"Everybody's sound counts."
Connect with an Enrollment counselor for your prospective major from anywhere in the world.
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NEC students don't just learn music; they learn how to change the world through music.
Learn More About NEC
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Our Musical Community
NEC is an incredibly vibrant and diverse musical community. Connections and collaborations among students and faculty foster a supportive space for personal and artistic growth.
As an NEC student, you will immerse yourself in intensely focused musical study, while also being encouraged to experiment and expand your perspective. You will find the freedom to develop your individual musicianship and prepare for the path ahead.
Integrative Curriculum
NEC’s new Integrative Curriculum weaves together the many strands of a conservatory education, including music history, performance, composition and entrepreneurship, in fresh and dynamic ways. The result: NEC students graduate as holistic musicians with the tools and creative confidence to make a transformative artistic and social impact on their careers — and on the wider world.
Our Educational Approach
Our teachers have the freedom to tailor their instruction to you, understanding and addressing your individual needs. NEC faculty will challenge you frequently and support you tirelessly in our remarkably supportive community.
NEC's Entrepreneurial Musicianship program will enhance your conservatory education with the tools integral to building your life in music: financial management, grant writing, marketing, and more.
NEC undergraduates also develop critical thinking, reading, and writing skills and a broad contextual knowledge of the world. Our Liberal Arts faculty will work closely with you in classes on literature, history, philosophy, cultural studies, social and environmental sciences, and languages. You can also cross-register at many schools in Boston to explore a nearly limitless topics not offered at NEC.
Chamber music and small ensembles are integral to the student experience here. Close collaboration – the very essence of consensus-building and collective leadership – can be found across NEC in classical, jazz, CI, and new music.
The key is showing people what is possible, not how to sound.
The Boston Advantage
Boston is America's biggest college town and an exceedingly vibrant city for the arts. As an NEC student, you will have a connection to many of the city’s most esteemed and adventurous music makers.
Imagine living one block from Symphony Hall and walking distance from the Museum of Fine Arts, Fenway Park, Newbury Street shopping district, the Charles River, the Boston Common, and so much more. NEC is in the heart of it all, and there’s no better place to be a student.
"I wish my program was longer"
"Everything always feels different"
New England Conservatory's Philharmonia led by Hugh Wolff performs Stravinsky's Rite of Spring
Unparalleled Performances
At NEC, you will be immersed alongside many of the world's best emerging artists. Our large ensembles, led by world-class conductors, are truly among the finest student ensembles out there.
Chamber music and small ensembles are integral to the NEC experience. Close collaboration – the very essence of consensus-building and collective leadership – can be found throughout NEC.
And, just attending concerts here every night is an inspiring and exhilarating education on its own.
