Berklee appoints first woman to lead music college

The Berklee College of Music has chosen Erica Muhl to serve as the school’s next president, making her the first woman to lead the institution in its 75-year history, officials at the Boston school announced this week.

Muhl, a composer and conductor, previously led music and arts schools at the University of Southern California, where she spent 30 years. She begins at Berklee in July, replacing Roger Brown, who is stepping down after 17 years as president.

Muhl in a statement gave thanks to Brown and Berklee’s trustees, saying “the institution you have all built has no equal.”

Trustee Marty Mannion, who led the presidential search, said Muhl’s “experience as a strong, seasoned leader who has innovated and managed in times of change uniquely places her to lead Berklee into a new era.”

At USC, Muhl served as dean of the university’s art and design school and as associate dean of its music school. In 2013, she became founding director of a USC school that combines art, technology and business.

Her musical works have been commissioned and performed by groups including Minnesota Opera and the New World Symphony, according to Berklee.

Muhl will be the fourth president of Berklee, which enrolls about 7,000 students.

The Associated Press