NEC's Jordan Hall: History
Acoustically superb Jordan Hall is the heart and soul of New England Conservatory and has been central to the musical life of New England since its opening on October 20, 1903. The 1,013-seat hall was a gift of Conservatory trustee Eben D. Jordan, 2nd, and was designed by architect Edmund Wheelwright, following the model of the European court concert halls of the Renaissance. The original cost was $120,000. All year long, music lovers come to Jordan Hall to hear free performances by NEC students, faculty, and ensembles throughout the week, as well as weekend appearances by touring artists and Boston musical organizations.
NEC's Jordan Hall is a classroom, laboratory, and gathering place where New England Conservatory’s most important learning takes place, offering Conservatory students the opportunity to launch their careers in one of the world’s favorite performing spaces.
NEC's Jordan Hall has been an obligatory stop on the international concert circuit from Jacques Thibaud and Harold Bauer in 1903 to Gil Shaham and Richard Goode today.
Dozens of local ensembles and presenters call Jordan Hall home, including Bank of America Celebrity Series, Boston Baroque, Boston Chamber Music Society, Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Cantata Singers, Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, Handel & Haydn Society, Longwood Symphony, and Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions.
The historic Ford Hall Forum also once called NEC's Jordan Hall home. In the 1960s, lecturers in Jordan Hall included Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Ayn Rand, and Margaret Mead. NEC currently hosts Nobel Prize winners and other distinguished speakers from outside the world of music in its Presidential Lecture Series.
A top-to-bottom restoration project began on May 2, 1995, and was completed in October 1995 at a cost of $8.2 million. The restoration carefully preserved the hall’s unique acoustics and architectural qualities, while making Jordan Hall barrier free and introducing silent, state-of-the-art climate control systems. Ann Beha Associates led the design team for the restoration of Jordan Hall. Kirkegaard & Associates were acoustic engineers for the project.
In 1994, the United States Congress recognized the seminal role of New England Conservatory in the development of American musical culture by awarding National Historic Landmark designation to both the school and Jordan Hall itself. The hall has won numerous awards since it restoration in 1995, including the 1996 Massachusetts Historical Commission Preservation Award, the Victorian Society in America's Preservation Commendation, the 1996 Boston Preservation Alliance Award, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America Award of Merit, and the Illuminating Engineering Society 1996 Lumen Award.
In October 2003, weekend-long festivities at NEC celebrated the 100th anniversary of Jordan Hall and the launch of the school's $100 million capital campaign, The Gift of Music.