Erica Muhl makes history as Berklee College of Music's first woman president
BOSTON - Erica Muhl is now the first woman to be president of Berklee College of Music since it was established nearly 80 years ago.
"I have been aware of Berklee my entire musical career but you cannot understand what Berklee means to this city until you get here and I just want to say thank you," Muhl said. "I think it's wonderful. I'm very happy to inhabit that role let me say that. And if it can make a difference for the institution, I'm thrilled."
Upon her swearing in Tuesday, Erica became the school's fourth president.
"I think it's important that Berklee has taken this step as an institution because there are so many students that I meet at Berklee and come up to me and say 'We can't tell you how excited we are that you're here,'" she told WBZ-TV.
A composer, conductor, educator, mother, collaborator and maybe most important for the job, she's a lover of music.
"When it [music] really became like this huge thing for me was when I first started collaborating with others."
And now in her role, she is collaborating not only with students, staff and faculty, but also with a worldwide community that recognizes Berklee as a top-tier music institution.
"The way this institution has come together to do this. I'm so honored to have watched this. You know I hardly feel like I'm worth it," she said.
Her inauguration ceremony took place Tuesday at MGM Music Hall with a celebratory concert the night before at Symphony Hall.
The musicians for the night were staff, faculty, students and even former colleagues. She told us the most important part was how many students were a part of the celebrations.
Her office is full of memories from past musical adventures, educational mile markers and gifts from around the globe. But what she treasures the most are her connections with people.
"The students at Berklee are just so incredible. They are so amazing and every one of them that I talk to just inspires me to be better," she said.
Those students, fellow educators and music lovers are who she credits with influencing her to be where she is today.