Liberal Arts

The broad range of Liberal Arts Department offerings in literature, history, philosophy, politics, cultural studies, social sciences, environmental studies, film, and foreign languages provides students with opportunities to study major academic disciplines as well as cultural, social, intellectual, and political contexts for music.

The Liberal Arts Department offers rich and varied opportunities for students to develop essential college-level skills in critical thinking, writing, and analysis, as well as important interpersonal skills involving public speaking, listening, and working in groups. We also offer a Minor in the Liberal Arts, which provides students the opportunity to work closely with a faculty advisor to concentrate on a focused area of study in the Liberal Arts.

Patrick Keppel, chair of Liberal Arts, teaches a drama workshop.

Patrick Keppel

From the Department Chair

I and my colleagues in the Liberal Arts have a unique perspective on the work students do at NEC. While not a part of the direct musical instruction here, study in the Liberal Arts is a key part of NEC’s core values as articulated in the Definition of an NEC-Educated Person. NEC’s goal is not simply to train technical masters, but to educate whole persons equipped with the critical thinking, reading, writing, interpersonal, and collaborative skills they will need to have successful careers both in and outside of music.

degree program

Minors and Concentrations

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After NEC

Department Highlights

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Faculty Member Tom Siders (BSO), Trumpet, Gives a Private Lesson

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Faculty Member Tom Siders (BSO), Trumpet, Gives a Private Lesson

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Liberal Arts faculty

All Faculty

Alison Cotti-Lowell

Matthew Duveneck

Jill Gatlin

Patrick Keppel

James A. Klein

Ruth Lepson

Ben Martin-Bean

Katya Popova

All Faculty

After NEC

Learning Experiences

NEC students can explore a vide variety of subjects through liberal arts courses.

Visual Arts

A student in Katya Popova’s Visual Arts Studio discusses her work with class members. At NEC, Popova teaches Visual Arts Studio, Interarts, Three-Dimensional Design, and Fundamentals of Graphic Design. She loves teaching visual art to musicians: “We have all these senses, and they are informed by each other. I think it’s wonderful to develop an interest in the visual arts, whether they decide to use it for their practice or not.”
Sciences

Professor Matthew Duveneck leads students of his Forest Ecology class in discussion. Duveneck worked as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Harvard Forest, where he researched scenarios of forest change in New England incorporating land use, climate change, forest management, and other interacting disturbances.
Drama

Students of the Drama Workshop act in a final class performance. Drama Workshops are collaborative exercises in acting and directing where students can take risks and explore the dramatic art form to become better actors and performers. No previous acting experience is required.
Poetry

A student reads her work from a collection printed at the end of the Poetry Class at NEC. “We had so much fun in that class,” said trombonist and alumna Robyn Smith ”19, ’21 MM. “We got to experience each other in a different manner than music. We got to hear each other’s voices through writing.”
History

Professor James Klein prepares to teach a course on Europe in the 20th Century. Klein has a master’s in modern history from Oxford University and a second master’s and doctorate in English history from Harvard. Klein has received numerous National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships and several awards for teaching excellence, including Who’s Who of American College Faculty and Harvard University’s Fellowship for Outstanding Teaching from the Derek Bok Institute.