You can find the phrase in the first line of Berklee's About page. It's our handshake: Hi, we're Berklee, a contemporary music and performing arts school. This is how it's been since Lawrence Berk founded the school more than 70 years ago with jazz at the center of the curriculum. We were the first music school to take seriously the idea that music could be taught effectively through popular contemporary styles, and that idea continues to stand behind so much of what Berklee does.
But what do we mean when we talk about contemporary music these days? Certainly jazz is no longer the only contemporary music a student can learn here-not by a long shot. On the other hand, we can't mean contemporary as opposed to classical music-not while students at both Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee continue to explore, compose, and perform exciting and fresh work in the classical idiom (though we could spend many more words on the equally fraught question: What is classical music?). Instead, contemporary music, for Berklee, has more to do with an approach to music than it does with any particular type of music.
To better understand this approach, we spoke to members from across the Berklee community about what making and teaching contemporary music means to them in their particular disciplines. In the process, a few key features emerged that seem to be central to how many at Berklee approach the study of contemporary music:
Relevance According to vibraphonist Victor Mendoza, contemporary music is, simply put, music performed and created with what is rhythmically, harmonically, and texturally current. For Mendoza, a professor at Berklee's campus in Valencia, Spain, this means that his job is to teach students to employ current musical vocabularies-jazz, Pan-American rhythms, and global harmonies performed on acoustic, ethnic, and electronic instruments. But he also stresses that great music and musicians will always be relevant-that theres a timeless quality to compositions by musicians from Bach and Duke Ellington to Tito Puente, Stevie Wonder, and the Rolling Stones.
Great music and musicians will always be relevant.
-Victor Mendoza
Grammy-winning saxophonist Tia Fuller, a professor in the Ensemble Department, defines the work of contemporary music as excellence, influence, and exploration of what we know as popular music today-discovering the fundamental components of today's music through cultural influences, social constructs, and cross-pollination of genres. For Fuller, who has performed with Beyonc and directs ensembles focusing on the music of artists including Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Christian McBride, and Micki Miller, working in contemporary music is not just about what popular music today sounds like, but about each artist's pursuit of excellence and integrity through their performances.
Jonathan Bailey Holland, chair of composition, contemporary music, and core studies at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, describes the relationship between a classical grounding and a contemporary context at the Conservatory: The Conservatory curriculum is rooted in the western classical tradition, but our students are vibrant creative artists living today and responding to their current condition. For these students, creating and performing contemporary music means that their work is focused on communicating from an informed perspective, with a voice that is relevant to, and shaped by, the world in which they live. It also means that they each define exactly what this means on an individual basis. There are as many ways to be musically relevant as there are musicians creating and performing work today.
For some, including Annette Philip, artistic director of the Berklee India Exchange, relevance has a social dimension, as well: Contemporary, for us, means not only seeking to push boundaries musically, but also bringing topics that are socially relevant into our artistic choices. We strive to create concept-driven, socially conscious productions that embrace the integration of multidisciplinary art forms, perspectives, and cultural influences.
Cross-Pollination As the leader of an institute that works to strengthen creative exchange between Berklee and India, Philip also understands the ever-broadening interplay between cultures, genres, styles, and technologies. India is home to one of the oldest music traditions of the world. It is also one of the most diverse countries not only in terms of the number of languages, dance forms, or religions that flourish there, but also from a geographical, social, economic, and ethnicity point of view, she explains. Contemporary Indian music today is a confluence of Indian classical or folk idioms combined with nuances of pop, jazz, R&B, hip-hop, rock, and myriad other genres. This cross-pollination is on full display in Berklee India Exchange's most popular video on Berklees YouTube channel, Jiya Jale, which reinterprets a classic A. R. Rahman song with a string quintet, jazz influences, reharms, and what the students fondly call a dirty loops section.
Watch the Berklee Indian Ensemble perform Jiya Jale :
Video of A. R. Rahman, "Jiya Jale" (Dil Se) : Berklee Indian Ensemble (Cover)
Javier Lim n, artistic director of the Mediterranean Music Institute, sees a similar benefit in the vast array of styles on display across campus. Berklee is the world reference institution for contemporary music because of its balance between roots from all around the world and new vangard styles and techniques, he says. Only at Berklee can you find flamenco, jazz, blues, electronic dance, Latin, Middle Eastern music, Sephardic songs...all together played by young, great musicians.
Of course, part of what makes contemporary musics cross-pollination so successful at a place like Berklee is that the
North America Stories
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x
Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century
In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
26/04/2024
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...
26/04/2024
PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...
26/04/2024
TORONTO Rogers Communications has signed a 10-year agreement with Comcast to bring the latest Xfinity products and technology to Canadians....
26/04/2024
Calrec is very pleased to announce the benefits of its highly flexible approach to customer service has been recognized with a third award for the Argo range. T...
26/04/2024
New Adobe Photoshop with Advanced Generative Fill and Generate Image Brings New ...
26/04/2024
Trends And Takeaways From NAB Show 2024
Melanie Ciotti April 25, 2024
0 Comments
NAB's Eric Trabb (right) awards SNS with two NAB Show Product of ...
26/04/2024
Sony's Ci Media Cloud Keeps NHRA Moving
Brie Clayton April 25, 2024
0 Comments
Cloud-Based Media Asset Management and Collaboration Platform Accel...
26/04/2024
Capitol Broadcasting & Leadership Triangle Collaborate for Third Year
Capitol B...
26/04/2024
The staff at CBC Radio have been hard at work creating several new features for listeners and viewers. Several debuts are taking place this spring.
I have nev...
26/04/2024
NBA Playoffs 2024: ESPN Rolls Out Huge Production Operation for Busy First Round Tech deployments include miked on-field personnel, shot-distance tracking, AR g...
26/04/2024
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: ESPN Ops Team Navigates Both Sides of the Border With ...
26/04/2024
Behind the Scenes at the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit (Photo Gallery) After just the first round, the 2024 NFL Draft has already made quite an impression in Detroi...
26/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Van Wagner Powers Onsite Entertainment Experience for Record Cro...
26/04/2024
MCine Mauritius is to use Qube Wire for all future DCP deliveries across their e...
26/04/2024
Powered by XPression, the world's fastest-growing real-time motion graphics engine, Raiden combines data gathering, processing, and visualization tools to t...
26/04/2024
By Craig Anderton
With this technique, when you play a standard 6-string electric guitar, you'll hear the rich, vibrant sound of a 12-string guitar. The pr...
25/04/2024
Sundance Institute Founder Robert Redford during a press conference at the 1996 ...
25/04/2024
alt= class=wp-image-12361 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-booth-2024-960x540-1.jpg/> Set against a vibrant backdrop of innovation and collaboratio...
25/04/2024
alt= class=wp-image-12356 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-mod-win-960x540-1.jpg/>NAB's Eric Trabb (right) awards SNS with two NAB Show Product...
25/04/2024
PHILADELPHIA Comcast beat earnings estimates in its Q1 2024 financial report, as streaming losses continued to decline and Peacock's paid subscribers spiked...
25/04/2024
SEATTLE The Seattle Kraken have inked new multi-year agreements with Tegna and Prime Video that will expand access to their games over broadcast stations and st...
25/04/2024
Cintel Scanner G3 HDR Restores Egypt's Cinema Treasures to Their Former Glo...
25/04/2024
Sinclair Broadcast Group said it named Kevin Coskren chief meteorologist at KTUL, its ABC affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma....
25/04/2024
The Business of TV News, a new one-day event featuring Martha Raddatz, Shannon Bream, Glenn Kirschner and other major figures in television news, happens at Hot...
25/04/2024
Conditions put on the proposed sale of WADL Detroit, to Mission Broadcasting have created a potential drama in the Motor City....
25/04/2024
TelevisaUnivision reported a $52 million loss in the first quarter, up from $3 m...
You can find the phrase in the first line of Berklee's About page. It's our handshake: Hi, we're Berklee, a contemporary music and performing arts school. This is how it's been since Lawrence Berk founded the school more than 70 years ago with jazz at the center of the curriculum. We were the first music school to take seriously the idea that music could be taught effectively through popular contemporary styles, and that idea continues to stand behind so much of what Berklee does.
