Music

Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra members in concertHarvard’s vast and varied music scene offers multiple opportunities for students in both the curricular and co-curricular realms. The Office for the Arts oversees and supports several professionally-led instrumental and choral ensembles, including the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, Harvard Choruses, Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, Jazz Bands, the Jazz Combo Initiative and others; student-led ensembles include the Bach Society Orchestra and River Charles Ensemble. Students also lead a range of music groups and appreciation societies, from Early Music to a cappella, plus rock/R&B, hip-hop and electronica, as well as ensembles performing the music of ethnic cultures worldwide.

In the curricular realm, the Harvard University Department of Music is devoted to the study and practice of music, and exists to provide a first-rate music education that gives students advanced skills and knowledge of music history, repertory and performance.

As an academic department, the Music Department offers both an undergraduate and a graduate program. Undergraduates receive an A.B. with a concentration in music ("concentration" is Harvard's word for "major"). Graduate students complete a Ph.D. program in historical musicology, ethnomusicology, theory, or cross-disciplinary music studies.

Harvard offers two dual programs of study with the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) and Berklee College of Music. These programs benefit musically and intellectually talented students who wish to pursue both a professional music education at Berklee or NEC and a rigorous liberal arts education at Harvard.

The Harvard-NEC Dual-Degree Program permits the student to earn a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) or Bachelor of Science (S.B.) at Harvard College and a Master of Music (M.M.) at New England Conservatory in the performance field of their choice.

The Harvard-Berklee Joint Studies Program is designed for musicians who are interested in building a foundation for their artistic careers as well as attaining a liberal arts education. Berklee College of Music offers different tracks of study, including the option to pursue a Master of Music (M.M.) if the student chooses to extend their studies.


Although students cannot earn a vocal or instrumental performance degree at Harvard (such as a B.M., M.M., or D.M.A.), performance is very much a part of music department coursework, and students are welcome to join any of the many co-curricular music performance groups on campus. Many music department courses are performance-based.

The Music Department is located in the renovated Fanny Peabody Mason Music Building, which houses classrooms, music practice rooms, the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, John Knowles Paine Concert Hall, the Harvard University Studio for Electroacoustic Composition (HUSEAC), an Ethnomusicology Lab, Collection of Instruments, and faculty and administrative offices. The Department sponsors numerous concerts, colloquia, lectures and special music events each month, which are free to students and the public.

The music department is comprised of approximately 20 permanent faculty, around six visiting faculty, 50 undergraduates concentrators, 70 graduate students, 12, staff, and 10-15 associates.