New England Conservatory Curriculum

College Majors Music Major
1

Hi everyone! So I’m going to apologize in advance for how long this is haha. I’m a senior in high school applying to college as a Music Performance major (I’m a vocalist) and I have a bit of a unique situation. My ultimate goal is to be a singer/songwriter of a primarily contemporary genre (r&b, pop, soul, that general area) but a lot of colleges don’t offer programs that focus on that genre, so I’ve begun applying to colleges as a jazz vocalist hoping to use internships and ensembles to make my curriculum more contemporary. The catch is that I’ve never really been trained in jazz so I’m already at a disadvantage with a lot of colleges. I keep hearing that New England Conservatory has a really good jazz program, but I’m a little worried about how competitive it is and what the programs are like. Should I bother applying all things considered?

(Just a note, I’ve already applied to Berklee College of Music but I’m trying to keep my options open)

2

Hi,

The vocal jazz program at NEC is frankly incredibly competitive, and nearly everyone in the program is going to want to be a serious jazz vocalist. Naturally they all do crossover things, but if you aren’t certain if you have the a) theoretical knowledge of music theory and jazz necessary to succeed and b) the vocal chops to sing jazz, it may not be worth your time. Check the audition requirements, and if they don’t make sense to you without the need to Google everything, you may not wish to go that route.

HOWEVER, there are many, many singer-songwriter schools out there that will suit your needs far better. Belmont, USC, and NYU would be much more appropriate options if you intend to go into “popular” music; search for programs with a “popular music” focus or that have majors in “studio engineering” - they will have more of what you desire.

3

Frost School of Music also has a singer/songwriter program.

4

Thank you so much!!