Wadhams Production Scholars
Berklee music production and engineering students selected as Wadhams Production Scholars pose in front of Abbey Road Studios.
In 1983, Wayne Wadhams (1946–2008) founded the Music Production and Engineering (MP&E) Department at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he taught for more than two decades. Upon Wadhams’s passing in 2008 and in accordance with his wishes, the Wadhams Trust was established to provide extraordinary programming for senior MP&E students with an emphasis on production.
The Wadhams Production Scholars trip was established in 2013, with the inaugural group of nine MP&E seniors, nominated by their faculty and chairs, traveling to London to work with seminal U.K. producers at iconic British recording studios such as Abbey Road, Mark Knopfler’s British Grove Studios, and Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios. During this annual trip, students have collaborated on professional recording artist releases while working with top guest producers and/or engineers such as:
- Chris Bolster (Paul McCartney, Maroon 5, Herbie Hancock, Kate Bush, Coldplay)
- Manon Grandjean (Polar Bear, Gorillaz, Kasabian, Noel Gallagher, Beady Eye)
- David Hentschel (Stevie Wonder, George Harrison, Frank Zappa, Carly Simon, Missy Elliott)
- Kevin Killen (Bob Dylan, U2, Yo-Yo Ma, Shakira, Talking Heads)
- Hugh Padgham (David Bowie, Sting, Melissa Etheridge, Alejandro Sanz, Peter Gabriel)
- Fraser T. Smith (Sam Smith, Adele, Linkin Park, Ellie Goulding, Jesse & Joy)
In addition, students have worked with Berklee MP&E faculty and administrators such as:
- Rob Jaczko (Bruce Springsteen, the Pretenders, Luther Vandross, Warren Zevon, Danilo Pérez)
- Daniel M. Thompson (Alan Silvestri, Harry Connick, Mister G, The Sopranos, ER)
- Leanne Ungar (Ray Charles, Leonard Cohen, Janis Ian, Billy Joel, Guster)
Watch a video documenting the inaugural trip:
The Wadhams Production Scholars programming continues to be a transformative experience for all involved, and the program looks to explore other influential recording destinations around the world.