Spanish
Santo Domingo. – The Ministry of Culture, with the coordination of the General Directorate of Fine Arts and the National Conservatory of Music, inaugurated this Monday the international academic program Berklee in Santo Domingo 2026, an initiative that brings together about 215 young musicians from all over the country and that will take place for a week at the National Conservatory of Music, the Eduardo Brito National Theater and other cultural spaces.
In the opening ceremony were present the Vice Minister of Creativity and Artistic Training, Amaury Sánchez, representing the Minister of Culture; the Vice Minister of Cultural Industries, Alicia Baroni; the General Director of Fine Arts, Marinella Sallent; the director of the National Conservatory, Paola González, and the Vice President of Global Initiatives of Berklee College of Music, Jason Camelio.
Among the attendees were also the president of AES Dominicana, Edwin de los Santos, and the deputy general manager of the Electricity Generating Company Itabo, Osvaldo González.
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Also, the director of the Department of Specialized Artistic Training of the General Directorate of Fine Arts, Elvis Guzmán; the senior vice president of Programs and Global Partners of Berklee College of Music, María Martínez Iturriaga; and the coordinator of Berklee in Santo Domingo, Javier Vargas, were present, along with academic authorities, teachers, students and guests from the cultural sector. Berklee in Santo Domingo 2026 is sponsored by the AES Dominicana and Itabo Foundations. In this edition, the program will benefit selected students from a list of more than a thousand applicants from different provinces of the country. After the opening ceremony, classes, academic orientations, and training sessions for the participants began. From January 6 to 9, the program includes intensive days of classes, auditions, interviews, and rehearsals taught by a team of renowned Berklee teachers, in areas such as interpretation, composition, and music production. The teaching staff is made up of Zahili González Zamor, academic director of the program; Fernando Huergo, assistant academic director; as well as Tyrone Chase, Nick Grondin, Daniel Rosenthal, Lauren Sevian, Nichelle Mungo, Ivanna Cuesta, Josean Jacobo and Jason Camelio, who will accompany the students throughout the training process. Among the special activities of the program is the master class by maestro Michel Camilo, scheduled for Wednesday, January 7 at the Eduardo Brito National Theater. That same day, the outstanding musician and other personalities from the cultural sphere will hold a meeting with the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, at the National Palace. The program also includes the Berklee Claustro Concert, which will take place on Thursday, January 8th, in the Juan Francisco García hall of the National Conservatory of Music, as well as auditions for the Michel Camilo Scholarship Competition, one of the most relevant initiatives of the project, aimed at recognizing outstanding musical talent. The activities will culminate on Saturday, January 10th with the Students' Concert, followed by the closing ceremony and the awarding of scholarships in the Carlos Piantini hall of the Eduardo Brito National Theater, and a farewell dinner for the participants and teachers. The organizing institutions highlighted that Berklee in Santo Domingo 2026 is consolidated as a strategic platform for high-level musical training, cultural exchange, and the internationalization of young Dominican musicians, strengthening cooperation between the Dominican Republic and one of the most prestigious musical institutions in the world. The program is part of the cooperation agreement signed in May between the Ministry of Culture and Berklee College of Music, valid until November 2026, which aims to strengthen musical training in the country through the implementation of Berklee's pedagogical model, academic exchange, and access to international standards of excellence.
