"I am much more accustomed to giving awards to others … I am beyond humbled to be receiving this award today," said Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow at the outset of his address to the roughly 7,000 attendees present to witness the commencement ceremony for the Berklee College of Music graduating class of 2017. Portnow was in attendance to receive the honorary degree of doctor of music from college president Roger H. Brown for his "enduring contributions to American and International culture."
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Along with the approximately 1,000 undergraduates who received their degrees on May 13, Portnow was in good company. Sharing in this year's symbolic doctorate honors with him were 2016 MusiCares Person of the Year Lionel Richie, GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams, acclaimed producer/songwriter Todd Rundgren, and South Korean psychedelic guitarist Shin Joong Hyun.
Each recipient spoke of the deeply personal connections that drew them to a career in music, and all five exhorted the assembled graduates to hold fast to the emotive power of their chosen profession.
"The most important thing you can take advantage of in the world of music is to see yourself … music [means] to me self-exploration more than anything else. I encourage everyone here to be brave in that respect, to be fearless in that respect," encouraged Rundgren. Referencing the previous evening's commencement concert, Richie commented, "I wish Michael Jackson would have been with me to share that moment, because what I saw on your faces was the enthusiasm, the passion, the drive, the love, the dreams."
In the closing remarks of his speech, Portnow offered, "If you follow your dreams and keep an open mind on how to achieve them, anything is possible." He then reminded the young graduates that Berklee is the proud alma mater of 275 GRAMMY and 88 Latin GRAMMY Award recipients, "and more [are] surely to come from some of you folks."
