NEC's Composition faculty emphasize a highly diverse and individualized approach to music composition in combination with a thorough curriculum of technical and theoretical studies. Our goal is to give you the technical tools and formal clarity to fully realize your own compositional voice. You will receive intensive, individual one-hour lessons with your studio instructor every week. The faculty is an active, widely-performed, and internationally-known group of composers who are diverse but complementary in both musical background and compositional style. The composition department also has a visiting composer program in cooperation with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Each year, performance opportunities for student work include seven student composer concerts, four orchestral readings, and performances by NEC Honors Ensembles and the NEC Contemporary Ensemble.
The size and musical scope of NEC's student body fosters cross-fertilization of genre and repertoire. Collaborations often result in student recitals with repertoire supplied by student composers.
Overall, NEC is a dynamic and vital place to be a composer — embracing the new while absorbing great musical traditions.