Alum

Adam Calus

Position
Assistant Professor
Affiliated Departments
Faculty Bio E-Mail

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Adam Calus is a professional musician and educator devoted to making people’s lives better through the art of music. For 15 years, he has been a music educator in a number of different contexts. He has worked as a private teacher in founding his own music lesson business, Make Music Anywhere; he has taught music for a number of nonprofits and summer programs, and he taught as the lead music teacher for the music program he revived at Charlestown High School, a Boston Public School. In his time as a public school educator, he was honored with the Berklee Urban Service Award for "enriching the education and artistic development of young musicians." He has also been recognized by his state senator for his revival and support of Boston's music education programming in the City of Boston.

Currently, Calus serves as the executive director (CEO) for Education Through Music—Massachusetts (ETM-MA), leading the organization in its mission to "partner with under-resourced schools to provide music as a core subject for all children, and utilize music education as a catalyst to improve academic achievement, motivation for school, and self-confidence. ETM-MA launches new music programs at schools that need them most, builds and strengthens music programs that exist, and supports all programs it works with to become sustainable and transformative in their school community.” Calus was also recently appointed to assistant professor at Berklee College of Music, where he is excited to continue his journey in making music education experiences the best they can be for all students beyond high school. In addition to these roles, he is an active musician in the city of Boston music scene as the cofounder of Beantown Sessions, which facilitates spaces where musicians can come together to make music in a safe and inclusive environment that fosters creativity, self-expression, vulnerability, and overall musical expansion.

Career Highlights
  • Responsible for the revival of the music program at Charlestown High School, a Boston Public School.
  • Founder / CEO of Education Through Music - MA, where multiple music programs for Boston Public Schools are being created and strengthened.
  • Cofounder / Codirector of Beantown Sessions - a community music project based in Boston that supports creating unity through making music, facilitates public music-making opportunities for all musicians, and supports meaningful causes for the advancement of music in the City of Boston.
  • Multiple self-produced albums and other projects.
Awards
  • North American Scholarship Tour Scholarship, Berklee College of Music
  • Recipient of the Music Education Scholarship, Boston Conservatory at Berklee
  • Alan Silvestri Film Scoring Award, Berklee College of Music
  • Berklee Urban Service Award, Berklee College of Music
  • Recognized for rebuilding the music programs for schools in the City of Boston by a State of Massachusetts Senator Recognition
  • Yamaha 40 under 40 Music Educator Recognition
  • Recipient of numerous grants for music education access creation from various local, national, and private foundations
Education
  • M.M., Boston Conservatory at Berklee, music education
  • B.M., Berklee College of Music, film scoring and music education
In Their Own Words

"I hope that students who take my classes come away with a better understanding of themselves as a musician, student, and member of a really special community of people here at Berklee. I aim to challenge students to discover their most authentic self in the classroom as they work to improve their overall musicianship, understanding of music and its manifestation in today's world, and the music scene here in Boston, Massachusetts."

"I have been an educator for about 15 years in a number of different contexts and at some of the most developmentally important parts of my life. Meaning, music and teaching are a part of who I am. I am proud to share my music and what I have learned over the years with Berklee students who are now where I once was. I am an expert in the field of music education and bring this expertise to all classes I teach at Berklee so that every student I work with can have the absolute best, most supportive, most enjoyable learning experience possible."