BOSTON and VALENCIA, Spain, October 30 /PRNewswire/ --

- Groundbreaking Oct. 16 for cutting-edge campus created by U.S. Music College and Spanish Performance Rights Organization -

Berklee College of Music President Roger Brown and Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) CEO Eduardo Bautista have announced an unparalleled cultural partnership to build a new college for global, contemporary music education in Valencia, Spain. Berklee Valencia will be the largest offshore U.S. music college in the world. Programs will offer music education that is new to Europe, focusing on contemporary music, international business, and the latest developments in leading-edge music technology.

Berklee and SGAE officials broke ground on October 16, 2008. Berklee Valencia will be housed in a cultural complex called ARTeria Valencia, part of a network of performance and education spaces being constructed by SGAE in several Spanish and Latin American cities. ARTeria Valencia's modern complex will include a 27-story building. Berklee Valencia will open in 2011. The projected cost is 103 million euros (US$145 million dollars).

Berklee Valencia will be unlike any other music college in the world. The curriculum for undergraduate and graduate programs will offer five main areas of study to prepare students to meet the challenges of the contemporary music industry:

- Music for Film and Integrated Media - Electronic Production and Design - Global Music and Entertainment Management - Symphonic Band Studies - Mediterranean Music

Berklee Valencia will enroll 1,000 students. Student recruitment will have emphasis on Spain, Europe, Spanish-speaking countries, Africa, and the Middle East.

ARTeria Valencia, home of Berklee Valencia, is one part of ARTeria Multiespacios, a network of multi-purpose spaces being developed by SGAE. The ARTeria includes eight centers in Spain, as well as centers in Mexico City, and Buenos Aires. The centers will have space for dance, music, audio/visual work, and theater, as well as recording studios, classrooms, and SGAE offices.

Berklee College of Music is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today -- and tomorrow. Notable alumni include Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Miguel Zenon, Branford Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Juan Luis Guerra, Danilo Perez, Lionel Lueke, John Mayer, Howard Shore, Melissa Etheridge, and Gary Burton. Berklee alumni have received a total of 162 Grammy Awards.

Allen Bush of Berklee College of Music, +1-617-747-2658, abush@berklee.edu . For more information, http://www.berklee.edu/valencia. Photos available upon request.