be to put my health first. Sometimes things can get so busy and so overwhelming that it feels like you may not have enough time to prioritize self care. No matter what, put your health first. Eat well, sleep well, take advantage of the counseling resources, and also lean on your friends. The community at Berklee Valencia was so strong and I am so happy that I cherished the relationships I built with everyone. I know that in the future I can call the friends I’ve made here for anything. These people have truly become life long friends and it is a rare, beautiful part of the Berklee Valencia experience that you can’t take for granted!
Samuel Vivian
Program: Music Production, Technology, and Innovation
Reflecting on your time at Berklee Valencia, what would be your proudest achievement or project, and your most memorable experience?
My proudest achievement at Berklee Valencia is being part of the wonderful and supportive family that is the MPTI class of 2026. I have been able to support the success and development of so many of my friends' projects, and so many of them have been equally supportive of mine. As much as I am proud of my progress and the music I have created, I am so much prouder of the community of artists and friends that we have built together. I truly believe we will continue to work together and support each other, both personally and artistically, for years to come. This is by far my proudest achievement.
My most memorable experience is harder to name because there are so many. For me, it comes down to a feeling—the feeling of playing music with a group of my closest friends.
Experiencing the emotional journey of music together—the tension, the release, the ups and downs, when you know you can fully trust the people around you who are living that same experience alongside you, and then having the opportunity to share that with others through performance and recording—to me, that brings life meaning.
As you graduate, what are your aspirations, and how do you believe Berklee Valencia has prepared you for the future?
In the short term, I will be staying on for the Berklee Valencia postgraduate program. I want to continue developing the album I created for my thesis into a deeper audiovisual world—expanding it beyond just the music into something more immersive. Alongside that, I am working toward building my own business while beginning to establish myself as a freelance bassist and exploring opportunities in sync.
Berklee Valencia has given me the space to grow an enormous amount, both technically and as an artist. I have learned so much about engineering in the studio, sound design, and the development of my own sound and identity. But beyond the technical growth, it has given me the opportunity to build a network of friends and professionals who are just as serious about their passion for music as I am. That, to me, is irreplaceable. It has always been clear to me that we are stronger together, and Berklee Valencia is where I really came to understand what that means in practice.
What advice would you like to share with future Berklee Valencia graduate students now that you have lived experience?
Brace yourself. The experience is incredibly intense on every level. It is genuinely difficult, and you have to work hard and really want it to succeed. You get a fire hose of information every day and, on top of that, you have to figure out who you are, what you want, and what your art means to you.
But as difficult as it is, you will learn so much, and more importantly, the experience is truly beautiful. You spend a year in a stunning city, studying your passions alongside a group of equally amazing, intelligent, and deeply and uniquely talented people. It is a lot, emotionally and mentally—but in the best way. I feel I have grown more in the past year than I did in the previous five.
Which leads me to my other piece of advice: Live in the moment and enjoy the experience. It is easy to get bogged down by work and deadlines, but this year flies by. You blink, and suddenly it is over. So try to be where you are and soak it all in—the good, the hard, all of it. If you are up for it, it can be one of the most wonderful experiences of your life.
Kexuan Li
Program: Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games
Reflecting on your time at Berklee Valencia, what would be your proudest achievement or project, and your most memorable experience?
My proudest achievement is definitely my Culminating Experience (CE) project. For this, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to AIR Studios in London to record my original score. I chose a high-speed chase scene from the animated film Home, which meant the piece was packed with hit points and constant time signature changes. The rapid tempo made both engraving the parts and mastering the conducting a massive challenge.
Thankfully, the SFTV program had prepared me for this exact moment through countless recording sessions throughout the year. The collaboration with my production team and the world-class musicians in London was seamless. Afterward, several orchestral players came up to congratulate me, praising both my orchestration and my conducting skills. That compliment was the ultimate confidence booster as I step into the industry.
As you graduate, what are your aspirations, and how do you believe Berklee Valencia has prepared you for the future?
In the future, I want to establish myself as a top-tier film composer. My immediate next step is returning to Shanghai to gain industry experience, likely starting in the video game sector since it's a booming market there compared to traditional film and TV.
This career flexibility is exactly where my Berklee Valencia education comes into play. What makes the SFTV program so special is its deeply practical, multi-faceted approach that equips us for all three domains: film, TV, and video games. By taking us through the entire professional workflow, the program has stripped away my self-doubt. This hands-on preparation allows me to be highly adaptable, which is everything in this industry. Even if a gaming gig takes me on a slight detour from my ultimate film-scoring dream, the rigorous training I received here ensures I can seize every opportunity, building foundational skills that will pay off later in ways I cannot yet foresee.
Finally, what advice would you like to share with future Berklee Valencia graduate students now that you have lived experience?
There are three key insights I’d love to share with future students: First, train yourself to be a discerning critic. I came to Berklee with a business background and zero formal training in scoring, and surrounded by so many talented peers, I initially panicked. However, I learned that while you might not write masterpieces right away, knowing how to analyze a great score is what matters most. A strong aesthetic taste is critical because it is the foundation that dictates how fast and how far you will grow.
Second, always strive for progress and learn from your peers. Everyone around you has unique strengths you can absorb. Feel free to collaborate, exchange ideas, and work on your weaknesses together. Berklee is the best opportunity to experiment, fail, and collaborate for free, whereas doing the same in the real world comes with real commercial costs.
Finally, perfect your time management skills. The SFTV program is incredibly intense, and you will constantly be flooded with compositions and industry knowledge. Only by managing your time wisely can you balance this heavy workload with proper rest, and thus allow your brain to absorb new knowledge effectively the next day.
Carlos Rivas Plata
Program: Global Entertainment and Music Business
Reflecting on your time at Berklee Valencia, what would be your proudest achievement or project, and your most memorable experience?
There were so many great projects throughout this 2025–26 year, but the one I would feel the most proud of is the “Cena & Verbena” Gloria Estefan tribute show I conceived and directed at Berklee Valencia’s Aula Magna in April.
This was a magical experience, where I got to collaborate with Berklee Valencia musicians from all over the world, from both graduate and undergraduate programs, as well as with other students who had dancing skills and wanted to be part of this project. We created a whole immersive experience where we would all sit down around a shared “dinner table” and the audience would sit around us, while reinterpreting iconic songs by Gloria Estefan, who was celebrating 50 years of her artistic career this year.
The impact that this show had on people, as well as the video that stemmed from it, made me very happy and definitely boosted my confidence in my skills as an up-and-coming creative director and producer, combining my GEMB skillset with my professional background in dance and choreography.
My most memorable experience, besides this tribute show, was the Thanksgiving dinner organized by Student Affairs in November. It was great to see people from all over the organization—from undergraduate study abroad students to graduate students to faculty and staff members—sharing a meal together on a special occasion.
As I’m writing this, I now realize that this Thanksgiving experience might have subconsciously influenced the creative choices behind “Cena & Verbena,” which was essentially recreating this experience of a shared meal and converting it into an authentic artistic experience.
Clearly, my experience at Berklee Valencia was a constant creative journey that led to many serendipitous moments I will never forget.
As you graduate, what are your aspirations, and how do you believe Berklee Valencia has prepared you for the future?
Being at Berklee Valencia has opened my eyes (and ears) to so many possibilities in the creative and entertainment industries.
On one hand, the master’s degree program I studied at Berklee gave me very clear insights and tools vis-à-vis the current situation of the market in the music and entertainment industry, which prompted me to think deeper about the best way to add value in today’s noisy and crowded landscape. This led to several realizations on how to best structure my career strategy moving forward, which I am doing so in the form of a personal brand (Caio Vandrés) that represents this seamless integration between music and dance.
On the other hand, the theory I received in the business classroom was effectively complemented by the practical artistic experiences that the whole Berklee Valencia ecosystem provided. I had several opportunities to both perform in and creatively direct projects throughout the academic year that proved to me the power of interdisciplinary collaboration and further cemented my professional standing in this lane.
My experience at Berklee Valencia was definitely an incubator and accelerator of professional growth that provided me with crystal, undeniable clarity at perfect timing.
Finally, what advice would you like to share with future Berklee Valencia graduate students now that you have lived experience?
Enjoy every minute of your experience. Time flies when you are busy and having fun, and this is definitely the case for any of the four Berklee Valencia graduate programs. When you least expect it, it will already be July, and everyone will be ready to graduate!
As with anything in life, this experience also comes to an end. But if you savor the transformation and the waves you are surfing throughout the year, I'm sure you will be in a place of gratitude and contentment at the end of the program, with more knowledge and connections (and especially good memories) than when you started in August.
Carpe diem, my friends, and don’t forget to keep listening and discovering new music while you are at Berklee! The world out there doesn’t stop while you are at school, so make sure to keep yourself updated and fresh with all the happenings in the music world.