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Contemporary Musical Arts

Guest Artist Aoife O'Donovan '03 DP, performs with students of the Contemporary Musical Arts program.

Contemporary Musical Arts at New England Conservatory brings together a diverse group of the world’s finest young artists in a setting where they can grow as a community of composers, performers, and improvisers, learning from each other and from accomplished faculty. With an emphasis on ear training, technique, conceptual ideas, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a wide range of improvisational traditions from the United States and around the world, the CMA program is at the forefront of groundbreaking music, innovation, and artistry.

Guest Artist Aoife O'Donovan '03 DP, performs with students of the Contemporary Musical Arts program.
Guest Artist Aoife O’Donovan ’03 performs with students in the Contemporary Musical Arts department.
Contemporary Musical Arts co-chairs Eden Macadam-Somer and Hankus Netsky.

CMA Department Co-Chairs Eden MacAdam-Somer and Hankus Netsky

Hankus Netsky and Eden MacAdam-Somer

From the Department Chairs

Contemporary Musical Arts co-chairs Eden Macadam-Somer and Hankus Netsky.

NEC’s Contemporary Musical Arts department is both a musical community and a rigorous training program for the complete 21st century musician. Our courses and ensembles are uniquely designed to help you develop the advanced aural and technical skills you will need to thrive in today’s challenging global musical scene. In CMA, you will work with incomparable faculty to develop your unique voice as a composer, performer, and improviser through deep engagement with diverse oral traditions, interdisciplinary collaborations, cross-departmental projects, and conceptual ideas.

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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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  • Performance Opportunities

    Performance Opportunities

    CMA Faculty Liz Knowles Performs Traditional Irish Music

    At a Contemporary Musical Arts faculty concert, fiddle faculty and Irish Music Ensemble leader Liz Knowles performed the traditional Irish tune “Ceol Anam.”

  • Performance Opportunities

    Performance Opportunities

    CMA Faculty Perform Together

    CMA faculty joined together to perform Balla Kouyaté’s “Democracy.” Performing here are faculty members Warren Senders, voice; Mal Barsamian, clarinet; Eden MacAdam-Somer, violin, voice, feet; Liz Knowles, fiddle; Nima Janmohammadi, lavta; Hui Weng, guzheng; Balla Kouyaté, balafon; Hankus Netsky, piano; Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol, piano; and Jerry Leake, percussion.

  • Performance Opportunities

    Performance Opportunities

    Pushing the Limits — A Tribute to CMA’s 50-Year History

    CMA students, faculty, and alums perform “Sister Cries Out,” a movement from faculty member Linda J. Chases‘s oratorio For Our Common Home – Resounding Ecojustice. This performance was part of a concert titled “Pushing the Limits,” a celebration of the 50-year history of the Contemporary Musical Arts department.

  • Performance Opportunities

    Performance Opportunities

    Students, Faculty, and Alumni Perform Together

    CMA faculty member and alum Akram Haddad ‘22 GD leads an ensemble of students, faculty, and alums in a performance of “Al-Madina,” an excerpt from his recent score for the play The Maestro.

Event spotlight

Witness artistry in action