Cole Named Dean of Berklee in Valencia
Felicidades, Brian Cole!
Cole, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, has been named academic dean of the newly established Valencia campus of Boston’s famed Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain. His appointment was announced June 14 in Valencia by Guillermo Cisneros, vice president for global initiatives, Berklee College of Music, and executive director of Berklee in Valencia.
A native of Gainesville, Florida, Cole earned his doctorate in orchestral conducting at CCM in 2005 as a student of Mark Gibson. He goes to Spain from San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he has been associate dean of the Puerto Rico Conservatory for the past seven years. As academic dean in Valencia, he will preside over Berklee's first ever master’s degree programs in contemporary music.
While in Cincinnati, Cole was music director of the CCM Concert Orchestra, assistant conductor of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, apprentice conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and assistant conductor of the CSO Youth Orchestra. At CCM, Cole led the Concert Orchestra in Jennifer Higdon’s “Blue Cathedral” and the CCM Contemporary Orchestra in Dominick Argento’s "A Water Bird Talk,” both Cincinnati premieres.
As associate dean of the Puerto Rico Conservatory, he expanded the curriculum with the addition of graduate degrees in classical, jazz and Caribbean music performance, as well as orchestral and choral conducting. He also developed international exchange programs with musical institutions throughout North and South America.
“Brian will bring to Berklee a wealth of experience,” said Cisneros. “He is an accomplished musician and conductor, as well as an experienced academic leader with an exceptional academic record. As such, he is the ideal person to lead, direct and oversee the academic direction of our new campus in Valencia as we embark on a new phase in our history.”
Founded in 1945, Berklee College of Music was the first music school in the U.S. to focus on jazz and contemporary music. Its mission is to prepare students for careers in the music of today, with course offerings in film scoring, music synthesis, song-writing and all aspects of popular and world music.
Housed in Valencia’s landmark Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Berklee in Valencia is Berklee’s first international campus and its first campus outside Boston. It will offer master’s degree programs in contemporary music beginning in September, 2012, including scoring for film, television and video games, contemporary studio performance, global entertainment, music business and a global studies program for Berklee students from Boston.