Boston music school sees upswing in Latin enrollment

By Ayala Ben-Yehuda

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Berklee College of Music graduates and faculty are nominated for 19 Latin Grammy Awards this year.

Nominees include producer Tommy Torres, engineer/mixer Gustavo Celis, members of the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet and Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra, who tops this year's nominations with five.

Such alumni, along with a Latin music curriculum and an aggressive international recruiting strategy, have brought the Boston school's domestic and international Latin population to almost 10 percent of the student body as of fall 2006. Domestic Latino enrollment is up 11 percent from fall 2005.

Puerto Ricans made up the first large wave of Latin students, followed by Argentines in the 1980s. Currency crises in Argentina and Mexico have led to ups and downs in enrollment. But today Mexico's growing middle class has produced the largest portion of international Latin-American students at the school, vice president of academic affairs/international programs Larry Monroe said.

The school maintains affiliate programs at 15 schools around the world -- including Ecuador, Mexico and Brazil -- from which students can transfer their credits to Berklee for a bachelor's degree. Alumni and faculty are also involved in jazz festivals in Puerto Rico and Panama, holding clinics and awarding scholarships to offset the school's hefty annual tuition of more than $23,000.

Classes focusing on Latin music draw many non-Latin students as well as Latinos. Berklee emphasizes contemporary music and practical skills, with degree programs in everything from commercial jingle writing to film scoring and concert promotion.

The U.S. Latin market for such skills "is huge," Monroe said. "We are looking at a shift in the culture of this country, and we want to be at the forefront of it."

Reuters/Billboard