Welcome to the Department of
Music History and Musicology

Study at NEC is about more than just practical music-making. Through coursework in music history and musicology, students at NEC get a sense of the bigger picture—how music is lived and understood across cultures and time-periods, what it has meant in the past and how it can shape society in the future.

With six full-time department members and an additional group of distinguished faculty, the Department of Music History and Musicology is a community of scholars and teachers, dedicated to fostering curiosity and enthusiasm for a humanistic approach to music. We are all active scholars and/or performers ourselves, and like our students, we are always learning.

Click here for complete faculty bios.

Click here to meet our full-time faculty.

Department Mission Statement (adopted spring, 2011)

The Department of Music History and Musicology provides students with a base of knowledge and the learning skills necessary for a life-long journey of discovery. Exploring the cultural and intellectual byways of music in a variety of times, places, and traditions, we lead students to think and communicate about their art in informed and engaging ways.  Our faculty of scholars and scholar-performers is in a unique position within the NEC community to bring the insights of musicological research to music-making in its many guises.  Abreast of current debates on questions pertinent to the musical arts, our aim is to help students navigate and join the discourse.

2011-05-24


SOMETIMES IT'S TO YOUR ADVANTAGE FOR PEOPLE TO THINK YOU'RE CRAZY. THELONIOUS MONK