As music is such a universal language, it may not be so surprising to learn that, in addition to launching the careers of some of the most successful artists, producers, and other music industry movers and shakers, Berklee College of Music also counts among its graduates many world leaders as well. Among these is Frederik Gassita, a Gabonese musician who also serves as an advisor to His Excellency Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of the Gabonese Republic.
When the Gabonese government began to devise plans for a music school, Gassita suggested that they reach out to his alma mater for advice and support. The result is the African Music Institute (AMI).
Scheduled to open in 2017, AMI will offer classes in music performance and production, and also in technology and songwriting. While there will also be a traditional African music and dance element, the core of the curriculum will be very similar to that offered at Berklee in Boston and at their satellite campus in Valencia, Spain., the core of the curriculum will be very similar to that offered at Berklee in Boston and at their satellite campus in Valencia, Spain.
“We are supporting the creation of a new school for contemporary music in Africa…that will be a source of students who will come to Berklee to enrich not only their experiences, but those of our students, as well,” said Berklee President Roger Brown, noting how Berklee’s mission statement acknowledges the vital role African cultures have played in the creation and development of music. “With this new school and more students coming to Boston from Africa, we’ll have a direct line right to the source.”
While the Berklee influence will be prevalent at AMI, Berklee’s Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs/ Provost Larry Simpson is keen to maintain that the new school will not be an official Berklee campus.
“We are serving as consultants,” explains Simpson, who has himself travelled to Gabon many times to help move the project forward.
While Berklee already enjoys the talented contributions of many African students, Simpson admits that there are currently none from Gabon.
“We have attempted to establish significant relationships with the continent as we have with other parts of the world,” he explains.
AMI will join Berklee’s network of 19 international partners in 18 countries that identify and prepare students for Berklee. In fact, the proposed plan is for AMI to offer 300 students from across the continent a curriculum that is synchronized to the first two years of the Berklee course load so that students will be able to transfer to Berklee and complete their studies in a traditional four-year timeframe. As all credits will be transferable, students from AMI will be able to more easily afford a Berklee education and Berklee will attract more African students.
In order to keep the connection to AMI strong, Berklee has been sending administrators and faculty to visit the site to consult on such aspects as classroom and studio design.
“Our faculty will do clinics and workshops and guest lectures,” Simpson predicts. “We also expect that this will happen by way of technology through Internet connections. There will also be faculty from our Valencia campus going as well.”
“We are happy to be serving in this capacity on what we think is a very ambitious project and one that we support,” Simpson states. “We want to be as helpful as we can!”