Performances + Events
New England Conservatory’s summer 2026 Expanded Education programs offer youth and adult participants enriching opportunities to immerse themselves in intensive musical experiences led by distinguished faculty artists. From early music to jazz, vocal, chamber, orchestral, and contemporary music programs, NEC’s summer offerings are thoughtfully designed to foster and facilitate students’ artistic development and growth through private lessons, ensembles, classes, and extraordinary performance opportunities.
Over the course of the summer, students ranging from middle schoolers to adults, across all skill levels, come to NEC to work alongside some of the most accomplished performers and pedagogues in the field, advancing their artistry in an inspiring and supportive community.
Christopher Bush, the Expanded Education Department’s Director of Adult Education and Digital Programs, oversees summer programming for adult students. “I’m so happy to see the return of programming for collegiate, early professional, and amateur musicians to our summer offerings here at NEC,” Bush said. “Expanding access to our superb faculty during the summer is an ongoing priority for us and is going to allow so many more musicians to experience what makes NEC special.”
“I’m thrilled to see the breadth of NEC’s summer programs growing,” Sean Buchsbaum, Executive Director of NEC’s Preparatory School, added. Buchsbaum oversees summer youth programs.
Summer 2026 promises to be a memorable music-making experience for students from around the world. Programs include the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice, Early Music Institute, Jazz Lab: Workshop for Adults, Jazz Lab, Summer Orchestra Institute, Summer Vocal Institute, and tuition-free Summer Chamber Music Young Artist Program.
Learn more about NEC’s offerings below and online, and experience the magic of music this summer.
Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice
June 14–20
June will see the return of the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP), an intensive performance seminar on new music for college-level and adult instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers/sound artists with advanced skills. The experience, which includes full days of master classes, lessons, rehearsals, and concerts, is an invaluable one for anyone interested in exploring new music and tackling the challenges of 20th and 21st-century repertoire under the mentorship of a uniquely experienced faculty.
Under the leadership of pianist and Artistic Director Stephen Drury, faculty include Stuart Gerber (percussion), Gleb Kanasevich (winds, brass), John Mallia (electronics), Stephen Marotto (strings), Alvin Singleton (guest composer in resident), Yukiko Takagi (piano), Nick Vines (new works), Corey Hamm (piano), and Christina Ivanova (voice).
Participants can immerse themselves in the Performance Program, New Works Program, or Electronics Workshop and enjoy opportunities for collaboration across disciplines. The program concludes with the Iditarod, a marathon performance of participants’ work.
Early Music Institute
June 21–27
The Early Music Institute at NEC is a weeklong summer program dedicated to the music of the Baroque era. The program serves college students and advanced amateurs, ages 18 and older, who play modern and period instruments. Participants receive daily instruction from early music specialists and rehearse chamber and orchestral works from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Led by cellist and Artistic Director Guy Fishman, NEC faculty and guest artists, including violinist and violist Sarah Darling, violinist and violist Renée Hemsing, double-bassist Heather Miller Lardin, flutist Andrea Leblanc, guitarist, lutenist, and theorbo player John Lenti, violinist Susanna Ogata, and keyboardist Ian Watson, deliver and facilitate engaging lectures and discussions on a range of early music-related topics. The week culminates in an orchestral performance featuring students and faculty in NEC’s historic Jordan Hall. Housing in NEC’s dormitories is available, as is access to the Conservatory’s extensive collection of period instruments.
Jazz Lab: Workshop for Adults
June 21–27
NEC’s Jazz Lab: Workshop for Adults welcomes musicians with varying levels of experience, from band directors who teach jazz as part of their curriculum to avocational players with a basic understanding of improvisation but who may not consider themselves experts. Players and educators with advanced skills in jazz will find plenty of new opportunities to learn in this weeklong program. Participants should be 18 or older and have foundational playing skills and some familiarity with jazz concepts to meaningfully engage in the experience.
Whether a student is a dedicated hobbyist, music educator, or someone looking to dust off their instrument and play again, this workshop offers a perfect mix of learning, fun, and community. Students spend their days making music with supportive peers, rehearsing in small groups, and exploring new ideas with inspiring NEC faculty and guest artists. Jazz Lab faculty include Henrique Eisenmann (piano), Lihi Haruvi (saxophone), Tim Lienhard (trombone), Farayi Malek (voice), Peter Moffett (drums), Ken Schaphorst (trumpet, composition), and David Zoffer (piano).
Jazz Lab
June 28-July 4
In NEC’s Jazz Lab, musicians ages 13 to 18 work over the course of a week with world-class faculty and guest artists in small ensembles, instrumental workshops, and master classes, and enjoy transformative performance opportunities. A 2023 participant described Jazz Lab as “an incredible experience with insanely talented and warm staff and an inspiring group of young musicians.” Jazz Lab faculty include Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere (bass), Henrique Eisenmann (piano), Lihi Haruvi (saxophone), Tim Lienhard (trombone), Farayi Malek (voice), Peter Moffett (drums), Ken Schaphorst (trumpet, composition), Mike Tucker (saxophone), and David Zoffer (piano).
Summer Orchestra Institute
Session 1: June 28-July 11
Session 2: July 12–25
NEC’s monthlong Summer Orchestra Institute, under the artistic direction of Juliano Aniceto and an inspiring team of guest conductors, is open to intermediate- and advanced-level strings, brass, winds, and percussion students ages 13 to 18. The Institute, a full symphony orchestra program, focuses on the skills required of orchestral musicians as individuals and ensemble players.
Program activities include full orchestral and sectional rehearsals, private lessons, master classes, health and wellness seminars, professional development sessions, individual practice time, and performances of orchestral repertoire under the direction of conductors Aniceto, Jessica Rivera Altarriba, and Alexandra Arrieche, in NEC’s historic Jordan Hall. Repertoire includes works by Jessie Montgomery, NEC alumna Florence Price, William Grant Still, Dvořák, Falla, Mascagni, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky, an orchestral suite from Hamilton, highlights from Wicked, and an orchestral version of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Students have the option to attend one session for two weeks or the full program for four weeks.
Summer Vocal Institute
August 2–15
NEC’s Summer Vocal Institute nurtures the developing voices of singers ages 13 to 18 through intensive study and performance. Guided by expert faculty including Jessica Bloch-Moisand (artistic director, scenes stage director), Sarah Flanagan (stage combat, movement), Corey Gaudreau (assistant program director, voice teacher), Tristan Leung (vocal coach, collaborative pianist), Rafe Schaberg (vocal coach, collaborative pianist), Timothy Steele (scenes music director, vocal coach, collaborative pianist), and Sahoko Timpone (voice teacher), students refine their technique, expand their artistry, and gain insight into the musical path ahead — whether they’re preparing for college-level study or simply exploring the joy of singing in a supportive environment.
Students in the Summer Vocal Institute expand their technical and interpretive skills across genres, including operetta, musical theater, and art song. In addition to individualized instruction and coachings, students attend classes that explore movement and acting and seminars in vocal health, pedagogy, career development, and theater operations. Performance opportunities include mock auditions, an art-song recital, and a final scenes program.
Summer Chamber Music Young Artist Program
August 8–16
NEC’s Summer Chamber Music Young Artist Program will bring talented young musicians from around the world to campus for nine days of intensive, collaborative music-making. Participating young artists, grouped with mentor artists into string quartets, piano trios, and other chamber music configurations, will work with NEC’s internationally renowned faculty artists and perform in historic Jordan Hall. Faculty artists include violinist/violist and program Artistic Director Ara Gregorian, violinists Paul Biss, Miriam Fried, Nicholas Kitchen, and Donald Weilerstein, violist Kim Kashkashian, cellist Yeesun Kim, and pianist Vivian Hornik Weilerstein.
The program, open to advanced violinists, violists, cellists, and pianists ages 13 to 18 (including recent high-school graduates), is tuition-free, with housing and meals included. In addition to participating in daily chamber music rehearsals and coachings, young artists will immerse themselves in a wide range of enriching programming designed to enhance their skills and broaden their perspectives, including workshops, master classes, and discussions. The experience will culminate in performances in Jordan Hall that showcase the groups formed at the program’s outset.
