The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Hall, and is home to approximately 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies, and 1,500 more in its Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education. NEC offers bachelor's degrees in instrumental and vocal classical music performance, contemporary musical arts, composition, jazz studies, music history, and music theory, as well as graduate degrees in collaborative piano, conducting, and musicology. The conservatory has also partnered with Harvard University and Tufts University to create joint double-degree, five-year programs.
History and leadership
Founding an American conservatory (1867) In June 1853, a nineteen-year-old music teacher from Providence, Rhode Island named Eben Tourjée made his first attempt to found a music conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. He met with a group of Boston's most influential musical leaders to discuss the foundation of a school based on popular and well-established European conservatories. Among the voices in the discussion were John Sullivan Dwight, an influential music critic; Dr. J. Baxter Upham, president of the Harvard Musical Association; and Oliver Ditson, a prominent music publisher. The group initially rejected Tourjée's plans, arguing that it was a poor idea to open a conservatory amidst the nation's current political and economic uncertainty, which would ultimately lead to the American Civil War.
It was not until the Civil War subsided that Tourjée made his next attempt to establish a school in Boston. In December 1866, he again met with a group of Boston's top musicians and music patrons. Joining the former attendees Upham, Dwight, and Ditson were Carl Zerrahn and Charles Perkins. In the thirteen-year interim, Tourjée had gained both experience and success in founding three music schools in Rhode Island, and this time was able to convince his audience of the persisting need and demand for such institutions. The men agreed to support Tourjée, and The New England Conservatory—then consisting of just seven rented rooms above the Boston Music Hall off Tremont Street—officially opened on February 18, 1867.Fitzpatrick, Edward. A history of the New England Conservatory of Music, unpublished school records, 1967. pp. 13–16. At the turn of the century, the original building was converted into a vaudeville theater called the Orpheum Theater, which still stands today.
Early history (1868–1900)
Tourjée continued establishing his public presence within the musical community in Boston by initiating the first national conference of music teachers, which met in Boston as the National Music Congress in 1869. Under the direction of Patrick Gilmore, he was also selected as one of the organizers behind Boston's National Peace Jubilee. That same year, he assembled and rehearsed a chorus of over 10,000 that performed in present-day Copley Square to celebrate the end of the Civil War. Three years later at the World's Peace Jubilee, which he also co-organized under Gilmore, the size of his chorus was doubled.
Similarly, New England Conservatory was also establishing itself as a pioneering institution even in its infancy. It was the first school in the United States to offer a course in public school music, and one of the faculty members who taught that course, Luther Whiting Mason, was the first to introduce music into Boston Public Schools. At the request of the Japanese government, Mason traveled to the country from 1879 to 1882 to introduce western music education to Japanese schools. In Japan, this system came to be known as the "Mason-song" system.Fitzpatrick, Edward. A history of the New England Conservatory of Music, unpublished school records, 1967. pp. 35–38.
By the end of 1868, the conservatory had grown from its original seven rooms to twenty-five, with 1,212 students enrolled.Fitzpatrick, Edward. The Music Conservatory in America. Unpublished DMA dissertation, Boston University, 1963. pp. 330–31. Meanwhile, Tourjée established an affiliation with Boston University in hopes of providing a more comprehensive collegiate education for musicians. He eventually took on the role of Dean at the university, holding the position until his death in 1891.Fitzpatrick, Edward. The Music Conservatory in America. Unpublished DMA dissertation, Boston University, 1963. pp. 355, 371.
By 1882, NEC had outgrown the rooms in the Boston Music Hall and moved operations to the St. James Hotel in Franklin Square in Boston's South End. The large building functioned as both an academic facility and a residence hall for female students. Even though St. James Hotel provided many amenities the Music Hall had been lacking, it still desperately needed a recital hall. So in 1884, the conservatory purchased land adjacent to the hotel and, almost immediately, construction began on a new recital hall. Through substantial contributions from wealthy trustees, including Jacob Sleeper, the new hall was rushed to completion and Sleeper Hall opened on January 13, 1886. The hall was rapidly put to heavy use, with 109 classical music concerts and hundreds of student recitals performed in the first year.McPherson, Bruce and James Klein. Measure by Measure: A History of New England Conservatory from 1867. The Trustees of New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, 1995. pp. 35, 40.
As the conservatory grew, so did its ties to musical life in Boston. When Henry Higginson founded the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881, he called on 19 members of NEC faculty to serve as section leaders.McPherson, Bruce and James Klein. Measure by Measure: A History of New England Conservatory from 1867. The Trustees of New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, 1995. p. 28. The close ties between these historic institutions continue today.
20th century
By the turn of the century, NEC had come under the leadership of George W. Chadwick, a well-known composer who had been on the faculty since 1882. During his tenure, the foundation was laid that shaped NEC's identity for the whole of the 20th century. Chadwick again recognized the need for a new facility and selected a location on Huntington Ave, which was quickly becoming a cultural center of Boston with the recently built Symphony Hall one block away. Once again through the generosity of its trustees, namely Eben Dryer Jordan Jr., another plot of land was purchased and, in 1901, construction began on a new concert hall at 290 Huntington Ave. The Jordan Hall building opened for students beginning in 1902, but the official inauguration of the concert hall took place on October 20, 1903, with a grand performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.Ledbetter, Steven. "Program Notes." 90th Anniversary of Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory. Boston: New England Conservatory of Music, 1993. pp. 14.
In addition, Chadwick assembled the first complete orchestral ensemble and established the first opera program at NEC. Chadwick ultimately shifted the focus of NEC's curriculum from casual music students interested in occasional lessons or courses to prioritizing students who wished to earn college diplomas and, beginning in 1926, baccalaureate degrees.Morrow, Jean and Maryalice Mohr, Guide to the archives at New England Conservatory of Music. Boston: New England Conservatory. pp. 26–27.
Like most academic institutions in the 1930s and early 1940s, NEC saw a decline in enrollment throughout the Great Depression and the closely following events of World War II. But by 1946, enrollment had doubled to over 2,300 students, with fifty percent of those degree candidates enrolled through the G.I. Bill to earn their college degrees following service in WWII.Morrow, Jean and Maryalice Mohr, Guide to the archives at New England Conservatory of Music. Boston: New England Conservatory. p. 28.
Through the 1950s, the school once again began redefining itself under the leadership of president Harrison Keller. He minimized the original diploma program by encouraging students to enroll into degree programs instead—which, by this time, had also expanded to include master's degree programs. Keller also established an academic studies department and developed a full four-year theory curriculum. In addition, the Artist Diploma program was initiated for a small number of highly gifted performers. Keller later founded the Department of Music for Young People, the precursor to NEC's present-day Preparatory School, and also oversaw construction of a new dormitory which opened in 1960.Morrow, Jean and Maryalice Mohr, Guide to the archives at New England Conservatory of Music. Boston: New England Conservatory. pp. 29.
In 1967, composer, conductor, and author Gunther Schuller was selected President of NEC, just as the school was celebrating its centennial. Like Chadwick, Schuller was a transformational leader for the conservatory. In 1969, he established the first fully-accredited jazz degree program in the United States and, a few years later, introduced "Third Stream" studies into the curriculum. "Third Stream" was the term coined by Schuller to describe the synthesis of jazz and classical music. Eventually, it gained its own department and degree program, first renamed Contemporary Improvisation, and renamed again in 2022 to Contemporary Musical Arts (CMA). The CMA department incorporates a wide variety of global and ethnic musical traditions, aural traditions, and improvisation into the conservatory's traditionally classical roots. Schuller also helped to renew interest in another style of American music: ragtime. He formed the New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble in 1971. Additional changes to the curriculum included a new program in early musical performance, as well as an overhaul of the music education department. Finally, Schuller expanded local outreach into the community by creating the Community Services department, known today as the Community Performances and Partnerships department.McPherson, Bruce and James Klein. Measure by Measure: A History of New England Conservatory from 1867. The Trustees of New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, 1995. pp. 131–136.
From 1983 to 1996, NEC was headed by renowned cellist and longtime faculty member Laurence Lesser. During his tenure, the campus expanded with the purchase of two additional buildings for classrooms and administrative offices. Lesser shepherded a major capital campaign to fund the 1994–95 restoration of Jordan Hall, and instituted the Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA) degree along with a considerable number of additional graduate school offerings.McPherson, Bruce and James Klein. Measure by Measure: A History of New England Conservatory from 1867. The Trustees of New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, 1995. pp. 143–147.
21st century Daniel Steiner, a former member of the board of trustees, served as the conservatory's only president who was not also a musician. During his tenure from 1999 to 2006, his goal was to "make NEC a top school in its field like MIT and Harvard." Toward that end, Steiner established a joint-degree program with Harvard and a chamber music training program, boosted financial aid resources, and hired prominent faculty members to attract more applicants. Both the size and reputation of NEC saw a substantial increase, and Steiner raised $72 million over the last three years of his presidency.Notes, v. 31 no. 1 (2005). pp. 4.
In 2007, Tony Woodcock took the helm and served as NEC's president until 2015. He instituted both of the programs for Sistema Fellows and Entrepreneurial Musicianship, and ended his tenure with the groundbreaking for the Student Life and Performance Center (SLPC), the school's first new building since 1960.