New England Conservatory of Music

Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory (NEC) offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 750 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. NEC faculty members and alumni make up almost half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and have been honored with Grammy Awards, MacArthur Fellowships, and Naumburg Awards.

NEC is the most enduring independent school of music in the United States, founded in 1867 by educational maverick Eben Tourjée, and making history ever since with jazz instruction and professional chamber music programs, to name a few milestones. Opening its doors in 1903, Jordan Hall is literally at the heart of NEC’s main building and is renowned for its wonderful acoustics. It serves as the stage for both NEC student concerts and the world’s leading concert artists.

NEC’s performance-focused curriculum provides a wealth of solo and ensemble experiences for students, including required recitals and participation in four orchestras, three choruses, two wind ensembles, large and small jazz ensembles, new music groups, and a wide variety of chamber music groups. Additionally, the opera department presents two full-length staged operas with orchestra each year as well as several programs of opera scenes.

As seasoned concert soloists, orchestra and chamber musicians, veterans of the world’s premier opera stages, and jazz legends, NEC’s diverse faculty members form a musical network that spans the globe and enhances the careers of graduates. In the past few years, some of the foremost performer/teachers in the world have joined the faculty, including Donald Weilerstein and Miriam Fried, violin; Kim Kashkashian and Martha Strongin Katz, viola; Paul Katz, cello; Paula Robison, flute; John Ferrillo, oboe; Bruce Brubaker and Alexander Korsantia, piano; Vinson Cole, Delores Ziegler, Lorraine Nubar, Luretta Bybee, and Patricia Misslin, voice; and jazz musicians Anthony Coleman, Billy Hart, Dave Holland, Robin Eubanks, and Brad Shepik. The addition of these teachers to the existing strong faculty has created an incomparable music-training program.

Boston itself is one of the world’s great music centers and is a capital of higher education. NEC students have the opportunity to benefit from cross-registration for classes at Tufts University, Northeastern University, and Simmons College. New England Conservatory also partners with Tufts University to offer a five-year dual-bachelor’s-degree program and with Harvard University to offer a five-year program leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard and a Master of Music degree from NEC. NEC’s thriving Performance Outreach program provides performance opportunities for students in the Boston area and beyond and helps young musicians develop the skills to communicate with audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Performance sites include social, civic, cultural, and educational organizations that have forged partnerships with NEC. The Music Referral Service brokers professional engagements for students in the city and surrounding area. The Career Services Center also provides comprehensive information on employment opportunities, summer festivals, competitions, private teaching referrals, and resume and career counseling—all the essential materials needed to expand a musician’s horizons.

NEC alumni are renowned as soloists—with singer Denyce Graves, today’s Carmen of choice, and jazz clarinetist Don Byron currently at the top of their respective fields. Many are also extending their art form: in the classical world, violinist Lara St. John; and in the jazz world, all three members of Medeski, Martin & Wood. Alumni are principals or section players in professional orchestras in the United States and around the world, teach at major music schools, and influence the future of music in other ways. Three such notable alums are Los Angeles Philharmonic Executive Director Deborah Borda, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra President and Managing Director Bruce Coppock, and Curtis Institute’s new director, Roberto Diaz. Alumni composers Richard Danielpour, Michael Gandolfi, and Lee Hyla write music that is being avidly performed—and Gandolfi also teaches at NEC. Students and alumni have also enjoyed impressive successes at international competitions in recent years, including the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions, Naumburg Award, William Kapell International Piano Competition, Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Concert Artists Guild Auditions, Banff International Chamber Music Competition, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Irving M. Klein International String Competition, and Italy’s Paolo Borciani Chamber Music Competition.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen and transfers: December 1. Notification date--freshmen and transfers: April 1. Required: essay, high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, 2 letters of recommendation, audition, portfolio for composition majors, artistic resumé, repertoire list, minimum 2.75 high school GPA. Recommended: SAT or ACT test scores. Auditions held 1 time on campus; recorded music is permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive and videotaped performances are permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive (for some majors). Portfolio reviews held as needed on campus.

New England Conservatory of Music

Application Procedures

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