Schillinger House (1945–1954) In 1945, pianist, composer, arranger and
MIT graduate
Lawrence Berk founded Schillinger House, the precursor to the Berklee School of Music, after quitting his job at
Raytheon. Located at 284 Newbury St. in Boston's
Back Bay, the school specialized in the
Schillinger System of harmony and composition developed by
Joseph Schillinger. Berk had studied with Schillinger. Instrumental lessons and a few classes in traditional theory, harmony, and arranging were also offered. but by 1949 there were more than 500 students. In 1954, when the school's curriculum had expanded to include
music education classes and more traditional
music theory, Berk changed the name to Berklee School of Music, after his 12-year-old son
Lee Eliot Berk, to reflect the broader scope of instruction.
Berklee School of Music (1954–1970) Lawrence Berk emphasized learning from practitioners, as opposed to academics, and generally hired working musicians as faculty members. Several of the school's best-known musician-educators arrived after the school's name change. In 1956, trumpeter
Herb Pomeroy joined the faculty and remained until his retirement in 1996. Drummer
Alan Dawson and saxophonist
Charlie Mariano became faculty members in 1957. Reed player
John LaPorta began teaching in 1962. Like many of Berk's ideas, this practice continues. Although far more emphasis is placed on academic credentials among new faculty hires than in the past, experienced performers such as
Gary Burton,
Mick Goodrick,
Pat Metheny,
Arif Mardin,
Aydin Esen,
Hal Crook,
Joe Lovano,
Danilo Perez, and others have served as faculty over the years. In 1955, its enrollment was 150-200 students. Also during the mid-1950s, the school began to attract more international students. For example, Japanese pianist
Toshiko Akiyoshi arrived in 1956. Multiple Grammy-winning producer
Arif Mardin came from Turkey to study at the school in 1958. In 1957, Berklee initiated the use of technology in music education with
Jazz in the Classroom, a series of LP recordings of student work, accompanied by scores. These albums contain early examples of composing, arranging, and performing by students who went on to prominent jazz careers, such as
Gary Burton,
John Abercrombie,
John Scofield,
Ernie Watts,
Alan Broadbent,
Sadao Watanabe, and many others. The series, which continued until 1980, was a precursor to subsequent Berklee-affiliated recording labels. These later releases provided learning experiences not only for student composers and performers, but also for students in the new majors in
music engineering and production, and music business and management. Berklee awarded its first bachelor of music degrees in 1966. Members of the first graduating class to receive degrees included
Alf Clausen, Stephen Gould and Michael Rendish. Gould taught film scoring at Berklee and became the program director for the Educational Leadership PhD program at
Lesley University. During the 1960s, the Berklee curriculum began to reflect new developments in popular music, such the rise of
rock and roll,
soul and
funk, and
jazz-rock fusion. His student ensemble, the Dues Band, helped introduce contemporary popular music into the ensemble curriculum, and later as the Rainbow Band, performed
world music and jazz fusions. Between 1968 and 1969, enrollment of women "jumped from 11 to 44," and by 1970 total enrollment had reached 1000, with 80 of them being international students.
Berklee College of Music (1970–2016) , 130 Massachusetts Avenue, and the 160 Massachusetts Avenue tower. The school became Berklee College of Music in 1970 and bestowed its first honorary doctorate on
Duke Ellington in 1971.
Vibraphonist Gary Burton joined the faculty in 1971, helping to solidify the place of jazz-rock fusion in the curriculum. As Dean of Curriculum from 1985 to 1996, Burton led the development of several new majors, including
music synthesis and songwriting, and facilitated the school's transition to technology-based education. Curriculum innovations during the 1970s included the first college-level instrumental major in electric bass guitar in 1973, and the first jazz-rock ensemble class in 1974. In 1979, Berklee founder Lawrence Berk stepped down as president. The board of trustees appointed his son
Lee Eliot Berk to replace him. Under new leadership, the school underwent further growth and diversification of its curriculum. The college offered the world's first undergraduate degree program in
film scoring starting in 1980. Beginning in 1981, the string department curriculum expanded to include many stylistic idioms besides classical music. In 1986, the world's first college-level major in music synthesis was offered, followed by the world's first college songwriting major in 1987. The college was also the first third-level institution in the world to offer a course in Electric Bass Guitar. While many conservatories offer a major in Double Bass, Berklee's former bass chair Rich Appleman was a pioneer in bass education and understood the impact this change could bring. The number of international students has grown steadily to 24.2% of total enrollment in 2010 and 28% . Berklee expanded its
community outreach efforts in 1991 with the launch of City Music, a program designed to make music instruction available to underserved youth in the Boston area. On a global scale, Berklee partnered with selected music schools around the world to form the Berklee International Network in 1993. Other new majors, in Music Business & Management and
music therapy, were offered beginning in 1994 and 1996 respectively. In 2003, the school began offering classes online through Berkleemusic.com, called
Berklee Online under the leadership of
Dave Kusek. Other curriculum developments included the incorporation of a
hip-hop course in 2004. In 2004, Lee Eliot Berk stepped down as president of the school his father had founded, and
Roger H. Brown was installed as the college's third president. Under Brown's leadership the college's enrollment has grown and diversified, admission has become highly selective, and significant increases have occurred in the retention (above 80% in 2016) and graduation rate (above 60% in 2015). In 2006,
mandolin and
banjo were accepted as principal instruments for the first time. The college also initiated an Africana Studies program, the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, and an American Roots Music Program. In October 2013, Berklee Online launched its online degree programs, and began accepting applications for the Bachelor of Professional Studies in two majors: music production, and
music business. In January 2014, the college launched the Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship (Berklee ICE), a new campus center which offers courses, workshops, research and an incubation environment to encourage music businesses startup companies.
Berklee (2016–present) In June 2015, Berklee College of Music and
The Boston Conservatory announced that the governing boards for the two schools had approved plans to pursue a proposed merger. On January 19, 2016, the two schools announced that they would be merging. The agreement was signed the next day, with Berklee College of Music being renamed Berklee, and the Conservatory being renamed The Boston Conservatory at Berklee. On October 22, 2020, Berklee announced its new president-elect, Erica Muhl, as President Brown announced his retirement. Muhl previously worked at the University of Southern California (USC), where she was dean and founding executive director of the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. For the fall semester of 2020, the college taught classes remotely as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The college then moved to a hybrid model learning system in the spring semester of 2021. In August 2021, Berklee College of Music announced it would begin offering a Bachelor of Arts program in Music Industry Leadership and Innovation starting in the fall of 2022. The program will be the first undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree to be available in the college's history. In 2025, Berklee College of Music, alongside Ben Zakharenko and Dayvin, were announced as one of the remixers for the
2026 FIFA World Cup theme, representing the
Boston area.
List of college presidents Sexual harassment allegations In November 2017,
The Boston Globe reported a culture of
sexual harassment existed on the campus, with at least 3 male professors allowed to quietly leave the school in 2008 after student reports of sexual misconduct with teachers. Berklee's administrators released a statement saying, in part, that the college has rigorous policies and procedures in place to deal with claims of sexual harassment. On November 13, students staged a silent protest and class
walkout to address the allegations of sexual harassment by teachers and staff. Also on November 13, college president Roger Brown addressed over 1,200 students, apologized to the affected students, and pledged to "root out abusive behavior." He also stated that the school has terminated eleven faculty members in the past thirteen years due to sexual harassment and
sexual assault. The college has worked to strengthen policies to prevent sexual harassment and abuse and has taken a number of measures to create a better and safer environment, including instituting "training courses, creating a working group, and diversifying leadership." ==Academics==