Berklee College of Music has named Terence Blanchard a visiting scholar in the Jazz Composition Department beginning in the fall of 2015.

A New Orleans native, Blanchard has gained international recognition through the years as a first class trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and recording artist.

“Coming to Berklee feels like I’m coming home. Even though I never went to Berklee, I hang out there a great deal and learn a lot from my friends who went there,” Blanchard said in a statement. “Recently, I was guest teaching and was amazed at how much the school has grown and created new avenues for expression. I am really looking forward to joining the faculty and will do my best to add to an already great team of educators.”

Like many other jazz greats, Blanchard got his start playing in the band of famed mentor and music giant Art Blakey.

In the same spirit, Blanchard has launched the careers of many who have played in his own band including Lionel Loueke, Aaron Parks, and Kendrick Scott, and will continue to carry on the tradition of jazz education in his new position as at Berklee.

“My approach to teaching will be what it’s always been,” Blanchard added. “Helping students find that individual musical personality inside them and giving them the tools to expand and develop their own ideas into bigger forms of musical exploration.”

In addition to education, Blanchard is a highly acclaimed composer and performer, winning four Grammy awards and performing all over the world.

Blanchard is also a prolific film composer with more than 50 scores to his credit. He has written the score for every one of director Spike Lee’s films since 1991, including Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Clockers, Inside Man, and Hurricane Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke.