The Boston Conservatory is an arts conservatory located in the Back Bay Fens region of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It has undergraduate and graduate programs in music, dance, theater, and music education. The conservatory offers fully accredited Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music, and Master of Music degrees.

History

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The Boston Conservatory was founded in 1867 by Julius Eichberg, a popular violinist and composer. From its inception, the conservatory blazed a trail of gender and racial equality by welcoming women and African Americans.

After the turn of the century, the conservatory merged with the National Associated Studios of Music, and created the first "grand opera" department in the United States. The conservatory's professional dance training program was the first to emphasize both classical ballet and America's emerging modern dance.

Curriculum

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Training at the conservatory is done with an emphasis on professional skills. Students learn through classes, practices, lessons, ensemble rehearsals, and of course, performances.

The conservatory's astounding 4:1 student/faculty ratio enables a unique artistic experience that simply isn't available at peer institutions. This ratio is maintained through a strict admissions selection process and by cultivating an extensive faculty of distinguished artists.

Student life

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Instead of traditional dormitories, The Boston Conservatory uses historical Victorian brownstones for on-campus housing. Undergraduate rooms consist of quads, triples, doubles, and singles. Freshmen are required to live on-campus, unless they commute from their home of origin.

29% of students choose to live on-campus.The Princeton Review The Office of Housing and Residence Life provides assistance with locating off-campus housing.

Notable students

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• Lily Afshar, classical guitarist
• George Bassman, composer
• Edward Boatner, composer
• Measha Brueggergosman, Canadian singer
• Angela Christian, Broadway actress and singer
• Gigi Gryce, jazz musician and composer
• Sondra Kelly, opera singer
• Chad Kimball
• Victoria Livengood, opera singer
• Constantine Maroulis, American Idol Season 4 contestant (1998—2002)
• Katharine McPhee, American Idol Season 5 contestant (2003—2005)
• Sam Rivers, jazz musician and composer
• Don Redman, jazz musician, arranger, and composer
• Geoff Sewell
• Slam Stewart, jazz musician

Notable faculty members

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• Richard Ortner, President of the Conservatory
• Michael Nash, Dean of the Conservatory
• Aldo Abreu, Venezuelan recorder player
• Osvaldo Golijov, composer of classical music
• Alan Hovhaness, composer
• Elisabeth Phinney
• Daniel Pinkham, composer, organist, and harpsichordist.
• Arnold Schoenberg
• Roger Sessions
• Janice Weber, piano player and author

References

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External links

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• The Boston Conservatory
• Boston Conservatory Application

Universities and colleges in Boston | Universities and colleges in Massachusetts | Music schools in the United States | Boston culture