Nearly 900 graduates from 62 countries received degrees today at Berklee's 2015 commencement. Berklee President Roger H. Brown presented honorary doctor of music degrees to music legends Julio Iglesias, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Harvey Mason, and Doug Morris. Bridgewater delivered the commencement address to the graduating class and an estimated audience of nearly 7,000 guests at the Agganis Arena. The annual commencement concert, held the previous evening at the Agganis Arena, featured some of the college's most accomplished students paying tribute to the honorees with performances of music associate with their careers.
Bridgewater opened her address by thanking the audience and recognizing that the students and faculty were in the room because they dared to dream. You all have a collective dream that involves music, or else you would not be at this illustrious Berklee College of Music, she began. No matter whether you are out front or behind the scenes, please, stay honest in your dreams. Don't let anyone steal your dreams. Continuing to encourage the new graduates, Bridgewater added, Do not accept the word no.' No,' when you are going for your dreams, can be one of the most destructive words you have ever heard. When someone tells you no,' step around, go to the next door. There is a door that will open.
After hearing President Brown share words from Afo Verde, chairman/CEO of Latin America, Spain, and Portugal at Sony Music Entertainment; tennis legend Rafael Nadal; and former President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy speaking to his prolific recording career and exemplifying what it means to be a global music ambassador Iglesias spoke extemporaneously, first in Spanish and then English. I am an artist that has sung in different languages, I've sung in a multitude of languages, and the most beautiful thing that has happened to me in my life as an artist is this honor from Berklee. Yesterday, I asked the president how many students study at Berklee and where they are from, and he told me that 35-40% of the students are foreign. That means this open, global feeling instilled in all of you will help bring peace to the world.
Accepting his honorary degree, Mason 68, an alumnus of the college, said, The Berklee experience helped me become my own man. He also stressed the importance of music education in public schools. Every child should have the opportunity to discover music. Had that not been the case for me, I wouldn't be standing here today, said Mason. He closed his speech by offering some inspiring words for the class of 2015. As you go out into the world, I urge you to search your heart, search your soul, and always be open and ready to take advantage of every opportunity.
Before accepting his honorary degree, Morris heard remarks read by President Brown from Bono, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Iovine, and Simon Cowell, attesting to his influence over a long career in the industry. I've lived my dream, he said. Starting as a musician and a songwriter gave me a big advantage because it gave me a commonality with the artists. I know what it's like to be waiting for your record to come on the radio it can give you a heart attack. Now, the industry is changing, but it's not changing in any dramatic way. What's changing is how we distribute and sell music. And, there would be nothing to distribute or sell if we didn't have brilliant people creating what people love. When I got here I noticed something different, that everyone here loves music. It's not like these tech companies who want the music to be free. I want the music to be valuable and worth something to everyone.
This year's honorary doctorate recipients were recognized for their achievements in contemporary music, for their enduring contributions to popular culture, and for the influence their careers and music have had on Berklee's international student body. Iglesias, Bridgewater, Mason, and Morris join the ranks of such esteemed recipients as Duke Ellington (the first, in 1971), Jimmy Page, Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Smokey Robinson, David Bowie, Bonnie Raitt, Amar G. Bose, Annie Lennox, Count Basie, Sting, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Billy Joel, Chaka Khan, Steven Tyler, Carole King, George Clinton, and Pattie LaBelle.
About Berklee's class of 2015:
This year s class hails from 62 countries, including South Korea, Canada, Japan, China, India, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Iceland, Iran, and Kenya. The graduates will follow in the footsteps of alumni who are innovators in music business, education, music therapy, production, and every area of performance and writing. Berklee alumni are winners of more than 300 Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, including Esperanza Spalding, Quincy Jones, John Mayer, Diana Krall, Imagine Dragons, Melissa Etherdige, Gary Burton, Juan Luis Guerra, A.R. Rahman, Alejandro Sanz, Lalah Hathaway, and professors Terri Lyne Carrington, Danilo P rez, and Paula Cole.
Liz Lupton is a publicist in the Office of Media Relations. Media inquiries: llupton@berklee.edu.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
15/06/2026
Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
Nearly 900 graduates from 62 countries received degrees today at Berklee's 2015 commencement. Berklee President Roger H. Brown presented honorary doctor of music degrees to music legends Julio Iglesias, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Harvey Mason, and Doug Morris. Bridgewater delivered the commencement address to the graduating class and an estimated audience of nearly 7,000 guests at the Agganis Arena. The annual commencement concert, held the previous evening at the Agganis Arena, featured some of the college's most accomplished students paying tribute to the honorees with performances of music associate with their careers.
