The Holland College School of Performing Arts (SoPA) and Berklee College of Music in Boston solidified their relationship today when SoPA signed an agreement to become one of Berklee’s prestigious International Partners.

The Berklee International Network (BIN) is designed to promote the effectiveness of contemporary music education among members and to advance the value of contemporary music education in the world.  The partners in the BIN are committed to supporting and providing quality contemporary music education, providing opportunities for cultural and educational exchange, and exploring and understanding the musical diversity represented by the members. With the addition of the Holland College School of Performing Arts in Canada, there are now 19 members of the BIN worldwide including Brazil, Spain, Ecuador, Japan, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, Finland, Israel, Korea, France and Greece.

“We are thrilled to become a partner in the Berklee International Network,” stated Michael O’Grady, Vice-President of Innovation, Enterprise and Strategic Development at Holland College.  “Since first meeting with Berklee on a P.E.I. trade mission three years ago, we have welcomed members of Berklee’s international program team to the college and our program on several occasions. We are extremely proud of our curriculum and faculty, SoPA graduates and students.  Being invited to become a BIN partner with this internationally-renowned contemporary music college recognizes what we have already achieved and now, will take us to where we want to go.”

“Each BIN partner is essential to Berklee due to their capacity of attracting and generating musical talent in their specific countries. Each one of them opens doors for us to their musical cultures and strengthens the international strategy to make modern music education accessible around the world. We are delighted that the Holland College School of Performing Arts in Canada is now one of our international partners” commented Guillermo Cisneros, Vice-President for Global Initiatives of Berklee College of Music.

“Our Music Performance students will directly benefit from the partnership through the workshops and master classes that Berklee faculty will deliver to partner schools,” commented Alan Dowling, Head Instructor of the Music Performance program. “The students will also benefit from the specialized training their instructors will receive from faculty exchanges between Holland College and Berklee.”

The Holland College School of Performing Arts was formed as a partnership between the college and Confederation Centre of the Arts three years ago. The school offers training in two-year Music Performance, Dance Performance, and Theatre Performance programs and a one-year Performing Arts Foundation program.

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than 65 years, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business, leading the way with the world’s first baccalaureate studies in jazz, rock, electric guitar, film scoring, songwriting, turntables, electronic production, and more than a dozen other genres and fields of study. Berklee serves distant learners worldwide through its award-winning online extension school, Berklee Online. The college’s national after school music program for underserved teens, the Berklee City Music Network, is in 30 cities and counting. A new campus in Spain, Berklee in Valencia, began hosting the college’s first graduate programs in the fall of 2012. With a diverse and talented student body representing more than 80 countries, and alumni and faculty that have collectively won more than 270 Grammys and Latin Grammys, Berklee is the world’s premier learning lab for the music of today – and tomorrow.

In this picture: (L to R) Alan Dowling, head instructor, Music Performance program, SoPA; Consul General of Canada in Boston Pat Binns; Michael O’Grady, vice president responsible for international recruitment; Mark Campbell, vice president for enrollment at Berklee College of Music; and Jason Camelio, director of international program at Berklee at the recent signing of an international partnership agreement. Photo credit: ©Kelly Davidson.