THE Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Berklee College of Music announced to establish a joint institute for contemporary music education on May 26, 2017 as to shape an incubator for contemporary music talents with Chinese elements.
SHCM president Lin Zaiyong and his BCM counterpart, Lawrance Simpson, signed the agreement at a ceremony. Chinese composer Ye Xiaogang was hired as the honorary president of the new SHCM-BCM Contemporary Music Institute. A series of programs will be launched for the new institute, exploring possibilities of music education with joint forces.
Top teachers from the BCM will teach at the Shanghai Conservatory in courses like jazz performance and music production, while young teachers at the Shanghai Conservatory will take trainings at Berklee.
Programs such as summer camps, workshops and arts festivals will bring the teachers and students of both organizations together for artistic and academic exchanges.
There will also be exchanges for students between the two academies and credits will apply in both institutions.
A joint jazz band of 25 members from both Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Berklee College of Music will tour China from June 14-23 with stops at Xian of Shaanxi Province, Wuhan of Hubei Province, Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province and Shanghai.
And the first summer camp will kick off in Shanghai this August. A joint team of professors of both institutes will give systematic courses to music students and amateurs nationwide.
