October 12 is Hug-a-Bassist Day, a little-known but much-needed celebration that honors those who lay down the low end. Celebrate by hugging a bassist, obviously, but also by getting to know Berklee Online’s four bass instructors—each as essential as the four strings on a standard bass guitar.

After Chris LaRosa heard a live orchestra performing one of the scores he wrote for an assignment in the Composing the Orchestral Film Score course, he decided to enter the composition in the European Recording Orchestra’s Call for Scores Contest. He placed as one of the top five finalists.

Berklee Online is launching a new Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition degree, alongside three new minors: Music Production and Recording, Music Industry Entrepreneurship, and Film and Media Scoring.

For the fourth year running, Enrique Gonzalez Müller, director for Berklee Online’s Music Production master’s program, has partnered with iZotope, Slate Digital, and Sweetwater Sound to celebrate the accomplishments of six alumni. Check out their stories and the award-winning music they’re making!

Lori Landay’s new four-week Digital Storytelling course will guide students through the narrative process, from forming an initial concept and storyboarding, to filming and postproduction.

Leon Silva has played sax with Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande, and more, but he may be even prouder of earning his degree from Berklee after a 20-year absence.

One of the world’s leading scholars on emotional intelligence, behavior change, and leadership, Richard Boyatzis is putting his own research to practice while studying guitar at Berklee Online after a 60-year hiatus.

Berklee alum and accomplished drummer Jordan Rose takes a break from the road, touring with Maggie Rogers, to discuss his career in music, which includes drumming on Laufey’s Grammy-winning album and being in the studio with Jacob Collier. Oh, and he also reminisces about being an Advisor with Berklee Online.

The author of Berklee Online’s Advanced Jazz Piano course says growing up in Kentucky and singing in the church helped him develop an emphasis on teaching students that the best way to understand music is not just to study it, but to dance, clap, and sing to it.