Berkleemusic Student Spotlight - Rick Breen

Shortly after receiving his Master Certificate in Production from the Berkleemusic online extension school, Rick Breen landed a job with Kurzweil Music systems.

"Berkleemusic's Master Certificate program provided me with the training and credentials I needed to achieve a new career in music technology," remarked Breen. "I was able to find a position where I could leverage my software engineering background and my Berklee training to get into a top music technology company."

Breen joins Kurzweil Music Systems, makers of Kurzweil digital pianos, synthesizers, keyboard/workstations, and other such products, as a software engineer. The company was founded by inventor Raymond Kurzweil, who had developed a revolutionary reading machine for the blind that scans written materials and reads them aloud in a synthesized voice. Musician Stevie Wonder, a customer for the reading machine, challenged Ray Kurzweil to create an electronic instrument that blended the richness of acoustic sound with the control and sound modification of electronics. The Kurzweil engineers then developed the first ROM-based sampling keyboard to successfully reproduce the full complexity of acoustic instrument sounds - the K250, which was introduced in 1983.

"Getting this position with Kurzweil would not have been possible without the training I received through Berkleemusic," Breen explained. "In fact, the manager said he picked my application out of a pile because he noticed the Berkleemusic Master Certification on my resume. My software engineering background was essential, of course, but the Berkleemusic Master Certification set me apart from the other applicants."

To earn his Master Certificate, Breen completed courses in Producing with Pro Tools, Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools, MIDI Sequencing, and Producing Music with Ableton Live, among others.

"I am so impressed with the program, the experience, the people, the instructors, the challenge, and all the excellent material," added Breen. "I learned so much, met so many interesting people, and explored so many new areas of music technology and production. Thanks to Berklee, I have a completely different outlook on music and music technology."

Desktop Music Production for PC online course at Berkleemusic:

Desktop Music Production for PC

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