The New Boston Conservatory at Berklee

Here's the story of two neighbors — one, a prestigious performing arts conservatory. The other, an international leader in contemporary music education.

Despite the saying that "good fences make good neighbors," these two believe that removing the "fence" altogether will help them reimagine 21st century music and performing arts education. We're talking about The Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, who recently announced that they are merging, in a deal that will close in the coming summer.

We first spoke with the Presidents of both colleges, Roger Brown and Richard Ortner, last July, when they announced the idea of a merger.

Roger Brown, president of Berklee College of Music, which tweets @BerkleeCollege.

Richard Ortner, president of The Boston Conservatory, which tweets @bosconservatory.