Post authored by Amanda Gouldthorpe, assistant director for Office of International Programs

“Bom dia” from the warm and welcoming campus of our BIN partner the Conservatório Musical Souza Lima in São Paulo, Brazil, hosts of the first-ever Berklee on the Road in Brazil! The Berklee in São Paulo: Art of Improvisation – Blues and Jazz program kicked off yesterday, with 70 students attending seminars and master classes in this four-day program.

Featuring Berklee faculty Fernando Huergo, George Russell, Jr. and Casey Scheuerell, and Souza Lima faculty Lupa Santiago (also Souza Lima’s vice director, and a Berklee alum) and Guilherme Ribeiro, the program gives students a taste of the Berklee and Souza Lima experience. The Office of International Programs‘ “On the Road” program model is designed to promote educational exchange and provide students with an insight into what our institution is all about, in addition to giving them the opportunity to learn from our first-class faculty and to make new musical connections.

We are very pleased to have Berklee’s vice president of Global Initiatives/executive director of Berklee Valencia, Guillermo Cisneros, here with us to kick off the program. And as I’ve already mentioned, we’ve received the most wonderful welcome from the team here at Souza Lima. Director Antonio Mário da Silva Cunha, with the support of Cristiane Cunha and the fantastic staff here, have gone above and beyond not only to make the program run without a hitch, but to make us feel at ease – which isn’t hard, in such an open environment full of music and energy at every turn.

The program will be followed by two days of Berklee Auditions & Interviews here at Souza Lima, with additional A&I happening in Rio de Janeiro at the end of the month (http://berklee.edu/admissions/aidates#south_america). Check out photos from the Berklee on the Road event here: http://www.souzalima.com.br/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=62:berklee-on-the-road-sp&Itemid=234&lang=pt.