Berklee College of Music and the Gnaoua and World Music Festival have announced the launch of a new edition of the Berklee on the Road program, which will take place from Monday 24 to Saturday 29 June 2024 in Essaouira. The program, called Berklee at the Gnawa and World Music Festival, has been created for actively performing musicians seeking to advance their skills as improvisors, and welcomes students with a wide range of musical backgrounds, from classical to traditional Gnaoua to pop, rock, and jazz, reads a press release by organizers. Applicants must be at least 18 years old at the start of the program and have at least two years of performance experience on their principal instrument. «The Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival is a unique event, a musical laboratory which welcomes artists from all over the world who come to merge their rhythms with those of Gnaoua Master musicians», says Neila Tazi, CEO of A3 Communication, and producer and organizer of the festival. «This 25th edition marks the beginning of a strong partnership with Berklee to offer a very special experience through this training program in the heart of Africa, the cradle of world music» According to the statement, Professor Leo Blanco of Berklee's Department of African Studies will be the academic director of the program, while Jason Camelio will oversee administrative management. Classes will be taught by a Berkeley faculty team, which includes Ron Savage, vice president and executive director; jazz singer Viktorija Pilatovic and Javier Vercher, associate professor at the Berkeley Study Abroad Program in Valencia, Spain. «I look forward to establishing this newest edition of the Berklee on the Road program at the Gnaoua World Music Festival», says Ron Savage, vice president and executive director, Berklee College of Music. «I am thrilled as always to meet talented young musical artists from across the globe. Being part of a festival that celebrates Gnaoua and world musicians make this program a very special experience». The Berklee Gnawa and World Music Festival program will take place daily, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. «Participants will be guided on how to intertwine their own musical language with others, beginning with learning to actively listen and comprehend the musical concepts of their peers», adds Leo Blanco, the program's academic director. The program consists of workshops on topics such as «The Improviser As Composer», «Building Your Creative Vocabulary», and «Styles, Grooves, and Accompaniment Labs». A series of seminars will also be organized to explore the intersection between Gnawa music and various contemporary styles, examining technology and music business management. In addition, attendees will be able to learn about the Berklee Abu Dhabi Scholars Program, which provides Berklee scholarships to students from the Middle East and North Africa. All students will receive free badges that will give them access to reserved spaces on the main stages of the 2024 Gnawa and World Music Festival. Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online at https://www.berklee.edu/berkleeontheroad, noting that tuition for the program is 420 US dollars. The deadline for applications is set for May 24. Berklee College of Music is one of the world's foremost institutes of contemporary music and performing arts. The school offers undergraduate and graduate programs in Boston (Massachusetts) and Valencia (Spain), as well as its signature distance education program, Berklee Online, designed to develop the creative and professional potential of the world's most talented and inspiring artists.
