Visual & Performing Arts

Program Description

The Boston Conservatory

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The Boston Conservatory trains exceptional young performing artists for careers that enrich and transform the human experience. Known for its multidisciplinary environment, the Conservatory offers fully accredited graduate and undergraduate programs in music, dance, theater, and music education, and it presents more than 200 performances each year by students, faculty members, and guest artists. The intimacy of the Conservatory’s class settings provides a student-centered atmosphere that is uniquely intensive and supportive.

Since its founding in 1867, the Boston Conservatory has shared its talent and creativity with the city of Boston, the region, and the nation, and it continues to grow today as a vibrant community of artists and educators.

Music students work with artist faculty members and teachers who are passionately dedicated to working to develop students’ musical abilities to their utmost potential. With more than 300 concerts being offered each year, performance experience is a core part of the curriculum. Students participate in orchestra, choral ensembles, chamber groups, and pit work for the dance, opera, and musical theater main-stage productions that are produced throughout the academic year.

In addition to the school’s performance opportunities, the greater Boston area provides numerous playing possibilities for solo, small chamber, and orchestral musicians so that students may choose to further expand both their performance experience and knowledge of the repertory.

Boston is a major center of higher education in America, with more than fifty major colleges and universities. The city provides a diverse student population and an endless array of courses, lectures, concerts, and social opportunities. The Conservatory is a member of the Pro-Arts Consortium, in conjunction with five area colleges (Emerson College, Berklee College of Music, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts College of Art, and Boston Architectural Center), offering extensive cross-registration course possibilities to all students.

On-campus housing is provided for freshmen and to upperclassmen and graduates on a space-available basis, offering brownstone-style living accommodations just a few steps from the main training and rehearsal buildings. For those students interested in off-campus housing, Boston offers a wide range of architectural styles and rent prices in neighborhoods throughout the city that are all within easy access to the school by public transportation.

The Boston Conservatory strives to meet each student’s needs—musically and personally—and provides a nurturing, safe environment in which to study, learn, and grow. The supportive atmosphere of the college extends to student life areas as well. More than a dozen special-interest groups and organizations exist on campus, with new ones developing constantly as the student population grows and needs change. As part of the student services, a number of career seminars are given each year ranging from resume writing and audition anxiety to grant writing and tax laws for the performing artist. In addition, there is an active student government and a student-run newspaper.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen and transfers: December 1. Notification date--freshmen and transfers: April 1. Required: essay, high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, 2 letters of recommendation, audition, SAT I or ACT test scores, video for some programs, and portfolio for composition majors, interview for some majors, minimum TOEFL score of 550 for international applicants, artistic resumé, minimum 2.7 high school GPA. Auditions held 1 time on campus and off campus in Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX; Seattle, WA; Los Angeles, CA; Toronto; Interlochen, MI; and Washington, DC; recorded music is permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive and videotaped performances are permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive. Portfolio reviews held on campus.

Contact

Admissions Office, The Boston Conservatory, 8 The Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts 02215; 617-536-9153, fax: 617-247-3159.