The EM Department offers unique, NEC student-only field experiences for hands-on learning at Boston area arts organizations and on campus at NEC. All of these field experiences are paid, and some offer professional performance experience as well—read below to find out more about each individual opportunity.
Paid opportunities on & off campus.
North End Music & and Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC) is a 501(c)(3) community music
school and performing arts center empowering artists of all ages and abilities. In 2001, five
North End mothers created NEMPAC to meet a community need for children’s instrument
lessons. Twenty years of unwavering community support fueled NEMPAC’s growth from a
501(c)(3) offering piano lessons out of its founders’ homes to a community music school
and professional performing arts center operating from over 15 locations throughout the
City of Boston.
Today, NEMPAC’s community music school serves over 1,500 students per week through
private and group music instruction, on-site arts programming at area schools, as well as in-
house education classes. NEMPAC credits the rigor and quality of its educational
programming to the distinguished team of 30-plus faculty members who mentor and teach the next generation of artists
The Development and Community Outreach Intern will be responsible for supporting the Development team with fundraising administration, prospect research, solicitations, and donor stewardship, with a
special focus on development efforts at outreach events, helping to broaden and cultivate
new audiences and solicit donations at events. There will also be opportunities to be
involved in broader administrative duties at our front desk. The NEMPAC organization
delivers meaningful, impactful arts programming to our community, and this position
requires an individual who is positive and passionate about NEMPAC’s mission to ensure
music and performing arts are accessible to all. The position may require occasional
evening and weekend work.
Development Outreach Assistant Responsibilities:
-Assist with Holiday Campaign, including the production and distribution of solicitation
materials, mailing list clean-up, etc.
-Assist in Performathon coordination, including solicitation of raffle items, communication
with families about donation process, etc.
-Assist with development efforts at educational programs such as recitals and class shows,
including preparing “Applause Bags”, roses, etc. to sell at events.
-Assist with development efforts at other community events, including Pumpkin Painting,
holiday outreach events, etc., including collecting contact information and collecting
donations.
- Ensure data integrity through accurate data entry and ongoing clean-up efforts, including
elimination of duplicate donor records, keeping addresses up to date.
-Assist with donor research and prospecting, including researching prospects in Community
Music School for potential giving.
-Assist in grant research and writing.
-Work with Marketing Manager as needed to coordinate donor-related content for E-
Newsletter.
-Assist in front desk coverage, which includes answering phone, answering basic questions
from families about programming, etc. Must be available Thursdays 2-6 pm for front desk
coverage.
-Attend weekly Development/Marketing meetings and monthly staff meetings.
Celebrating over 11 years of youth music education, the Boston Music Project (BMP) is a creative youth development program committed to ensuring the long-term social and musical success of our cities' less advantaged urban youth by nurturing individual expression, celebrating unique cultures, and developing life skills through quality education and performance. BMP is inspired by El Sistema, the Venezuelan program that uses music education as a vehicle for social change. BMP serves 700+ students in kindergarten through 12th grade through ten partnerships with Boston Public Schools. All students are welcome to participate, regardless of musical ability.
The Arts Admin Intern will gain hands-on experience in building a replicable public
relations strategy for a growing non-profit with a focus on musical excellence and creative youth development. Interns will assist the Executive Director and Program Manager with day-to-day operations and learn about the various components of managing a school-based arts non-profit, including but not limited to marketing/communications, press releases, and social media management.
Responsibilities
● Assist Marketing/Communications Manager & Program Manager with communication & marketing
projects, including social media post creation and scheduling, creation of website blogs, & creative
materials that support program storytelling and outreach.
● Assist Executive Director and Communications/Marketing team to build out a replicable public relations
strategy for BMP.
● Be present during on-site programming 2 days per week from 7:30-9:30am at Josiah Quincy Elementary.
School or partner sites with additional 2 hours worked in a remote capacity.
○ Take pictures of ensembles, classes, and special events.
● Attend regular check-in meetings/trainings with the Marketing and Communications team.
● Provide support for producing, planning, and executing student concerts and performances.
Arts Administration Interns with the Phoenix Orchestra will gain a deep understanding of how a small non-profit orchestra operates. Interns will assist the Executive Director Matthew Szymanski and General Manager Christina Dioguardi in day-to-day operations and gain hands-on experience with various components of managing a performance-based organization.
Responsibilities include:
As an EM Nova fellow, you will be a part of a team tasked to putting on 2 concerts on NEC's Bowers Stage. EM Nova fellows will program the concerts, organize and audition artists, handle event operations, and promote and market the event, all with guidance from the EM Department. Each fellow will gain experience in event management, event services, arts administration, marketing, and strategic communications.
The EM Nova Fellowship carries a $750 stipend for the semester.
Expectations of EM Nova Fellows are:
Students may also earn credit for completing internships at one of Boston's many arts nonprofit organizations. Work side-by-side with a working arts professional, provide hands-on contributions to a real organization, all while earning elective credit.
There are many online resources for finding available internships. NEC students have free access in perpetuity to Bridge, EM's online opportunity board, and there are other Boston-specific websites like HireCulture that post available internships and are sortable by type of opportunity.
Most arts internships are unpaid, but unpaid internships that meet certain qualifications are eligible for one (1) elective credit. If you are interested in an external internship and would like help applying, schedule an appointment!
If you are interested in hosting an NEC student for an internship, we suggest you post your opportunity to the Bridge Opportunity Board. The most successful job descriptions include: a list of desired learning outcomes for the student, projected work responsibilities, and an outline of where, how, and with who a student will work.
NEC understands that often the nature of new or small-budget nonprofit organizations and the ability for remote work means some organizations do not have brick-and-mortar offices; however, NEC does require that at least 50% of working hours are supervised in person, and that all supervised hours are completed at a non-residential location (ie, at the organization’s offices, at NEC, at a coffee shop). As an internship is meant to be a learning experience, an intern’s job description must not be responsibilities that a host organization would otherwise pay an employee to do. Once an internship is agreed upon, both intern and host must sign a contract including job description details and qualifying the intern as a volunteer.
During the internship, interns must log their hours on the provided schedule and their supervisor must sign off. Both supervisor and intern must also complete mid-semester and final evaluations, to be provided by NEC’s EM Dept. Questions? Email Ryan Mewhorter.
Federal Internship Guidelines from the US Department of Labor