We are building a project of excellence. A project that, like Berklee, will be revolutionary. Guillermo Cisneros, Vice President for Global Initiatives and Executive Director of Berklee College of Music, Valencia Campus Yamaha instrumental quality and range combine with Berklee teaching excellence for innovative learning in Valencia. For over 50 years Berklee College of Music has been a world leader in contemporary music education. Founded in 1954 in Boston, Massachusetts, Berklee is best known for its innovative and pioneering approach to jazz, rock and popular music tuition. Over 90 Berklee graduates have now collectively received a total of 221 Grammy awards between them. The college is world-renowned for the highest standards in music education and Yamaha is proud to be a long-term supporter. Berklee College of Music, Valencia Campus is the college s first international campus and offers a unique curriculum with the aim of allowing musicians to join the global music community as performers and practitioners. It is located next to the spectacular Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, designed by the renowned architect Santiago Calatrava. Yamaha has been a foundation partner of Berklee College of Music, Valencia Campus since its inception. The college has a huge inventory of Yamaha instruments throughout the campus, including Disklavier pianos, digital mixing consoles, sound reinforcement, synthesizers, drums, and a wide range of symphonic and orchestral percussion. Yamaha is the only company that can provide such a variety of instruments at the required levels of quality, affordability and durability. Félix Hazen, Managing Director of Yamaha in Spain, has been central to the Yamaha relationship with the Valencia campus so we asked him for his thoughts on why the Yamaha Berklee relationship is so special: Yamaha has a unique proposition for music education. We are the only company that designs, develops and produces such a wide range of instruments at the very highest levels demanded by teachers and students. These combine with our ability to provide effective and creative technical solutions. We have worked hand in hand with Berklee from day one to ensure they have been able to successfully integrate their huge range of Yamaha instruments into outstanding delivery of their renowned teaching programmes. 6 7
Yamaha & To commemorate Yamaha s 125th anniversary in 2012, the college partnered with Yamaha to produce a star-studded music concert, bringing some of the world s finest musicians together with Berklee students and teaching staff. Jorge Rostoll, Director of Operations at Berklee College of Music, Valencia Campus, says of the Yamaha partnership: Yamaha and Berklee go back a long way, starting with the Boston campus. In Spain things have moved forward in a very intense relationship. Berklee had just arrived here in Europe and Yamaha was willing to help us to set our new campus in Valencia. Disklavier pianos at the heart of Berklee The students at Berklee are pioneering Disklavier users and the first institution in Spain to have installed a Disklavier. They reckon that their Disklavier C7 piano is probably the most important and valuable instrument on the Valencia campus. The C7 sits at the heart of the studio which was designed by Walters-Storyk Design group, famous for their work on studios for Jimi Hendrix, Alicia Keys, and Bob Marley amongst others. The staff at Berklee College of Music, Valencia Campus were delighted that Yamaha were able to cover all their needs with their comprehensive range of first class instruments and that these instruments perfectly complement the world-class training they offer at the college. Alongside the symphonic percussion, Berklee has a large number of Yamaha drum kits, including the award-winning Recording, Stage and Oak Custom models, all complemented by a number of special Signature Series snare drums. Yoel Páez, a Yamaha Artist and Professor at Berklee College of Music, Valencia Campus comments: Berklee graduate and leading Yamaha Artist, Abraham Laboriel, is one of the world s most popular session bassists. In 2005 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by Berklee College of Music. He has this to say on the Yamaha-Berklee partnership: Music is both work and a way of life through which we can collaborate with one another to make this world better and better. My life as a musician is a dream come true, and a key part of that has been my long-term partnership with Yamaha and Berklee. Music is joy and I wish that for all of the students! For many years Víctor Mendoza has been an admired Yamaha Artist in the United States and an esteemed professor at Berklee. Thanks to its combination of traditional piano attributes and the latest digital technology, the Disklavier plays a vital role in the musical life of Berklee, according to Brian Cole, Dean of the College, who says: This Disklavier piano will be a fundamental part, the heart, if you will, of the recording studio. It will be a key tool for the art and creativity of our students. It is an honour to work hand in hand with Yamaha. When Berklee faculty was looking to equip the facility with symphonic percussion it chose Yamaha. Yamaha were privileged to work alongside Berklee teaching staff and technical experts to provide the ideal solution for their demanding requirements. The college acquired a variety of symphonic percussion including vibraphones, timpani, marimba, glockenspiel, xylophones and concert bass drums. Thanks to their great sound versatility, Yamaha drum kits are reliable instruments when interpreting any music genre. It is an honour to represent this brand. 8 9
Ina, France Yamaha and the Institut national de l audiovisuel partners in expertise and innovation Founded in 1975, Paris-based Institut national de l audiovisuel is responsible for the digitizing, conservation and archiving of all French radio and television audiovisual materials. Ina EXPERT is the international center for media expertise, committed to vocational training, higher education and research activities. Yamaha has provided in-depth technical support to Ina since 1990, and Ina EXPERT is now one of Europe s leading training facilities, offering professional educational services for the audio and digital industries: uniting the best, building excellence. Both organizations regularly work together to provide learning programs, which include live sound training with Yamaha s marketleading digital console range and sound reinforcement audio networking. Ina Expert is also the educational partner of Yamaha for the new post-production platform Nuage in France. Yamaha and Ina work very successfully together thanks to the shared aims and ambitions to spread expertise and innovation for the benefit of those people working in the music and audio sectors. Institut national de l audiovisuel, France 24 25
Imola Piano Academy, Italy The International Piano Academy Incontri col Maestro is a worldclass educational and cultural establishment situated in the beautiful setting of the Sforza Castle in Imola. The institution s festival and teaching works attract many of the world s top pianists including Boris Petrushansky, Vovka Ashkenazy, Pietro Rattalino, Riccardo Risaliti, Anna Kravtchenko, Jin Ju and Enrico Pace. The academy has an extensive collection of Yamaha pianos including two CFIII concert grands. These flagship models are complemented by S series handcrafted instruments and C series models. Incontri col Maestro has an international reputation for traditional piano activities and has recently been working very closely with Yamaha technicians on the Disklavier piano. The academy plans to integrate the Disklavier into a remote lesson programme whereby students and tutors based in Imola can partner other practitioners around the world via the internet and Disklavier to benefit from masterclasses and tutorials. Franco Scala is the Director of the Academy and he says of his relationship with Yamaha: We have a very deep relationship with our friends at Yamaha. From the outset we have developed a culture of trust and we are highly impressed with the exceptional quality and durability of Yamaha pianos. They play a huge role in our concert and teaching activities throughout the year. Imola Piano Academy, Italy 26 27
Chetham s School of Music, Clavinova Chetham s School of Music and Yamaha partner on new Clavinova installation Yamaha UK have partnered with Chetham s School of Music by supplying six Clavinova digital pianos as a contribution to their massive 31 million new school building. Chetham s, which enjoys an international reputation for academic excellence, is the largest specialist music school in the UK with 290 pupils between the ages of 8 and 18. Murray McLachlan, Head of Keyboard comments: We are highly impressed with the new Clavinova CLP-models. They are used by students and academic staff alike in a wide variety of musically demanding tasks covering practice and performance. We would certainly recommend the Yamaha Clavinova as an outstanding musical instrument. Yamaha is delighted that Chetham s selected Clavinova instruments as part of their huge new programme. Yamaha has a long-standing partnership with the school across all instrument divisions and this acquisition further endorses the quality of Clavinova and its position as the world s most popular digital piano range for schools, colleges, teachers and students. Chetham s School of Music, UK 30 31
The secrets of musical expression J. Kepler University Of Linz, Avant Grand The Johannes Kepler University of Linz in Austria is an internationally prominent educational establishment specialising in business, engineering, law, science, and the social sciences. It is also home to the Johann Radon Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics (RICAM) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Yamaha has been working with university staff for some time on an exciting music research project that brings together science and the arts. The faculty selected a Yamaha N2 AvantGrand piano to aid their investigations into establishing a better understanding of the complexities of Expressive Music Performance. The university selected the N2 because of its unique hybrid design and its ability to help them interpret the finer details of piano playing notably timing, dynamics, articulation and pedaling. They are particularly impressed by the exceptionally natural feel that such a non-acoustic instrument provides to skilled pianists. J. Kepler University Of Linz, Austria 32 33
Oundle School, UK Oundle School installs extensive new Yamaha piano inventory becoming first UK institutional user of new C3X Grand Pianos Oundle School s music department has recently installed fifteen new Yamaha pianos, becoming the first UK institution to select two newmodel C3X grands. Other models chosen include eleven U1 pianos, a C5 grand piano and an AvantGrand N1 hybrid piano. The School, founded in 1556 and one of the country s leading independent schools, now boasts one of the most comprehensively equipped music departments in the UK, with new Yamaha pianos in all of the music department s rooms. The U1 upright pianos are distributed throughout the school s many teaching and practice rooms, whilst the C3X grands now occupy highly prestigious positions in the School s recital room and the Director of Music s room. Completing the piano installation, the Head of Keyboard Studies is the delighted recipient of the C5 grand piano. The School also recently purchased a Yamaha YV3910 vibraphone, adding to the existing orchestral xylophone and marimba instruments. Oundle s position as a leading school in the field of musical education is underlined by their partnership with the Royal College of Music. This partnership is unique and provides for an exciting collaboration in all aspects of the school s musical life. Key to the decision to acquire the Yamaha pianos were Director of Music, Andrew Forbes and Head of Keyboard, Alec Hone. Commenting on the selection, Andrew Forbes said: Yamaha was chosen for the quality of sound and robust build quality. We are very happy with our choices and the expert guidance that Yamaha have given to us throughout the process. Oundle School, UK 36 37