JMC Academy joins Berklee College of Music’s International Network

JMC Academy has joined the Berklee College of Music’s International Network, becoming the only Australia institutional partner school.

Berklee is widely considered the world’s premier contemporary musical school, with 99 graduates from the school winning 229 Grammy Awards to date. In addition to its Boston campus, and newly-opened school in Valencia, Spain, Berklee also operate a 30-city after school program for underserved teens. The Berklee International Network is a collective of selected schools from around the world who “share a passion and vision for the advancement of contemporary music and quality education” – so joining this network is obviously a huge boon for JMC.

The two campuses have been working together for five years, with Berklee staff having delivered master classes and special lectures to JMC students in the past. In light of this new pairing, the two instituations are currently working on ways to further their partnership, with a number of joint initiatives in the works.

Guillermo Cisneros, Vice-President for Global Initiatives of Berklee College of Music, said of the pairing. “Each Berklee International Network partner is essential to Berklee due to their capacity to attract and generate musical talent in their specific countries. Each one of them opens doors for us to their musical cultures and strengthens the international strategy to make modern music education accessible around the world. We are delighted that the JMC Academy in Australia is now one of our international partners.”

“When the opportunity for two great institutions to work together arose a few years ago it was only natural to pursue it further”, explains Martin Cass, JMC Academy’s Founder and Managing Director. “However neither one of us wanted to rush into a relationship so this was something that over time has not only developed into a friendship, but also a significantly better understanding and respect for what each other does. Most importantly, it’s all about the passion we share for our students and the quality of education in the creative industries.

“[Being] invited to join the Berklee International Network validates the efforts and achievements of the JMC Academy, its staff and its students’’ says Martin. “With a combined history of over 80 years in music education it was not surprising that we shared common values and a vision for the future.”