DAVE KUSEK
VP, Berklee Media, Berklee College of Music
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Dave Kusek is a musician who has been inventing the future of music for the past twenty-five years. He was one of the first to capitalize on the commercial potential of computers and music. As an early synthesizer and electronic music pioneer, Dave cut his teeth on innovation. At the age of nineteen, he co-invented electronic drums at Synare, which helped ignite the disco era. In 1980, he founded the first music software company, Passport Designs, which made it possible for musicians to record and produce their music at home with its award-winning software.

Kusek is also a co-developer of the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) standard that opened up electronic music to literally millions of people. His efforts, along with others, set the stage for the desktop music market that we have today. In 1993, Kusek, with A&M Records, designed and developed the first commercially available enhanced CD that connected audio CDs to a personal computer. He also produces interactive DVDs for BMG Music, Windham Hill Records, and Berklee Press.

Today, Dave Kusek innovates at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass., the premier school for aspiring professional musicians for over half a century. Dave is Vice President of Berklee Media, the continuing education division of the college. In that capacity, Dave oversees some of the college's most visionary projects. These include: the college's online extension school Berkleemusic (www.berkleemusic.com), a major initiative to expand music education worldwide; Berklee Shares (www.berkleeshares.com), a venture that taps the potential of digital networks and music content licensing by making a broad selection of Berklee's curriculum free and universally available online; and, Berklee Press (www.berkleepress.com) the publishing arm of the college. An Associate Professor of Music Business at Berklee, Kusek also provides strategic consulting and advisory services to companies and individuals involved in the music and entertainment industries.

Kusek has been quoted in Billboard, Boston Globe, New York Times, Wired, Christian Science Monitor, Associated Press, and San Francisco Chronicle. He has been a speaker and lecturer at Berklee College of Music, MacWorld, Comdex, PC World, NAMM, AES, and California State University.