Updates from the Executive Director

Dear Berklee Valencia Family,

I hope the new year is off to a wonderful start. It was wonderful to welcome students back to Valencia, to see some new faces, and to launch another exciting semester together.

The week before classes began, we had two big events: orientation for our new Study Abroad students and our Global Career Summit. The Summit brought students together with industry professionals for conversations about career pathways, creative entrepreneurship, and the many ways our graduates can shape the global music and entertainment industries. Events like this reinforce the importance of connecting classroom learning with real-world perspectives, and I was inspired by the curiosity and engagement our students brought to every session.

During the first week of spring classes, students had the opportunity to spend time together off campus at our community and culture outing to Alburfera, the birthplace of paella. The excursion included a sunset boat tour. Additionally, undergraduate students had their first weekend day trip of the semester, to Bocairent. Back on campus, SFTV students recorded their music for string quartet in one of our new spaces, Aula Magna. 

As we look ahead to February, we will continue our Berklee a les Arts series, bring guest speakers to campus, and officially inaugurate our new and renovated spaces. I’m excited for what’s ahead and for the continued creativity and energy our students bring to everything they do.

Thank you, as always, for being part of the Berklee Valencia community.

Best wishes,

Simone

Dear Berklee Valencia Family,

Our fall semester ended on Friday and many of our students have made their way home for the winter break. I wanted to send one last update for 2025 so you know about all the amazing things our students have been doing over the past month.

The campus and city of Valencia have been filled with music by our students. We had our second Berklee a les Arts performances of the year, Prisoners of the Sun, inspired by Verdi’s opera Luisa Miller and the myth of Icarus. The original show featured music by Esperanza Spalding, Talking Heads, and Billy Joel, among others. 

The students in Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration) held two nights of concerts at Caixa Forum, featuring ensembles with a dynamic selection of music they worked on in the fall semester—including flamenco and contemporary jazz, as well as South American and Mediterranean styles.

Our Study Abroad ensembles, and students from Music Production, Technology, and Innovation, performed over three nights at the music venue, El Loco, while First Year Abroad students had their final ensemble concerts on campus.

In addition to these amazing performances, we had guest speakers on campus including Will McKinney, Damien Sneed, and Simone Torres. We hosted our first In-Person Open Day to share information about our programs with prospective students. And we had our annual Friendsgiving dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, where we treated 120 people to a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner. 

In addition to the Grammy nominees I mentioned in my last newsletter, Berklee Valencia graduates Obadiah Brown-Beach MM ‘14 and Ana Krstajić MM ‘18 were recognized for their outstanding work in video game music at the 16th edition of the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. MPTI alum Ryan Renteria MM '14 was also nominated for a Grammy! Congratulations to these and all of our amazing alumni.

I will be in touch with more updates in the new year, including information about the 10th anniversary of our Global Summit, which will be held January 13–16, 2026. In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday and I wish you all the best for 2026!

Simone

Dear Berklee Valencia Family,

It’s hard to believe that we are in the last month of our fall semester. It seems like we just welcomed our new students to campus! 

We are particularly excited that four Berklee Valencia alumni - David Federman MM ’14; Zuzana Michlerová MM ’15; Carla Patullo BM ’01, MM ’13; and Jared Smith MM ’21 - have been nominated for the 2026 Grammy Awards. Congratulations to these and all Berklee alumni who have been nominated!

The past few weeks have been busy in Valencia, as always! Our Global Entertainment and Music Business (GEMB) students took part in Innovation Week, a 72-hour hackathon where they worked in teams to imagine and develop innovative solutions for the music industry. Throughout the process, they learned fundamental entrepreneurship concepts such as early prototyping and pivoting, while also honing their public-speaking skills.

We continued to welcome many guests to campus including Eric Whitacre who spoke to students from across campus. Music Production, Technology and Innovation (MPTI) welcomed songwriters Mary Spender, Monique Mizrahi, and Lisa Murray while GEMB hosted industry executive and music producer, Stephen Budd.

Students from the CPPD Program, Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration), took part in Flamenco events with special guests and a recording session in the Ann Kreis Scoring Stage (AKSS). And students in Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games (SFTV) had a remote recording session with the Budapest Arts Orchestra and are about to do a recording for Brass Quintet on campus.

Undergraduate students participated in the Madrid Industry Day where they visited UMusic Hotel (part of Universal Music Group); Music Station (Warner); Ad Hoc Studios; and La Troupe. This is a great opportunity for students to learn about different career options in the music industry and about the day-to-day operations of these different companies. 

As we look to the end of November, we are happy to host an in-person Open House on Friday, November 21, where students and their families can learn more about our amazing campus and the various programs we offer. And we look forward to getting together with our students on November 27 for our annual Friendsgiving dinner.

To our families and friends based in the U.S., I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving. And I send best wishes to all. Until next time.

Simone

Dear Berklee Family,

We recently moved off Daylight Savings in Valencia, signaling the start of the fall. While we don’t have the brilliant colors of autumn that our colleagues in Boston get to experience, October and November are my favorite months in Valencia: great temperatures and generally sunny days.

The campus continues to be busy with events in all programs. The undergraduate students had the opportunity to take a day trip to a citrus farm and to Albufera Natural Park. I have done the citrus farm tour before and it is an amazing opportunity to learn about the evolving orange industry. It is also a chance to discover the many kinds of citrus that exist and grow locally. Soon the stores and markets will be filled with tasty oranges and mandarins from Valencia. As a side note, did you know that Valencia Oranges were created in California and named after our beautiful city of Valencia, Spain!

Our first Berklee a Les Arts performances were held this month. The show, Gracias a la Vida, was an original creation inspired by Faust, both the original novel by Goethe as well as Gounod’s opera which was just presented at the opera in Valencia. Gracias a la Vida featured special guest Juan Andrés Ospin, who also worked with students on campus during the week. This series is an exciting opportunity for the Berklee Valencia community to collaborate with the opera and to create new shows, inspired by the operas they are presenting. 

Students from the master’s in Global Entertainment and Music Business, as well as from other programs, participated in ProWeekend, a conference in the neighboring province of Castellón. Additionally, the GEMB program welcomed guests Christine Osazuwa and Karma Bertelsen. The master’s in Scoring for Film, Television and Video Games students did a remote recording with the Budapest Art Orchestra and had a workshop on the notation software, Dorico, with John Barron. 

Programs for the entire campus include workshops by the International Career Center including a Branding Camp and a session on Gigging in Valencia. The Library hosted two sessions: Music to Words, researching and writing about musical scores; and Doctoral Discovery, on exploring the path to a doctoral program. And the office of Student Affairs, Diversity and Inclusion held an engagement fair, to help students learn about co-curricular opportunities on campus, including student clubs. They also organized Pet a Pooch, an opportunity during midterms for students to spend time with some of our staff’s dogs. Many of our students miss their pets when they are away so this is a wonderful opportunity for them to spend time with animals and destress.

As you can see, it has been a busy start to the semester and there is much more to come. I look forward to sharing upcoming events with you in the next newsletter.

Best wishes.

Simone

Dear Berklee Family,

The start of the academic year is always exciting and this year did not disappoint! We welcomed over 300 new students from 48 countries, including our largest class of First Year Abroad students. We also have our largest number of post-master’s students in Valencia this fall. These are students who graduated from Berklee Valencia in July and who are remaining on campus to work on a project, take a class, and have access to the facilities. It is such a pleasure to see all these amazing and talented students on campus.

A big change this fall is that our undergraduate students are in a new residence hall: MiCampus. This facility is closer to campus than our previous residence hall, making it more convenient for students. It is close to many amenities, including a grocery store and pharmacy, which are both within a block of campus. It is also less than a 10-minute walk from the hospital that our students use. The residence hall has great common areas, including a large, enclosed courtyard, a laundry room, a storage room for bikes and e-scooters, study areas, and a practice room. We are excited to have this exceptional space for our students to live and come together. 

In terms of activities, our Lago de Concierto series, a weekly outdoor concert series in September and October, kicked off with a faculty concert. Since then, we have been fortunate to hear incredible performances from four student bands each night. Performers have ranged from First Year Abroad students to those in our post-master program

Activities for our undergraduate students have commenced, with a sunset boat cruise as well as a trip to the Xàtiva Castle and the Ducal Palace in Gandia. Professional development events on campus have started, including a session on time-management, offered by our International Career Center, and a session on Intellectual Property for students in the master's in Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration) as well as those in Music Production, Technology, and Innovation. And our first guest speakers have come to campus, including Rosana Corbacho and Japanese DJ and record producer Satoshi Tomiie, to talk about the specific challenges and pressures of a career in music.

Today, as I write this message, it is the first day of cooler weather in Valencia and it looks like this trend will continue. I am sure our students will appreciate the break in the heat and the normally wonderful weather that October and November bring. 

I look forward to updating you soon and wish you all the best.

I am writing this message from the Boston campus, where I had the pleasure of participating in Admitted Student Day. It was wonderful to meet so many students who are excited to begin their studies at Berklee and who will either be participating in our First Year Abroad program or who are planning on studying abroad with us in the future. I suggested to all to get a passport if they don’t already have one, and to attend the information sessions that we organize to help with the planning and preparation. For future study abroad students, I recommend that they meet with their Success Advisor when they arrive on campus this fall, so that they can look at their academic plan and see when they can come to Valencia.

It is always a joy to talk to prospective students and their families about studying in Valencia. And, honestly, it is not a hard sell! The city is beautiful, with a historic center, miles of beaches along the Mediterranean, and the amazing futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, where our campus is located. The city is safe and welcoming, with an average of 300 days of sunshine per year and mild temperatures in the winter. Most important, though, for me, is the community. We have amazing students on our campus who are served by our dedicated staff and faculty, many of whom have been with the campus since its inception in 2012. It is the community that makes Berklee Valencia an exceptional place.  

The campus has continued to be busy. The Master’s in Music Production, Technology and Innovation department hosted its annual INOCON conference and concert, in collaboration with the Global Entertainment and Music Business department, and featuring special guest Suzie Collier. Our spring Lago de Conciertos series began with performances by both graduate and undergraduate students. Undergraduate students also performed at a popular open mic on campus. Undergraduate students had a sunset boat tour in Albufera and a trip to Granada. Several guest artists visited the campus, including Pierre Tritant of SONY Music in the Music Business Seminar and Cuban pianist and singer Glenda del Monte in the Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration) Forum. Scoring for Film, Television and Video Games students had works for a woodwind trio and a string quartet recorded by members of the Budapest Art Orchestra. Additionally, the Black Student Union partnered with the library to host the Library Desk Concert.

The undergraduate students are nearing the end of their experience in Valencia, at least for now! I would encourage them to consider how they can continue to learn, grow, and benefit from this experience. And, most importantly, I hope that they will stay in touch with their classmates, professors, and favorite staff members, and consider returning to us for graduate school in the future.

Best wishes to all.

Dear Berklee Family,

The annual celebration of Fallas is over as is the campus’s short spring break. We are now moving into the last half of the spring semester, although students will get more holidays before the end of the semester, when we break for Easter.

The campus continues to be busy. Students in the master’s in Global Entertainment and Music Business program presented a group project where they created a digital living archive of an artist who has been active for at least a decade. The project had to focus on all aspects of the artist, not just their music. Students gave the presentation in front of Berklee Valencia Honorary Doctorate recipient Yvette Noel-Schure (‘23), who Zoomed Berklee HD recipient John Legend (‘20) into the session. Following the presentation, Noel-Schure connected the student groups to each artist’s team, to discuss possible long-term development of their projects.

The students in the master’s in Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration) program had their annual spring concert at the auditorium of our neighbors in the City of Arts and Sciences, CaixaForum. This night of jazz, titled Endangered Species, featured original student compositions, led by faculty member Victoria Pilatovic. And students in the master’s in Scoring for Film, Television and Video Games program had an opportunity to meet with student filmmakers from the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya, with the goal of developing collaborations for now and the future. 

The International Career Center has been very active since the success of our annual Global Career Summit in January. The ICC hosted mock interviews with students in the master’s in Music Production, Technology, and Innovation program and scheduled meetups for students in each graduate program with alumni. 

Undergraduate students were equally busy with open mics and a day trip to Peñiscola. And, of course, they just finished their midterm exams! An industry lunch, where undergraduate students also have the opportunity to network and learn from graduate students, was rescheduled for late April, due to inclement weather in the Valencia area.

At an institutional level, we celebrated Berklee’s annual Giving Day, where fundraising is conducted for a variety of institutional initiatives. At Berklee Valencia, our focus for Giving Day was on student scholarships and we are excited to have raised more money and, more importantly, had more donors, than in the past. We would like to extend a special thank you to all those who supported our students and our campus on Giving Day. 

I will have one more update before the end of the spring semester and would like to leave you with this video of Filo Ebid (MM CPPD ‘24), and his audition for Season 23 of American Idol.

Best wishes to all.

Dear Berklee Family,

We have seen a slight increase in temperatures in Valencia over the past few weeks and, with that, there is a feeling that spring is around the corner. In addition, the city is starting to prepare for the annual festival of Fallas, where giant sculptures are built throughout the city (only to be burned on March 19). 

It has been a busy few weeks at Berklee Valencia. The Master’s students in Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration) had two concerts of their fall ensembles at our neighbor in the City of Arts and Sciences, CaixaForum. We also had our last performances in the 2024-25 Berklee a Les Arts Series, La Superficie del Mar. Under the artistic direction of Magda Giannnikou, and with the support of several Berklee Valencia faculty members, this multidisciplinary production, featuring renowned dancer Ariadna Montfort, reimagined the timeless themes of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman through the poignant lens of Senta, the opera’s enigmatic heroine.

The International Career Center has been active, following the great success of the annual Global Career Summit. The Center held a session on Gigging in Valencia, as part of its Coffee and Careers series, and launched the six-month mentoring program. The department for Student Affairs, Diversity and Inclusion held a student club fair in the library and resumed weekly yoga sessions for students, faculty, and staff. Black History Month celebrations included a conversation and a showcase concert hosted by members of the Black Student Union. Unfortunately, the day trip to Sagunto, planned for undergraduate students, had to be postponed due to weather conditions. 

As always, the campus has been full of guest speakers and artists, including Rocío Vallejo-Nágera, Director of Concerts and Large Events for Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of Real Madrid CF; Mark Garfield, a drummer, producer, songwriter, and music publisher, founder and co-owner of Pop-Up Music, a UK music publisher and sync agent; movie and television music supervisor Thomas Golubić (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Silo, and Six Feet Under); Pieter Van Rijn, CEO and President of Downtown Music; and Peruvian Indie folk duo Alejandro y María Laura. We also welcomed legendary engineer and producer Susan Rogers, who was Prince’s staff engineer on albums such as Purple Rain, for a week-long residency. 

Students in the master’s in Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games (SFTV) program recorded with a string quartet at the Palau de la Música. One of the highlights of the SFTV program is that students have the opportunity to record with professional musicians in various settings throughout the year. These include small ensembles in Valencia, as well as with full orchestras in Budapest and in London. The projects allow students to hone their skills with an orchestra (conducting as well as managing time in the session) and leave the program with numerous professional recordings for their portfolios. 

Thank you for all your support of Berklee Valencia and our students. I look forward to sending you more updates soon.

Dear Berklee Valencia Family,

I hope that you had a wonderful holiday and that 2025 is off to a great start! We had a busy end of the fall semester with a variety of concerts, speakers, and activities for students. In terms of concerts, we had a showcase by our student clubs, as well as ensemble concerts for our First Year Abroad and Study Abroad students. These were great opportunities for students to come together and share music they had worked on throughout the semester. 

Our students in the master’s in Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games held their fifth recording session of the semester, this one remote with the Budapest Art Orchestra. Guest artists/speakers in the graduate programs included Christine Osazuwa and Will McKinney in Global Entertainment and Music Business and Jeff Denson, Romain Pilon and Brian Blade in Contemporary Performance (Performance Concentration). And Music Production, Technology, and Innovation students had a session organized by our International Career Center on careers in music technology.

We also had some social activities for students, including our annual Friendsgiving meal at the Hard Rock Cafe and a farewell event for our study abroad students, who are returning to Boston to complete their studies. We held a donation drive in the residence hall, where departing study abroad students could pass along items they no longer want or use to incoming students. It is a great way to help out the students for the next semester and to avoid waste. 

Now that we are back from the winter break, we are preparing to receive a new cohort of study abroad students and have a series of orientation activities for them. We are also hosting our annual Global Career Summit, which is required of all of our graduate students.

I wish you all the best for 2025. And I hope you enjoy Berklee’s holiday video, which features several of our students and the beautiful City of Arts and Sciences where we are located.

Best wishes,

Simone Pilon
Executive Director
Berklee College of Music, Valencia

Dear Berklee Valencia family,

I hope that this email finds you well. As you probably know, it has been a difficult month for the larger Valencia community due to the late-October floods in the region. As such, this newsletter is different from previous editions, as most activities beyond classes and related events were paused out of respect for the people who are struggling with rebuilding their homes, or mourning the loss of a loved one.

The evening of October 29, 2024, when the initial storms came through the region and following guidelines from the local authorities, the Berklee Valencia campus closed its facilities and remained closed through Monday, November 3. We were fortunate that the severe weather was outside the city and therefore did not impact our campus or students. There were predictions of more storms the following week, November 12–13, that would impact the already hard-hit regions. Fortunately, those storms did not materialize in Valencia and recovery efforts were able to move forward. 

There has been an outpouring of support for the greater Valencia community. At Berklee Valencia, we held a donation drive to support people in the affected communities. This past week, we moved forward with our regularly scheduled Berklee a Les Arts concerts, inspired by Verdi’s opera Il Trovatore. The concerts were dedicated to those impacted by the floods and all ticket proceeds were allocated to aid Valencian Societats Musicals in the affected areas as part of a solidarity initiative by the Federación de Sociedades Musicales de la Comunidad Valenciana. 

I would like to thank the many people in the greater Berklee family who reached out and sent us messages of support. We feel fortunate to be part of such an amazing community. I would also like to recognize the many people at Berklee and Berklee Valencia in particular who worked tirelessly to make sure our campus and community were secure and communication channels were open. I also want to thank all of our students, who showed an incredible amount of empathy and understanding. 

While our campus and students did not experience the storms or flooding, many members of our faculty and staff were impacted by these storms, either directly or indirectly. It has been a challenging time for our colleagues, their neighbors, families, and friends, and our thoughts are with them.

Thank you all for your support. I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving and I look forward to a future update.

Best wishes.

Simone Pilon
Executive Director
Berklee College of Music, Valencia

Dear Berklee Valencia Family,

As October comes to a close, I am excited to share some highlights and initiatives that are enhancing our vibrant community here at Berklee Valencia.

This month, we kicked off our Mental Health Awareness Residency with Rosana Corbacho, a clinical and humanistic psychologist specializing in the music industry and founder of M.I. Therapy. She was joined by Dr. Adam Ficek, a psychotherapist who specializes in therapeutic work with creatives, musicians, and music industry professionals. Dr. Ficek, a professional musician with extensive world touring experience, provided valuable insights into the unique challenges faced by those in our field.

In addition to this residency, we were pleased to announce the return of Yoga in the Park every Friday, along with Pockets of Mindfulness sessions. These initiatives aim to provide a moment for our students to disconnect, and to promote their wellbeing.

We had a variety of guest speakers this month, including a master class for students in the Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration) master’s program by Didier Likeng on The Origins of Gospel Music. Students in the master’s program for Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games were treated to a talk by American film composer Thomas Newman, whose credits include Shawshank Redemption, WALL-E, Finding Nemo, and 1917. We also hosted a Music Business Seminar featuring marketing consultant Karma Bertelsen.

Undergraduate students had the opportunity to take part in a day trip to Xàtiva and Gandía, allowing them to see more of the area and enhance their cultural understanding of this beautiful region. Additionally, our undergraduate students had the opportunity to attend a Madrid Industry Day Trip, where they met with professionals from EA and Warner Music. 

Students in the master’s program in Global Entertainment and Music Business program participated in the Pro Weekend showcase and conference in Castellón, where they benefited from a variety of talks and panels, as well as a mentoring session. The Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games students recorded with a string quartet as part of their program.

At a campus-wide level, the International Career Center (ICC) has been active, offering a Branding Camp and sessions on gigging in Valencia, equipping our students with essential skills for their professional journeys. Our Berklee Valencia Open House was a resounding success. We offered sessions on each of our programs as well as on the student life and career services we offer. These sessions provided prospective applicants, their families, and interested individuals the opportunity to meet our program directors, faculty, and staff, while gaining valuable insights into the Berklee Valencia experience.

One of the most exciting events of October was the first in our 2024–25 The Berklee a Les Arts series. These are shows created by the Berklee Valencia artistic and musical team, inspired by an opera being performed at the Palau de les Arts. This month, we reinterpreted Jules Massenet’s opera, Manon. Our show, entitled A Room in the Desert, explored the evolution of female autonomy through artistic expression. It juxtaposed the life of young Manon Lescaut, whose fate was dictated by men, with the liberating narratives found in Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. The show honored female artists who began their careers at approximately the same age as Lescaut (16 years) and defied societal expectations. Through the music of artists such as Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Nina Simone, and Madonna, it highlighted the contrast between a past where women were often silenced and a present where they possess the freedom and tools to shape their destinies.

As you can see, it has been a busy month at Berklee Valencia! I look forward to sharing more updates with you in the coming months, including information about our next Berklee a Les Arts show. Please keep in mind that these productions are live streamed so follow us on social media for more details!

Best wishes,

Simone Pilon
Executive Director
Berklee College of Music, Valencia

Dear Berklee Valencia Family,

It is a pleasure to welcome you to a new academic year. I hope this message finds you well as we embark on another season of learning, creativity, and growth at Berklee Valencia. Other than a few exceptionally rainy days in September, the weather has been beautiful, sunny and not too hot, a perfect welcome for our students.

This fall, we are delighted to have 299 students on campus. Of these, 125 are joining our graduate programs and 175 are undergraduate students participating in the Berklee Study Abroad and First Year Abroad programs. One of the most remarkable aspects of our Berklee community is its diversity. This year, we are thrilled to have students representing 45 different countries.

Our academic journey began with Orientation Week, where we offered activities tailored to both undergraduate and graduate students. The week covered essential topics, such as living in Valencia, accessing medical services, and understanding our equity policies. In addition to these informational sessions, students enjoyed a variety of social activities as well as a resource fair. Through the fair, students were able to get to know different offices on campus as well as resources in the community, such as banks and cell phone providers. Our graduate students connected over picnics, while our undergraduates explored the city through a scavenger hunt. All students were invited to take a double decker tour bus around the city. The week culminated in our annual Opening Convocation, where we were treated to a performance by faculty member Federico Nathan.

Our Un Lago de Conciertos series, open-air concerts in the City of Arts and Sciences, have been running each Friday since the end of August. The first concert featured a band composed of Berklee Valencia faculty; the following concerts each featured performances by three student ensembles. The Un Lago de Conciertos series has quickly become one of the highlights of our campus life, drawing hundreds of spectators each week, including members of the Berklee Valencia and larger Valencia communities, as well as tourists. These concerts provide our students with an invaluable public performance opportunity and showcase their talent. Our last Lago de Conciertos of the fall will be on October 11 and the series will resume in the spring.

We are always pleased to welcome guest artists and speakers to the campus. Among our visitors so far, the master’s in Global Entertainment and Music Business welcomed Paula Peñaranda, Artist & Label Partnerships Manager at Spotify, and Andrew Batey, Cofounder and Co-CEO of Beatdapp. Legendary bass players Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey joined the students in the master’s in Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration). 

September also saw the start of our Berklee Valencia Open House series. These sessions are designed for prospective applicants, their families, and anyone interested in learning more about our campus. Attendees have the opportunity to meet our program directors, faculty, and staff while gaining valuable insights into the Berklee Valencia experience. More information on these sessions can be found on our website.

As we move forward into the semester, I am energized by the sense of community that continues to grow here at Berklee Valencia. I look forward to sharing more updates and celebrating the many accomplishments of our students in the months ahead.

Best wishes,

Simone Pilon
Executive Director
Berklee College of Music, Valencia

Dear Berklee Valencia family,

The month of April started with the last days of Easter, an important holiday in Spain (Semana Santa), and one particularly celebrated in the neighborhood where our undergraduate students live. There are processions with elaborate floats and marching bands. I am sure your students found this time interesting!

Beyond festivities in the city, we had festivities on campus including our INOCON event, which consisted of a conference and a concert. This event, organized by students and held over three days, included panels on a variety of topics relating to the music industry, including topics of sustainability and diversity and inclusion. There was also a networking event for students, with representatives from different organizations.

Spring brought the return of our Lago de Conciertos series, with performances by student bands, as well as end-of-semester concerts by our undergraduate and graduate ensembles. These are wonderful open-air events that draw hundreds of people each night, including members of our community, Valencia residents, and tourists. They are a great way to showcase the work of our students and give them a public performance opportunity.

We continued to welcome a variety of guest speakers to campus, including Dr. Ron McCurdy, professor of music and assistant dean of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee at USC Thornton School of Music. He spoke to students and presented to faculty and staff on the Arts Curriculum in the 21st Century. Dr. McCurdy also performed with members of our Black Student Union at a Lago concert.

The end of the spring semester is upon us and we are sad to be saying goodbye to our undergraduate students. We hope they have had a wonderful semester or year in Valencia and we look forward to hearing about their future projects.

Dear Berklee Valencia family,

I am writing to you on the second last day of Fallas, the iconic Valencian festival that fills the city with large sculptures, people dressed in elaborate costumes, marching bands, and the incessant sound of fireworks. It is a dramatic and exciting time to be in Valencia and I hope our students are taking advantage of the experience. Our undergraduate students can’t miss it as there are nightly festivities right outside their residence hall!

The past couple of weeks have been a little quieter on campus with the completion at the end of February of our Berklee a Les Arts series and our annual collaboration with Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, held at the beginning of March. Instead, attention turned, in particular at the undergraduate level, to midterms and spring break plans. Our favorite dogs Cosmo, Lana, and Rómulo joined us during midterm week for Pet a Pooch, an opportunity for students to unwind with canine friends. 

We continued to have activities on campus, including a weeklong residency by Yvette Noel-Schure (Valencia honorary doctorate recipient 2023) in the global entertainment and music business program.The contemporary performance (production concentration) program held a session on claves and patterns most used in Afro-Cuban music, hosted by faculty member Yoel Páez. Scoring for film, television, and video games students met with filmmaking counterparts from ESCAC (Film and Audiovisual School of Catalonia) in order to find opportunities for collaboration. And Pablo Munguía, director of the music production, technology, and innovation program, met with prospective students and a couple of alumni in Los Angeles, while he was there to work on the Oscars. 

The International Career Center (ICC) offered a branding camp for undergraduate students in the LHUM-400 (Professional Development Seminar) class. During the session, students worked on a series of activities to develop their bio, visual identity, and content strategy. In its Coffee and Careers series, the ICC helped students consider how they share their material with prospective employers, through the exploration of portfolio platforms and a discussion of systems for collecting media and telling a story to create a package that is professional and appealing to others. Student Affairs, Diversity, and Inclusion continued with its new mindfulness series, led by faculty member Fiona Ghiglione.

I wish you a happy official start to spring (for folks in the Northern Hemisphere) and a happy start of autumn for those in the Southern Hemisphere. And I look forward to updating you next month!

Dear Berklee Valencia family,

Winter in Valencia continues to be mild and dry. It already feels like spring! I don’t think there is a Spanish equivalent of Groundhog Day so we’ll have to wait and see what the coming weeks bring.

February and March are busy months for our student performers. We have two upcoming signature events, including our third, and final, concert in the 2023–24 Berklee a Les Arts series. Berklee a Les Arts is a collaboration between Berklee Valencia and the Palau de les Arts. We work collaboratively to select three operas that the Palau de les Arts is presenting during the season and we create an original work, based on the theme of that opera. This final Berklee a Les Arts, Styx, is based on Gluck’s opera, Orpheus and Eurydice. In addition, our annual collaboration with renowned Madrid-based conservatory Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía resumes, with two concerts in their facilities on Friday, March 1, followed by one concert in Valencia on March 2, in the auditorium of one of our newest partners: Caixa Forum. 

In February we offered three day trips for undergraduate students: one to Albufera, a freshwater lagoon and beautiful park, where flamingos can be seen at certain times of the year. This is also the birthplace of paella, and there are many rice fields in the area. Did you know that the original ingredients of paella were rat and eel? Fortunately people now have access to a wider variety of ingredients so that rat and eel do not need to be used! The second day trip was to Sagunto and the Caves of San José, which boast a subterranean river. In addition to these day trips, our second Music Industry Day of the year for undergraduate students is scheduled for February 29. Students will have the opportunity to visit and meet with industry professionals at BMAT, Intorno Lab, Too Young LTD, and Bridge 48. 

Graduate students have been equally busy, with string quartet recording sessions for students in the scoring for film, television, and video games program; a variety of guest speakers in the global entertainment and music business program including Josh Greenberg, founder and creative strategy consultant at Green Mountain Lodge, and Marie-Anne Robert, managing director of Sony Music Entertainment France; a presentation by Pablo Munguía, director of the music production, technology, and innovation program, on his work as a member of the Super Bowl Halftime Show production team; and a visit by singer and gospel musician Didier Likeng to the contemporary performance (production concentration) program. 

Have a wonderful end to this leap year February and I look forward to updating you again soon.

Dear Berklee Valencia family,

I hope that 2024 is off to a great start for you and your student. We took some time off between Christmas and the new year. And many members of our team took the following week off to enjoy the important Spanish holiday, Reyes Magos (Epiphany). This is when most Spanish children get their gifts and it is an important holiday in the country.

Once the holidays were over, we finalized details of our first two events for the 2024 spring semester. We welcomed 86 new Study Abroad students and offered a week of orientation events for them, including a reception for students and their families, campus tours, and a session on how to make the most of their time abroad. The week ended with a scavenger hunt, allowing students to discover different corners of Valencia.

That same week, all graduate students returned to participate in the Global Career Summit, an annual event with a variety of keynote speakers, panel discussions, and workshops. Speakers included President of MBK Entertainment Jeanine McLean; Louisa Rainbird, head of music for Amazon Studios Europe; Sound designer and producer Will Littlejohn, who was involved in the creation of Guitar Hero; and singer-songwriter Tone Stith. Students had the opportunity to take part in one-on-one mentoring sessions with these and other guest speakers and artists. In addition, we offered workshops on a variety of topics including visas, the Post-Master Program, and Fulbright.

Construction on campus continued over the holidays. We now have a new storage area for our production equipment. And the studio team has a new office! We will pause construction on the main campus until our next break. However, progress on the annex expansion area continues and we hope to have that completed by May.

I wish you and your loved ones all the best for 2024. And I look forward to sending you a new update soon.

Dear Berklee Valencia family,

I am writing this during our last week of classes and by the time you receive this, the semester will already be over. I hope that your student had a great semester at Berklee Valencia, that they were able to grow academically and personally, and that they enjoyed their time in this beautiful city.

We have had several events since I last wrote, including the second set of shows in our Berklee a Les Arts series. Entitled “Queens,” this original show was inspired by the opera Maria Stuarda by Gaetano Donizetti. In “Queens,” Berklee Valencia students and faculty paid tribute to outstanding musical personalities from the U.K. and Ireland’s music scene, while reflecting on competitive behavior and rivalry within the music industry. The confrontation between Mary Stuart (Mary I of Scotland) and Elizabeth I (Queen of England) was woven through the lyrics and music of Sade, Kate Bush, Laura Mvula, Sinead O’Connor, Lianne La Havas, Amy Winehouse, and Adele, to name a few. Through their lives, we contemplated on the weight that a crown can carry. 

We also hosted a series of concerts at the club El Loco, where student ensembles—undergraduate and graduate alike—gave their end-of-semester performances. In addition, SFTV students completed their final recordings of the semester, remotely with the Budapest Arts Orchestra.

On campus, we hosted our second Pet a Pooch event of the semester, where students had the opportunity to interact with dogs outside our campus. This is a fun and impactful experience as many students miss their pets and playing with an animal can lower stress levels. We hope this helped your student with their final projects, exams, and proficiencies. We also continued with our weekly Friday afternoon yoga sessions, to which all students, faculty, and staff are invited. 

Beyond classes and activities, our expansion and renovation project that I mentioned a few months ago continues. The new space (or “Annex” as we call it) has had new floors poured to make it a two-story addition (it was previously a large, open, single-story space) and walls of the new classrooms, library, and offices are being erected as we speak. It is exciting to see this project come together!

I wish you a wonderful and restful holiday and all the best for 2024. I look forward to updating you in the New Year!

Dear Berklee Valencia Family,

When I last wrote, I commented that autumn had yet to arrive in Valencia. However, the weather knew we turned back our clocks at the end of October, and with that change, the cooler weather finally came. We are now enjoying brisk mornings and evenings and warm sunny days.

As always, it has been a busy time at Berklee Valencia. The master’s programs hosted a variety of events, including a celebration of the International Day of Flamenco by the Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration) program (CPPD), featuring guest artists Alicia Carrasco (voice), Jose Manuel Moreno (guitar), and faculty member Sergio Martinez (percussion). Global Entertainment and Music Business (GEMB) held a series of events as part of their Innovation Week. Music Production, Technology, and Innovation (MPTI) hosted producer Emilio Miler. Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games (SFTV), students recorded pieces for brass quintet. In addition, a few students from CPPD and MPTI also traveled to Haarlem, Netherlands, to participate in a Songwriting Camp. 

Meanwhile, the undergraduate students participated in our annual Industry Day Trip to Madrid, a chance to visit relevant music companies that operate in the city. From labels to promoters, recording studios, and more, this was a unique chance to meet some leadership and staff and to learn about the ongoing day-to-day tasks that the different departments undertake. In the spring, we will offer a similar program in Barcelona. Lastly, undergraduate students also had their final Open Mic of the semester.

We also had some fun with a Pet a Pooch event featuring three of our staff member’s pups: Cosmo, a young mutt recently adopted by Academic Affairs staff member Laura Blasco; Lana, a Schnoodle that belongs to Diana Prieto from Student Affairs, Diversity, and Inclusion; and Romulo, a French bulldog owned by Martina Naretto in our Academic Records and Services Office. It was a fantastic opportunity for students to relax, spend social time together, and bond with amazing and loving dogs.

While Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Spain, we were fortunate to have a community Friendsgiving dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe Valencia. Eighty faculty, staff, and students came together to celebrate our community and partake in a traditional Thanksgiving meal (including a vegetarian/vegan option). 

I look forward to giving you one more update before 2024!

Dear Berklee Valencia family,

It doesn’t feel like autumn yet in Valencia, where temperatures remain high and we have seen little rain in weeks. We aren’t complaining though as it gave us incredible weather for our Lago de Conciertos series, which is held outside, beside the Museum of Sciences in the City of Arts and Sciences. We have had a variety of bands—composed of First Year Abroad, Study Abroad, and CPPD (Master of Music in contemporary performance and production concentration) students—perform in the series to hundreds of enthusiastic people each night. Our last show for the fall was on Friday, October 13, and we’ll start back in April 2024.

In addition to our Lago concert series, we have had a variety of events and speakers on campus, including Sean Goulding and Simone Torres as part of the MPTI (Master of Music in music production, technology, and innovation) Innovation Series; the GEMB (Master of Arts in global entertainment and music business) program welcomed Ruth Koleva; and Susana Corbacho conducted a series of workshops on mental health. We organized sunset boat trips on the Mediterranean for students as well as a paella-making activity, specifically for the undergraduates.

Our SFTV (Master of Music in Scoring for Film Television and Video Games) students took part in their first recording sessions with members of the Budapest Art Orchestra. And GEMB students went to Barcelona for the Future of Music Forum conference.

We also engaged our community in Berklee’s Strategic Planning process, with a tabling event in which students, faculty, and staff could participate. And our enrollment team organized an open house for prospective students, with a series of workshops and information sessions. Finally, our first performance in the Berklee a les Arts series, La Mano Ganadora, an original work based on the opera Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky, was held this month.

Our most exciting news is that, for the third consecutive year, our GEMB program was chosen by Billboard as one of the top music business programs for 2023. We are proud of this recognition and know that it will help our students when they graduate.
I look forward to sending you more updates soon.

Dear Berklee Valencia family,

As we embark on a brand new academic year, I am thrilled to share some exciting updates with you. It brings immense joy to see fresh faces on our vibrant campus, and I am delighted to announce that we've welcomed 290 enthusiastic students this fall, comprising 140 in our esteemed graduate programs and 150 in our dynamic undergraduate programs. These students hail from a staggering 47 different countries, creating a wonderfully diverse and enriching environment. Notably, the United States and China have the largest representation among them.

Our academic journey began with an engaging week-long orientation program, tailored for both our undergraduate and graduate students. During this orientation, we covered a wide spectrum of essential topics, including valuable insights into living in Valencia, access to medical services, and an exploration of our equity policy. Additionally, we organized various social events, including delightful picnics for our graduate students and an exhilarating city-wide scavenger hunt for our undergraduates. Our opening convocation was truly memorable, featuring a captivating performance by the talented Berklee Valencia faculty and esteemed alumni, under the guidance of the renowned Professor Perico Sambeat. To wrap up the week in style, our Un Lago de Conciertos series commenced with phenomenal performances by three exceptional ensembles.

Our fall semester follows the success of our Summer Performance Program, which unfolded over the final two weeks of July. This intensive program saw 142 dedicated students actively participating in enriching musicianship classes, collaborative ensemble work, immersive studio recording experiences, and a diverse range of workshops, including the exploration of Flamenco music and songwriting. Notably, all our ensembles had the privilege to showcase their talents on our esteemed Lago stage, performing in front of appreciative audiences, comprising family members, local residents, and numerous tourists who flocked to the iconic City of Arts and Sciences, where our campus resides, during the summer season.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the exciting expansion and renovation project that kicked off in August. Over the course of the next two years, we are set to augment our facilities by adding an impressive 10,000 square feet of usable space, marking a remarkable 25 percent increase in our infrastructure. This ambitious project encompasses several exciting components, including the construction of a second floor in our new annex building, the revitalization of our library, the establishment of a state-of-the-art ensemble room equipped with recording capabilities, the creation of a cutting-edge keyboard lab, the addition of more classrooms, and the provision of enhanced office space for our dedicated staff and faculty members. Furthermore, an exquisite event room is in the works. I eagerly anticipate keeping you informed about the progress of these remarkable developments.

In closing, I want to extend my best wishes to all our students for a successful and fulfilling semester ahead. I promise to keep you in the loop with regular updates throughout the year, so please stay tuned for more exciting news and achievements from Berklee Valencia.