Valencia Campus Update

	The Berklee satellite campus will be located in Valencia, Spain in the Annex South building of the renowned Palau de les Arts complex. It is slated to open later this year.

Berklee President Roger H. Brown recently signed an agreement paving the way for the opening of the Berklee satellite campus in Valencia, Spain later this year. The college has leased 38,750 square feet of the South Annex building adjacent to the famed Palau de les Arts de Valencia. Berklee will have use of the Palau auditoriums for musical events, enabling the creation of an independent operation within the City of Arts and Sciences complex while sharing the considerable resources of the Palau de les Arts.

The Palau de les Arts, an iconic building recognized and admired worldwide, includes an opera house that hosts both a world-class opera season and the Valencia Symphony Orchestra.

"We couldn't dream of a better place for launching our first international campus," says President Brown. "The Palau will be a great first step in building a solid foundation for our future activity in Valencia. The musical and social traditions of Valencia make this location ideal."

Berklee will invest ¢2.5 million to build and equip the facilities. That figure includes the design and construction of a state-of-the-art recording studio, which will aspire to become one of Europe's top film-scoring soundstages.

Berklee's programs in Valencia will create a new standard for contemporary music education through the efforts of the college's renowned faculty. Larry Monroe, Berklee's Vice President for Academic Affairs/International Programs, will administer the academic initiatives and form the Valencia faculty team. In March, the Mediterranean Music Institute will open. Through the institute, Berklee in Valencia students, educators, visiting musicians, and new faculty members from Spain and elsewhere will explore fusions of music prevalent in and around the Mediterranean. The hope is that Berklee in Valencia will become a hub for the study, evolution, and global proliferation of many musical genres, including flamenco.

Undergraduate programs for students coming from the Boston campus will commence in September 2011. In 2012, Berklee in Valencia will launch master's-degree programs in film scoring and media writing, electronic production and design, global entertainment and music management, studio performance, and symphonic bands. A range of short, professional certificate programs for experienced musicians, as well as special programs for young musicians will also be available. These programs will focus on songwriting and composition, film scoring, music business, and instrumental performance in various musical styles.

President Brown acknowledged the enduring commitment of the Generalitat Valenciana and the city of Valencia to the project and support from SGAE as decisive factors in Berklee's selection of Valencia for its first international campus. "We hope to contribute to Valencia by bringing Berklee's 65 years of experience in developing contemporary music professionals," Brown says, "and by helping to enrich the remarkable musical traditions of the Mediterranean."