Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert The celebration will be held on July 10 in Perugia, Italy.

By

Colette Greenstein

June 30, 2025

Students perform at the secondary school San Paolo in Rome as part of the Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics in 2024.

Image by David Moressi

The Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics program will commemorate its 40th anniversary with a special concert on Thursday, July 10, at 9:00 p.m. at the Piazza IV Novembre in Perugia, Italy. Free and open to the public, the event will kick off the Umbria Jazz Festival, which runs July 11-20.

The concert, directed by Dave Limina '87, chair of piano at Berklee College of Music and academic director of Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics, will feature an all-star lineup of program faculty and alumni, including: Matthew Garrison '94, described by the New York Times as an electric bass virtuoso ; French-Malagasy pianist, composer, producer, and bandleader Mathis Picard; singer, composer, arranger, and lyricist Daniela Spalletta; saxophonist Marco Guidolotti; renowned jazz guitarist Daniele Cordisco; pianist Alessandro Lanzoni; drummer and Berklee full-tuition scholarship recipient Roberto Giaquinto '09; and 15-year-old drummer Antonio Lo Conte, who won best junior drummer at the 2023 Tour Music Fest contest.

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics has become the premier summer jazz program in the world, and to be able to celebrate the program by directing the anniversary concert makes me so proud, says Limina. The concert will encapsulate an extraordinary 40 years of musicianship and music education, with performances by an immensely talented lineup of artists that can't be found anywhere else. It will be a night to remember.

To have the caliber of talent and amazing alumni returning to perform at this year's tribute concert is quite an amazing and humbling feat, says Giovanni Tommaso, director of the Umbria Jazz Clinics. This is truly an event not to be missed.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Berklee's collaboration with the Umbria Jazz Festival, a partnership that has offered a unique educational opportunity to nearly 7,000 students from around the world. Held in the beautiful city of Perugia, in the heart of Italy's Umbria region, the program will bring together 220 high school and college-aged students to foster a powerful, shared learning experience.

Running July 8-20, the Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics program offers aspiring musicians an immersive educational experience designed to foster musical growth and development. All classes and ensembles follow the Berklee method, which emphasizes jazz and other contemporary improvisational styles from the pan-African diaspora as the foundation for musical understanding.

Berklee is grateful for our longstanding partnership with Giovanni Tommaso on this unique program that has enriched the lives of thousands of talented students over the past 40 years, said Berklee President Jim Lucchese. It exemplifies our mission of providing access to exceptional educational opportunities, and we look forward to continued collaboration in the coming years.

Classes will be taught by esteemed Berklee faculty, including Yoron Israel, chair of the Percussion Department; Jim Kelly, professor of guitar; Fernando Huergo, professor of bass; Nichelle Mungo, associate professor of voice; Gregory Groover Jr., assistant chair of the Ensemble Department; Nadia Washington, assistant professor of voice; Dennis Montgomery, a professor in the Ensemble Department; Zahili Gonzalez Zamora, associate professor of piano; Phil Grenadier, an associate professor in the Ensemble Department; Nick Grondin, assistant professor of ear training; and Jason Camelio, trombonist and assistant vice president of global programs and partnerships. These faculty members will also perform alongside program alumni during the anniversary concert.

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