Legendary Producer/Engineer Al Schmitt Awarded Berklee Honorary Doctorate

Schmitt and Don Was

GRAMMY-winning producer/engineer AL SCHMITT was presented with a BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC honorary doctor of music degree by the college’s president ROGER H. BROWN last night at a ceremony at CAPITOL RECORDS’ famed STUDIO A in LOS ANGELES. The event also commemorated the 25th anniversary of BERKLEE TODAY – the college’s alumni magazine.

The degree was awarded in recognition of SCHMITT’s historical musical achievements, which include 22 GRAMMY and LATIN GRAMMY awards and a GRAMMY TRUSTEES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT honor.

“I’m still in awe about this. My family knows how important this honor is to me,” said SCHMITT in his acceptance remarks. “I never got to go to college. I am blessed to have been able to work with so many great artists and on so many great projects. It means a lot to me to get this honor from the greatest music school on the planet, and I thank you.”

“Over the course of a spectacular and lengthy career, AL SCHMITT has worked with some of the greatest musical icons from the 1950s to the present as an engineer, producer, and label executive,” said President BROWN. “A number of classic albums such as GEORGE BENSON's 'Breezin’,' STEELY DAN’s 'Aja,' NATALIE COLE’s 'Unforgettable' or DIANA KRALL’s 'When I Look in Your Eyes,' would not have been the same without AL’s incredible ears and musical sensibilities.”

SCHMITT joins an impressive list of BERKLEE honorary doctorate recipients such as DUKE ELLINGTON (the first, in 1971), DIZZY GILLESPIE, JIMMY PAGE, ARETHA FRANKLIN, QUINCY JONES, SMOKEY ROBINSON, STING, JUAN LUIS GUERRA, DAVID BOWIE, GEORGE MARTIN, BONNIE RAITT, GEORGE CLINTON, PATTI LaBELLE and CAROLE KING. 

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