Berklee College of Music president Roger Brown sees rich, raw talent in Israel for music in general, and jazz in particular. Brown, who recently visited Israel under the partnership between Berklee and the Rimon School of Music, is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the field of world music today.
Brown (58) came to Berklee ten years ago. He brought with him extensive management experience, including at one point managing an international company with his wife Linda Mason, which employed thousands of workers. He was also a jazz drummer in his past, but most of his interest in music comes from the financial and commercial side of things. In an exclusive interview with “Globes,” Brown said, “Most of the music schools in the world teach classical music, but classical music is only one percent of the music industry today. The other 99% is made up of music for television, movies, and video games, jazz, pop, latin, blues, rock, and so forth. Our school is designed to train people for careers in this field, not only as performers, but also as sound technicians, producers, marketers, and everything else.”
The Berklee College of Music is located in Boston, and is not related to University of California, Berkeley in any way. Berklee was established in 1945, to teach jazz. “The goal was always to teach contemporary music, and at that time, Jazz was the hottest thing,” said Brown. “We still teach Jazz, and even specialize in it, but since that time, the definition of ‘contemporary music’ has expanded to include many more areas.”
Ready for the day after
Berklee currently has 4,400 students, and its annual budget is close to $200 million.
In addition to the performance majors, there are also departments such Music Education, Film Scoring, Electronic Production and Design, and even Music Business/Management. The school also manages the largest online school for music, which offers a broad range of musical performance courses. Brown notes that these more than a million students from around the world have registered for these courses, though not all of them have finished. “These courses are for people without a formal music education, and they are very helpful for students who want to be accepted to the school, and can prepare for free.
“In addition to the subjects themselves, we help young people have careers in music. For this reason, among others, we teach entrepreneurship, how to start a small business, and how to advertise yourself. We are very advanced, technologically speaking, and this helps us produce video clips for our students on YouTube, which is vital these days for any musician who wants to sell. It’s important to me that our students enter the market not just as good performers, but that they also be ready for the day after graduation.”
What is your financing model?
“Berklee is a not-for-profit private school. Like most higher education institutions in the US, most of the money is from tuition and donations, and only a small portion comes from government subsidies. Education is expensive, but there are a lot of scholarships here, and those who are talented can get financing. We spend $40 million a year on scholarships. A significant portion of them go to Israeli students. Not because of nationality, but because they deserve it. We like talent, regardless of what country it comes from.”
Didn’t the Obama administration increase government support for institutions like Berklee?
“As I understand it, that really was the intention. But the US was in a terrible recession when Obama was elected, and the first thing the administration did was cut spending, not increase it. Obama values American music very much, but to take money out of the public system is already another story. Furthermore, the US is a culture that doesn’t believe in public funding.”
And how do you feel about it?
“Of course I would be happy if our students received more government support, so they wouldn’t have to graduate with debt. On the other hand, there is an advantage to not being supported by bureaucracy. If Picasso has relied on government support, who knows if he would have painted as he did. This is also true for music - genres like rock, hip-hop, jazz, and blues were not created with government funding. I prefer that our students be free of debts to the government and that they do things that will be radical even for me, at my advanced age. As long as they do what’s right for them artistically.
Israeli stars at Berklee
Quincy Jones, Gary Burton, Melissa Etheridge, Branford Marsalis, Esperanza Spalding, and others are among the many stars to have emerged from Berklee. Brown notes that Psy, the musician behind the hit song “Gangnam Style,” which holds the current record for the most views on YouTube, also studied at Berklee for three years (“he didn’t graduate”). The school’s teaching staff boasts big names like Danilo Perez, Joe Shiban, Terri Lyne Carrington, and George S. Clinton (who composed the Austin Powers film score), and others.
Brown points to a long list of Israeli musicians who are graduates of the school: saxophonist Eli Degibri, pianist Kirill Gerstein, the 3 Cohens (jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen, jazz trumpeter Avishai Cohen and saxophonist Yuval Cohen), and others.
Brown’s visit to Israel took place under the partnership between Berklee and the Rimon School of Music, a relationship that is very important to him. Rimon was founded by Berklee graduates Yehuda Eder, Gil Dor, and Amikam Kimelman. Eder is the school’s president still today. Brown says that under the partnership, Israeli students can complete their first two years of study at Rimon in Israel, and the last two at Berklee. “Such a student will graduate with a degree as though he or she has studied the full four years in the US,” he says. “This option reduces the expense of the degree significantly, as studies in the US are much more expensive.” Brown notes that the school has a scholarship fund, and at any given time, there are about ten Israeli students on scholarships.
“The Israelis are very important to us, because there are many talents, on an international level, coming from Israel,” says Brown. “Relative to the number of residents, Israel has produced a tremendous number of great jazz musicians. I can’t give a certain answer as to why, but I have a few ideas. First of all, Israelis are used to working hard and overcoming obstacles. Secondly, Israelis are dynamic people who are good at improvisation. In addition, Israelis who studied music in childhood have a work ethic, which they learned from their teachers. All these things together create excellent conditions for being a good jazz musicians. Be the reason as it may, the skill level in Israel is tremendous.”
Is it possible to make a living as a musician today?
“Depends whom you ask. There are artists who thrive, and others who don’t. The fact is that there are still people who buy music. Many fewer than in the past, but artists still manage to make money from it. Secondly, artists receive royalties for the use of their songs. Thirdly, one can make money performing. Fourthly, there is intellectual property for various products that use music. My problem with this model is different - that artists will not make kickin’ music in order to sell products, but they’ll write music to suit their customer.”
What do you think about television programs like “American Idol,” or “The Voice”?
I am less negative about it than others. First of all, these programs employ many graduates from my school. Secondly, some of the contestants come from families without means, and TV exposure makes it possible for their careers to soar. My criticism regarding these programs is that they try to produce music that everyone likes. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Thelonious Monk would not have won on a reality show. So, if you ask me if it’s worthwhile to compete, my answer is as follows: If you are an artist - then no. But if you are a young musician seeking exposure - maybe this program can help you. In any event, I prefer reality shows like ‘The Voice’ to reality shows about dysfunctional families.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 11, 2015
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