Lee Eliot Berk (1942 – October 21, 2023) was an American academic who was President and namesake of the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

(founded as Schillinger House in 1945 by his father,

Lawrence Berk Lawrence Berk (December 10, 1908 – December 22, 1995) was the founder of Berklee College of Music, a pianist, composer and arranger, and educator. Berk oversaw the growth of the modest Schillinger House music school into the Berklee College of ...

, who renamed the school after Lee in 1954) from 1979 to 2004. Under the younger Berk’s leadership, the college underwent significant changes. Berklee expanded its curriculum to create new majors, including Film Scoring, Music Production and Engineering, Music Synthesis, Songwriting, Music Business/Management, and

Music Therapy Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music t ...

. Educational applications of music technology expanded, the college administration was reorganized, more student services were added, and non-music academic offerings increased. In 1992, he established the Berklee International Network that includes music schools with a shared mission around the globe.

Life and career

Lee Eliot Berk was born in 1942. He graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1964 and earned his law degree from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in 1967. He began working at Berklee College of Music in 1966, serving first as bursar and supervisor of the Private Study Division. In 1969, he founded the first New England High School Stage Band Festival, later known as the Berklee High School Jazz Festival. In 2010, its 42nd year, it was the largest event of its kind in the United States. He served as a vice president from 1971 to 1979. He is the author of ''Legal Protection for the Creative Musician'', which won an ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award in 1971. Berk died on October 21, 2023, at the age of 81.

Awards

* Upon his retirement in 2004, Berk was awarded an honorary doctorate from Berklee. * 2004: Awarded the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

from the

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

for his contributions to strengthening cultural ties between the U.S. and Japan. * Received the President’s Merit Award for Outstanding Educational Achievement from the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

* 2004: Received the

NAMM The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is a not-for-profit global trade association dedicated to the music products industry. Originally founded in 1901, NAMM is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and represents 15,000 global memb ...

Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Music Products Industry. (click on New Mexico on the map) * 2014: Received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from

References

External links

Interview with Lee Berk
NAMM Oral History Library (2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Berk, Lee Eliot 1942 births 2023 deaths Berklee College of Music faculty Brown University alumni Boston University School of Law alumni Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun

Life and career

Awards

References

Further reading

External links