Drummer Harvey Mason, vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, Latin pop-star Julio Iglesias, and Sony Music Entertainment CEO Doug Morris will receive honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music.
This year’s honorees are being recognized for their “achievements and influences in music, and for their enduring contributions to American and international culture,” according to a press release announcing the honors. Each honoree will be awarded a doctor of music degree at the prestigious music school’s upcoming commencement ceremony on May 9 at Boston University’s 7,000-seat Agganis Arena.
As it Berklee tradition, students will also pay tribute to the honorees by performing music associated with their careers at a private event the day before commencement.
The first musician to receive an honorary degree from Berklee was jazz piano legend Duke Ellington in 1971. Since then, dozens of highly influential musicians have joined the list of Berklee honorees, including Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Carole King, Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Page, Smokey Robinson, and Annie Lennox.
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