Nili Brosh

Nili Brosh was only 18 and a Berklee College of Music student when she shot to YouTube fame. In her 2007 video, she was practicing guitar in her family home in Newton, Massachusetts, playing a solo originally performed by her hero, Guthrie Govan. Two years and 120,000 views later, Brosh had attained a form of modern celebrity. She didn’t waver from her studies, though, graduating summa cum laude in 2009 even while she performed with the Nili Brosh Band in the Boston area. She noted at the time that although she had always wanted to be a sessions player, “I knew if I went to Berklee, I’d just be thrown into things, exposed to things, whether I wanted to or not.”

Brosh became intrigued with music at a young age, listening to her brothers’ Pink Floyd and Queen albums in her native Israel. When she was 12, her family moved to Newton. She chose Berklee because she considered herself a rock musician and wanted the versatility Berklee offered. By 19, she was teaching at Guitar Sessions, one of Berklee’s summer programs, and had an endorsement from Inspire Guitars. She credits Berklee with shaping her. “Dynamics is something I’ve gotten a lot better at in the last couple of years,” she said. “I used to have a much more straight line, and now I play with a little less gain and try to make it sing more.”

As a songwriter and guitarist, Brosh has made two albums, Through the Looking Glass (2010) and A Matter of Perception (2014). She has endorsements with Ibanez, EMG Pickups, and Peavey, and has toured with Tony MacAlpine and others in the United States, Canada, and Europe.