Dozens of international schools have partnered with a world-renowned music college to bring contemporary music, dance and theatre lessons to their pupils.
The programme, Inspired by Berklee, will involve staff, students and alumni from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, working with more than 50 international schools around the world to develop pioneering creative arts curricula and provide artists-in-residence.
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Berklee College alumni have won 295 Grammy Awards and past students include singer Charlie Puth, musician St Vincent and legendary producer Quincy Jones.
Now, visiting Berklee staff will work with the Inspired group of schools - which includes the Reddam House schools in England, Australia and South Africa, the British School of Bahrain and the Australian International School in Vietnam - to enhance their arts provision.
And staff at the schools will also have a chance to take part in annual workshops at the college’s campuses in Boston, New York City and Valencia, Spain.
“Berklee has developed a powerful technique for teaching music, dance and theatre that emphasises creativity, collaboration and improvisation,” Berklee president Roger H Brown said.
“We are very excited about our relationship with Inspired because it allows us to share the power of this method within a dynamic K-12 [kindergarten to 12th grade] network around the world.
“We believe it will enrich the education of these students whether they go on to become scientists, business leaders, writers, doctors, lawyers or proponents of the performing arts.”
The curriculum will cover not just performances, but media production and entrepreneurship - and a schedule of visits with artists-in-residence will enable pupils to develop projects that bring contemporary dance, music and theatre into school.
“At Inspired, we place huge importance on the role of music, dance and theatre in helping our pupils gain a rounded education, build their self-confidence and leadership skills, and learn to express themselves creatively through a range of different media,” Nadim M Nsouli, founder, chairman and CEO of Inspired, said.
“Gaining a world-class education means far more than merely fulfilling the requirements of an exam-based curriculum, and the partnership with Berklee gives our pupils a unique educational opportunity that few others will ever have the chance to experience.”
