New England Conservatory
Timeline
Some defining moments in the history of New England Conservatory.
For assistance with pictorial research on any of these topics, please contact Andrew Hurlbut.
1867: New England Conservatory founded
Eben Tourjée founds one of America’s first conservatories, making it possible for Americans to pursue excellence in music in this country rather than in Europe.
1869: National Music Congress inaugural meeting
Organized by Tourjée, this meeting of music teachers develops uniform standards for musical education in America.
1869–72: Peace Jubilees
Tourjée conducts a chorus of 20,000 in the World Peace Jubilee of 1872 in Boston.
1874: Instruction in music education
NEC professor Luther Mason pioneers courses in music education, thus assuring qualified teachers of music for public schools.
1876: Music Teachers National Association founded
Tourjée is elected first president of the Music Teachers National Association.
1879–82: NEC in Japan
Serving as governmental supervisor to newly opened Japan, Luther Mason introduces Western music in 30,000 schools. The Japanese still call his method “Mason-Song.”
1881: Boston Symphony Orchestra founded
Seeking to make the Boston Symphony Orchestra a world-class ensemble, founder Henry Higginson turns to the NEC faculty for 19 of his section leaders.
(Find more on the NEC/BSO connection.)
1882: NEC chartered
1902: NEC Symphony Orchestra
Conservatory director George W. Chadwick creates an ensemble dedicated to affordable, quality concerts of major repertoire, contemporary works, and premieres. Today NEC's orchestra program encompasses three full orchestras, a chamber orchestra, and wind ensembles at the College level. The Preparatory School orchestra program offers a six-tier system as well as four chamber orchestras and wind ensembles.
1902: NEC School of Opera
The Conservatory forms an opera department under the direction of Oreste Bimboni. Key figures in opera instruction since that time have been Boris Goldovsky, John Moriarty, and current program director John Greer.
1902: NEC moves to Huntington Avenue
The Conservatory moves from cramped quarters in Franklin Square to its current location, built to meet the specialized needs of musical education.
1903: NEC’s Jordan Hall opened
A gift of trustee Eben D. Jordan, 2nd, Jordan Hall astounds its first audiences with its beauty and superb acoustics. It also serves music lovers with free concerts by NEC ensembles and soloists.
1908: Boston Opera Company
NEC provides the manager, conductors, solo artists, orchestral players, chorus, library, and rehearsal space for this early endeavor to satisfy Boston's opera lovers. The principal company filling that need nowadays is Boston Lyric Opera, run by NEC alumna Janice Mancini Del Sesto '71.
1924: National Association of Schools of Music
NEC is a charter member (founder) of the National Association of Schools of Music.
1933: Master of Music program
NEC’s commitment to professional levels of performance and research is marked by the introduction of its Master of Music program. While at first only a handful of students enter this program each year, it will become one of NEC’s most popular programs: today close to half the student body is made up of master’s candidates.
1942: NEC Opera Workshop
Organized by faculty member Boris Goldovsky, the group gives the first Boston opera productions in more than a decade.
1950: NEC Preparatory School
“Music for Children” program—now the Preparatory School—is founded by Francis Brockman Lanier and Virginia Bacon.
1951: Accreditation for NEC
The Conservatory is admitted into the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
1967: 100th Anniversary of New England Conservatory
Inauguration of new president Gunther Schuller is tied to NEC’s centennial, including a symposium on “The Conservatory Redefined.”
1968: Community Services
NEC provides its neighbors with tuition assistance, music classes for senior citizens, training programs for minority students, and free concerts.
1969: NEC Jazz Studies Department established
Conservatory president Gunther Schuller makes NEC the first major conservatory in this country with a fully accredited jazz studies program.
1974: Third Stream Studies Department established
Under pianist Ran Blake, students in this department (now called Contemporary Improvisation) synthesize diverse musical traditions to conceive music aurally.
1977: NEC/Tufts University double-degree program established
A combined program of study leads to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree from Tufts University and a Bachelor of Music degree from NEC.
1983: Laurence Lesser assumes NEC presidency
A cellist, Lesser continues to teach and makes the development and nurturing of NEC’s faculty a top priority. He continues to serve through 1996.
1985: NEC and Walnut Hill
NEC at Walnut Hill School Program established for resident students, grades 8-12. Under the artistic direction of Benjamin Zander, Walnut Hill students take music lessons at NEC and participate in ensembles, including the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra.
1988–91: “Making Music Together”
NEC and Moscow State Conservatory collaborate for the era’s largest cultural exchange between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.: festivals set in Boston and Moscow.
1994: National Historic Landmark designation
New England Conservatory and NEC’s Jordan Hall receive rare dual designation as National Historic Landmark.
1995: Restoration of NEC’s Jordan Hall
As capstone of NEC’s first major fundraising campaign, $8.2 million restoration of national historic landmark Jordan Hall is completed to resounding acclaim.
1995: Doctor of Musical Arts program
First students graduate in NEC’s Doctor of Musical Arts program.
1998: Learning Through Music partnerships with public schools
NEC launches Learning Through Music programs in public schools outside of Boston, followed by founding of Boston’s Conservatory Lab Charter School, now serving grades K–6.
2000: “From the Top” radio show launch
Now heard nationwide on more than two hundred stations, "From the Top", a talent show for young classical musicians, begins weekly broadcasts, with NEC as the program’s home and educational partner, and pianist Christopher O’Riley ’81 A.D. as host.
2000: Daniel Steiner assumes presidency of NEC
After a year as acting president, Steiner is elected NEC president by the Board of Trustees, concluding a year-long search.
2001: Professional String Quartet Training Program launch
NEC launches Professional String Quartet Training Program under the leadership of cellist Paul Katz. A year later the Professional Piano Trio Training Program is launched under the leadership of pianist Vivian Hornik Weilerstein.
2002: Youth Orchestra of the Americas forms
Under the guidance and sponsorship of NEC, Youth Orchestra of the Americas forms. It is the first youth orchestra to bridge together North, South and Central America through youth, musical education and cultural interaction. NEC hosts rehearsals and the inaugural performance.
2003: Jordan Hall Centennial
NEC enters a new century of Jordan Hall concerts with a weekend of musical celebrations, as well as the public launch of its unprecedented $100 million "Gift of Music" capital campaign to boost student scholarships, increase faculty support, and launch a facilities upgrade.
2005: Harvard/NEC double-degree program admits first students
Six students are accepted to a new five-year program that results in a bachelor’s degree from Harvard and a Master of Music degree from NEC.
2006: Death of President Steiner; interim administration
Daniel Steiner dies June 11. President Emeritus Laurence Lesser agrees to serve as interim chief executive officer during the search for a new president for NEC.
updated 8 November 2006