Boston Conservatory

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Boston Conservatory

Established: 1867
Type: Private conservatory
President: Richard Ortner
Students: 702
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Campus: Urban
Website: http://www.bostonconservatory.edu/

The Boston Conservatory is an arts conservatory located in the Fenway-Kenmore region of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It has undergraduate and graduate programs in music, dance, theater, and music education. The Conservatory offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music, and Master of Music degrees. The Boston Conservatory was founded in 1867.

Contents

[edit] History

The Boston Conservatory was founded in 1867 by Julius Eichberg, a violinist and composer. From its inception, the Conservatory welcomed women and African Americans, which was unusual for the time.

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.

[edit] Programs of Study

Training at the Conservatory emphasizes professional skills. Students learn through classes, lessons, ensemble rehearsals, and performing.

The Conservatory has a student/faculty ratio of 4:1. In the 2007-2008 school year, the student body comprised 512 undergraduate students and 190 graduate students, including 125 international students.

[edit] The Music Division

In the 2007-2008 school year, The Music Division enrolled a total of 345 undergraduate and graduate students taught by 114 full- and part-time faculty. It awards the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees as well as Graduate Performance Diploma and Artist Diploma. Twenty-five separate curricula are offered within seven departments: Piano, Strings, Voice and Opera, Woodwinds, Brass, Harp & Percussion, and History, Composition & Theory.

[edit] Music Education

Within the Music Division, The Boston Conservatory offers three graduate programs in music education. In the 2007-2008 school year, the Music Education program enrolled 36 graduate students.

[edit] The Dance Division

In the 2007-2008 school year, the Dance Division enrolled 93 undergraduate students. Training in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, ethnic styles, Pilates, Alexander Technique, and choreography is offered. The Dance Division offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. The curriculum is performance-oriented.

[edit] The Theater Division

The Boston Conservatory’s Theater Division has developed a specialization in musical theater. The department offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Music degrees. Seniors may choose an emphasis in Directing, Music Performance, Dance, or Acting. In the 2007-2008 school year, the Theater Division enrolled a total of 228 undergraduate and graduate students.

[edit] Summer Programs

[edit] Summer Dance

The Boston Conservatory offers a Summer Dance Institute for students, teachers, and professional dancers ages 16 and over. Classes include courses in ballet and modern, pointe and variations, Pilates and Alexander techniques, choreography and percussive dance.

[edit] The Vocal/Choral Intensive

The Boston Conservatory offers the Summer Vocal/Choral Intensive (VCI) for high school vocalists. It offers cousework in solo, opera, musical theater, and choral repertoire.

[edit] Eli Epstein Horn Intensive

The Eli Epstein Horn Intensive is a workshop for French Horn students, ages 16 and up.

[edit] Student life

Instead of dormitories, the Boston Conservatory uses 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. Northeastern University shares its cafeteria and its gym facilities with Conservatory students.

Some 29% of students live on campus.[1]

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Notable faculty

  • Richard Ortner, President of the Conservatory
  • Michael Nash, Dean of the Conservatory
  • Aldo Abreu, Venezuelan recorder player
  • Osvaldo Golijov, composer
  • Michael Lewin, Piano Department Chair
  • Elisabeth Phinney
  • Monique Phinney
  • Janice Weber, pianist
  • Jonathan Bass, pianist
  • Patty Thom, head of the voice and opera department
  • Maureen Brennan, Musical Theater Teacher (Tony Award nominee and Theater World Award winner)
  • Michael Norsworthy, clarinetist

[edit] References

  • College Music Society (2006). Directory of Music Faculties in Colleges and Universities, U.S. and Canada 2006-2007, 28th Edition. Missoula, MT: College Music Society, 167. ISBN 1-881913-26-0. 
  • Uscher, Nancy (1988). The Schirmer Guide to Schools of Music and Conservatories Throughout the World. New York: Schirmer Books, 150-151. ISBN 0-02-873030-5. 

[edit] External links

Languages