Berklee goes international at Valencia ARTeria

Berklee is planting its flag in Spain, and doing so in a pretty cool building. I'll paste the press release below. More details and images are here.

Contemporary music college taking shape in Spain with focus on Spanish territories, Europe, Middle East, Africa for students

Berklee College of Music and SGAE forge educational, cultural partnership to build leading-edge campus with iconic 27-story building. Groundbreaking is Oct. 16.

Boston, MA (U.S.) and Valencia, Spain – Berklee College of Music President Roger Brown and Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) CEO Eduardo Bautista announce an unparalleled cultural partnership to build a new college for global, contemporary music education in Valencia, Spain. Berklee Valencia will be the largest offshore U.S. music college in the world. Programs will offer music education that is new to Europe, focusing on contemporary music, international business, and the latest developments in leading-edge music technology.

Berklee and SGAE officials will break ground October 16, 2008. Berklee Valencia will be housed in a cultural complex called ARTeria Valencia, part of a network of performance and education spaces being constructed by SGAE in several Spanish and Latin American cities. ARTeria Valencia’s modern complex will include a 27-story building. Berklee Valencia will open in 2011.

Berklee Valencia will be unlike any other music college in the world. The curriculum for undergraduate and graduate programs will offer five main areas of study to prepare students to meet the challenges of the contemporary music industry:

• · Music for Film and Integrated Media
• · Electronic Production and Design
• · Global Music and Entertainment Management
• · Symphonic Band Studies
• · Mediterranean Music

Berklee Valencia will enroll 1,000 students. Student recruitment will have emphasis on Spain, Europe, Spanish-speaking countries, Africa, and the Middle East.

ARTeria Valencia, home of Berklee Valencia, is one part of ARTeria Multiespacios, a network of multi-purpose spaces being developed by SGAE. The ARTeria includes eight centers in Spain, as well as centers in Mexico City, and Buenos Aires. The centers will have space for dance, music, audio/visual work, and theater, as well as recording studios, classrooms, and SGAE offices.