Performances + Events
Honorary Doctors of Music
Recognizing the distinguished artists who have shaped our world through music.
Since 1956, New England Conservatory has conferred honorary Doctor of Music degrees on individuals who have made significant contributions to music, the arts, and the betterment of humanity. Recipients include jazz legends, internationally acclaimed composers, renowned conductors, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriters, civil rights activists, business leaders, and members of the NEC faculty.
Awardees typically receive their degree at NEC’s Commencement ceremonies in May, but some are recognized in conjunction with a concert, lecture, or other campus event.
Honorary Doctors of Music
After NEC
Recent Recipients
This year’s recipients are honored for their lifelong commitment to and support of the performing arts and their remarkable contributions to the field.
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Chad Smith 2025
Chad Smith ’95 NEC/Tufts, ’98 MM, ’25 hon. DM is a leading figure in American orchestral music, known for his commitment to artistic innovation, education, and community engagement. Currently the Julian and Eunice Cohen President and CEO of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Smith previously served as president and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Smith has championed new music and emerging composers, expanded institutional partnerships, and launched such initiatives as the BSO Humanities Institute and the Paine Resident Fellows Program. A graduate of Tufts University and New England Conservatory, he has served as an NEC trustee since 2017 and remains a passionate advocate for the future of the arts.
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Conrad Pope 2025
Conrad Pope ’73, ’25 hon. DM is a composer, orchestrator, and conductor whose work has shaped the sound of more than 100 films, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, The Hobbit, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He has collaborated with such iconic composers as John Williams and Hans Zimmer, and his original music has appeared in My Week with Marilyn and Tim’s Vermeer. A dedicated educator, Pope teaches internationally and has held appointments at Brandeis University and the University of Michigan. A Fulbright Scholar and NEC alumnus, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Grammy-winning composer and arranger Nan Schwartz.
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Wendy Shattuck 2025
Wendy Shattuck ’75, ’25 hon. DM is a Life Trustee of New England Conservatory and a lifelong arts advocate. A gifted vocalist and NEC alumna, she enjoyed a vibrant performance career and has held key leadership roles at NEC, including chair of the Opera and Friends of Music committees. Through her generosity, the Wendy Shattuck ’75 Presidential Scholarship in Vocal Studies and the Wendy Shattuck Chair in Voice were established, and the Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre was opened. Shattuck serves on the boards of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Lyric Opera, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. She has been named one of Boston Magazine’s “Most Influential Bostonians.”
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Michael Tilson Thomas 2025
Michael Tilson Thomas ’25 hon. DM is music director laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, conductor laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra, and co-founder and artistic director laureate of the New World Symphony. A 12-time Grammy Award winner, he has led major orchestras worldwide. An accomplished composer himself, Tilson Thomas has contributed important works to the repertoire. He is an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France, a member of the American Academies of Arts & Sciences and Arts & Letters, a National Medal of Arts recipient, and a 2019 Kennedy Center Honoree. Three major recording projects were released in 2024 in celebration of his 80th birthday.
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Mayor Michelle Wu 2025
Michelle Wu ’25 hon. DM is the first woman and first person of color elected Mayor of Boston. A lifelong pianist and passionate arts advocate, she has performed at Symphony Hall and collaborated with such ensembles and artists as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Embrace Choir, and pianist Lang Lang. Under her leadership, the City of Boston has expanded access to music education, supported artist spaces, and launched free community programming, including the GLD FSTVL and Boston Family Days. The mother of a student in the Boston Public Schools and the daughter of immigrants, Mayor Wu champions the arts as essential to civic life and a welcoming, vibrant Boston for all.
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Marvin E. Gilmore Jr. 2024
NEC alumnus and President’s Council Member Marvin E. Gilmore Jr. ’51 DP, ’24 hon. DM has been recognized as a civil rights leader and was recently named a Boston “hero” on the 1965 Freedom Plaza that surrounds the Embrace sculpture. A D-Day U.S. veteran, his distinguished career and legacy include establishing OneUnited Bank (the first Black-owned bank in Massachusetts), opening a Cambridge jazz and reggae club called Western Front in 1967, and serving as President and CEO for the Community Development Corporation of Boston for 43 years. Gilmore is beyond deserving of these celebrations and recognitions, and we are grateful for the significant and far-reaching impact he has made on both the Boston communities and the NEC community.
past recipients
Alan Abel, 2012
Joseph Allard, 1987
Katja Andy, 1987
Jose Antonio Abreu, 2002
David Amram, 2022
Marian Anderson, 1964
Claudio Arrau, 1988
Martina Arroyo, 2016
Carl J. Atkins, 2021
Emanuel Ax, 2021
Ethan Ayer, 1976
Milton Babbitt, 1972
Sherwin Badger, 1972
David Baker, 2006
Frank L. Battisti, 2012
Bethany Beardslee, 1994
Remo Belli, 2013
Arthur Berger, 1987
E. Power Biggs, 1965
Eubie Blake, 1974
Ran Blake, 2006
Art Blakey, 1989
Carla Bley, 2014
William Bolcom, 2001
Eric Booth, 2012
Deborah Borda, 2021
Joseph L. Bower, 2018
Anthony Braxton 2016
Alfred Brendel, 2009
Claire Brook, 1999
Bob Brookmeyer, 2008
John Brownlee, 1967
Richard Burgin, 1962
Kennett F. Burnes, 2022
Anner Bylsma, 1995
Sarah Caldwell, 1979
The Canadian Brass, 1992
Simon Carrington, 2014
Benny Carter, 1998
Elliott Carter, 1961
Ron Carter, 1999
Kyung Wha Chung, 2015
Robert Cogan, 2003
Freddy Cole, 2012
Ornette Coleman, 1992
Edward Cone, 1984
Francis Judd Cooke, 1974
Aaron Copland, 1977
John Corigliano, 2001
Elvis Costello, 2013
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Elvis Costello 2013
George Crumb, 1983
Phyllis Curtin, 1981
Oliver Daniel, 1974
Mabel Daniels, 1958
Miles Davis, 1986
Jean Demos, 1962
Lorna Cooke deVaron, 1988
Justino Diaz, 1986
Harry Ellis Dickson, 1987
William R. Driver, Jr., 1980
Doriot Anthony Dwyer, 2004
Richard Dyer, 2007
Halim El-Dabh, 2007
Rosalind Elias, 1982
Gil Evans, 1985
Andrew Falender, 1992
Luis Ferré, 1975
Arthur Fiedler, 1971
Ross Lee Finney, 1967
Everett “Vic” Firth, 1992
Jorja Fleezanis, 2011
Leon Fleisher, 1996
Elliot Forbes, 1996
Lukas Foss, 2000
Aretha Franklin, 1997
Paul Fromm, 1967
James Galway, 1980
John Eliot Gardiner, 2005
Howard Gardner, 1993
Dizzy Gillespie, 1991
Fernand Gillet, 1969
Joseph Gingold, 1984
Howard Goding, 1972
Boris Goldovsky, 1989
Philip Gossett, 2013
Gary Graffman, 2003
Denyce Graves, 2014
Bernard Greenhouse, 2005
Roberta Guaspari-Tzavaras, 1998
Sofia Gubaidulina, 2017
John Hammond, 1977
Thomas Hampson, 2015
Lionel Hampton, 1995
Herbie Hancock, 2018
Howard Hanson, 1956
John Harbison, 1995
Kevin S. Harrington, 1976
Francis W. Hatch, 1988
Roland Hayes, 1961
Roy Haynes, 2004
John Heiss, 2013
Adolph “Bud” Herseth, 1985
Iva Dee Hiatt, 1979
Dave Holland, 2003
Marilyn Horne, 1998
Ian Horsbrugh, 1998
Carl Howard, 1993
John Hsu, 1971
Karel Husa, 1998
Frederick Jagel, 1971
Ahmad Jamal, 2015
Ella Jenkins, 2022
Speight Jenkins, 2011
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Aretha Franklin 1997
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Herbie Hancock 2018
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Coretta Scott King 1971
Graham Johnson, 2013
Quincy Jones, 2010
Ali Akbar Kahn, 2001
Leonidas Kavakos, 2013
Roger Kellaway, 2010
Harrison Keller, 1959
Edward Kennedy, 1997
Coretta Scott King, 1971
Robert King, 1994
Leon Kirchner, 1990
Oliver Knussen, 2013
Olga Koussevitzky, 1968
Jean Kraft, 1989
Louis Krasner, 1981
Ernst Krenek, 1968
Hubert Weldon Lamb, 1963
H.C. Robbins Landon, 1988
Katja Andy, 1987
Paul Henry Lang, 1957
Frances Brockman Lanier, 1992
Vera Brodsky Lawrence, 1976
Eugene Lehner, 1983
Laurence Lesser, 2001
Robert Levin, 2001
David Lewin, 2001
Elma Lewis, 1977
George Lewis, 2023
John Lewis, 1983
Norman Lloyd, 1965
Lewis Lockwood, 1997
Robert Lowell, 1969
Witold Lutoslawski, 1990
Yo-Yo Ma, 1992
Wu Man, 2021
Margaret Mason, 1964
Joseph Gabriel Esther Maneri, 2009
Robert Mann, 2004
Herbert Marcuse, 1968
Jean Mayer, 1990
Carl McKinley, 1963
Marian McPartland, 2001
Mabel Mercer, 1980
Arthur Tillman Merritt, 1964
Olivier Messiaen, 1986
Edgar Meyer, 2018
Mildred Miller, 1966
Gladys Child Miller, 1975
Nathan Milstein, 1987
Bruno Monsaingeon, 2007
John Moriarty, 1992
Erica Morini, 1963
Jean Morrow, 2019
Blanche Honegger Moyse, 1984
Charles Munch, 1964
Thea Musgrave, 2004
Conlon Nancarrow, 1990
Jessye Norman, 2019
Roger Norrington, 2010
Ursula Oppens, 2019
Seiji Ozawa, 1982
Hermeto Pascoal, 2017
Claiborne Pell, 1979
George Perle, 2002
Stephanie Perrin, 2008
Malcolm Peyton, 2016
Harvey Phillips, 1971
Ann Hobson Pilot, 2023
Daniel Pinkham, 1993
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Yo-Yo Ma 1992
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Wu Man 2021
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Jessye Norman 2019
Walter Piston, 1969
Joseph Polisi, 2001
Harold I. Pratt, 2017
André Previn, 2017
Steve Reich, 2011
Regina Resnik, 2007
Max Roach, 1982
Richard Rodgers, 1976
Sonny Rollins, 2002
Charles Rosen, 2003
Samuel Rosenbaum, 1972
Eric Rosenblith, 1996
Alex Ross, 2010
Peter Lyman Row, 2018
Ruth Rubin, 1994
Carl Ruggles, 1968
George Russell, 2005
Jesus Maria Sanroma, 1963
Peter Schickele, 1999
Alexander Schneider, 1989
Mischa Schneider, 1985
Gunther Schuller, 1978
William Schuman, 1981
William Schwann, 1982
David Scudder, 2003
Peter Serkin, 2001
Rudolph Serkin, 1985
Roger Sessions, 1966
Ravi Shankar, 1993
Robert Shaw, 1983
Russell Sherman, 2015
George Shirley, 2012
Wayne Shorter, 2007
Catherine Filene Shouse, 1975
Leonard Shure, 1990
Beverly Sills, 1973
Paul Simon, 2024
Joseph Silverstein, 1986
Leonard Slatkin, 2016
Warren Story Smith, 1964
Maynard Solomon, 2005
Robert Spano, 2024
Robert Sproull, 1998
Mavis Staples, 2021
Janos Starker, 2006
Eleanor Steber, 1962
Michael Steinberg, 1966
Daniel Steiner, 2006
Isaac Stern, 1962
William Grant Still, 1973
Shinichi Suzuki, 1966
Cecil Taylor, 1977
James Taylor, 2022
Clark Terry, 1997
James Terry, 1993
Lewis Thomas, 1982
Randall Thompson, 1975
Virgil Thomson, 1986
Joan Tower, 2006
Leo Treitler, 2011
Alice Tully, 1974
Karen Tuttle, 2010
Dawn Upshawn, 2024
William Valkenier, 1968
Roger Voisin, 1991
Mark Volpe, 1998
Susan Wadsworth, 2002
William Warfield, 1998
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Paul Simon 2024
Chou Wen-chung, 2019
Randy Weston, 2013
Paul Taylor White, 1965
Jordan M. Whitelaw, 1981
Leta Whitney, 1973
Chester W. Williams, 1976
John Williams, 1985
Christoph Wolff, 1999
Stefan Wolpe, 1969
G. Wallace Woodworth, 1958
Bernie Worrell, 2016
Susan Youens, 2014
Benjamin Zander, 2009
Bernard Zighera, 1984
David Zinman, 2023
John Zorn, 2014
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Elvis Costello 2013
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Aretha Franklin 1997
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Herbie Hancock 2018
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Coretta Scott King 1971
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Yo-Yo Ma 1992
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Wu Man 2021
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Jessye Norman 2019
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James Taylor 2013
past recipients by last name
Alan Abel, 2012
Joseph Allard, 1987
Katja Andy, 1987
Jose Antonio Abreu, 2002
David Amram, 2022
Marian Anderson, 1964
Claudio Arrau, 1988
Martina Arroyo, 2016
Carl J. Atkins, 2021
Emanuel Ax, 2021
Ethan Ayer, 1976
Milton Babbitt, 1972
Sherwin Badger, 1972
David Baker, 2006
Frank L. Battisti, 2012
Bethany Beardslee, 1994
Remo Belli, 2013
Arthur Berger, 1987
E. Power Biggs, 1965
Eubie Blake, 1974
Ran Blake, 2006
Art Blakey, 1989
Carla Bley, 2014
William Bolcom, 2001
Eric Booth, 2012
Deborah Borda, 2021
Joseph L. Bower, 2018
Anthony Braxton 2016
Alfred Brendel, 2009
Claire Brook, 1999
Bob Brookmeyer, 2008
John Brownlee, 1967
Richard Burgin, 1962
Kennett F. Burnes, 2022
Anner Bylsma, 1995
Sarah Caldwell, 1979
The Canadian Brass, 1992
Simon Carrington, 2014
Benny Carter, 1998
Elliott Carter, 1961
Ron Carter, 1999
Kyung Wha Chung, 2015
Robert Cogan, 2003
Freddy Cole, 2012
Ornette Coleman, 1992
Edward Cone, 1984
Francis Judd Cooke, 1974
Aaron Copland, 1977
John Corigliano, 2001
Elvis Costello, 2013
George Crumb, 1983
Phyllis Curtin, 1981
Oliver Daniel, 1974
Mabel Daniels, 1958
Miles Davis, 1986
Jean Demos, 1962
Lorna Cooke deVaron, 1988
Justino Diaz, 1986
Harry Ellis Dickson, 1987
William R. Driver, Jr., 1980
Doriot Anthony Dwyer, 2004
Richard Dyer, 2007
Halim El-Dabh, 2007
Rosalind Elias, 1982
Gil Evans, 1985
Andrew Falender, 1992
Luis Ferré, 1975
Arthur Fiedler, 1971
Ross Lee Finney, 1967
Everett “Vic” Firth, 1992
Jorja Fleezanis, 2011
Leon Fleisher, 1996
Elliot Forbes, 1996
Lukas Foss, 2000
Aretha Franklin, 1997
Paul Fromm, 1967
James Galway, 1980
John Eliot Gardiner, 2005
Howard Gardner, 1993
Dizzy Gillespie, 1991
Fernand Gillet, 1969
Joseph Gingold, 1984
Howard Goding, 1972
Boris Goldovsky, 1989
Philip Gossett, 2013
Gary Graffman, 2003
Denyce Graves, 2014
Bernard Greenhouse, 2005
Roberta Guaspari-Tzavaras, 1998
Sofia Gubaidulina, 2017
John Hammond, 1977
Thomas Hampson, 2015
Lionel Hampton, 1995
Herbie Hancock, 2018
Howard Hanson, 1956
John Harbison, 1995
Kevin S. Harrington, 1976
Francis W. Hatch, 1988
Roland Hayes, 1961
Roy Haynes, 2004
John Heiss, 2013
Adolph “Bud” Herseth, 1985
Iva Dee Hiatt, 1979
Dave Holland, 2003
Marilyn Horne, 1998
Ian Horsbrugh, 1998
Carl Howard, 1993
John Hsu, 1971
Karel Husa, 1998
Frederick Jagel, 1971
Ahmad Jamal, 2015
Ella Jenkins, 2022
Speight Jenkins, 2011
Graham Johnson, 2013
Quincy Jones, 2010
Ali Akbar Kahn, 2001
Leonidas Kavakos, 2013
Roger Kellaway, 2010
Harrison Keller, 1959
Edward Kennedy, 1997
Coretta Scott King, 1971
Robert King, 1994
Leon Kirchner, 1990
Oliver Knussen, 2013
Olga Koussevitzky, 1968
Jean Kraft, 1989
Louis Krasner, 1981
Ernst Krenek, 1968
Hubert Weldon Lamb, 1963
H.C. Robbins Landon, 1988
Katja Andy, 1987
Paul Henry Lang, 1957
Frances Brockman Lanier, 1992
Vera Brodsky Lawrence, 1976
Eugene Lehner, 1983
Laurence Lesser, 2001
Robert Levin, 2001
David Lewin, 2001
Elma Lewis, 1977
George Lewis, 2023
John Lewis, 1983
Norman Lloyd, 1965
Lewis Lockwood, 1997
Robert Lowell, 1969
Witold Lutoslawski, 1990
Yo-Yo Ma, 1992
Wu Man, 2021
Margaret Mason, 1964
Joseph Gabriel Esther Maneri, 2009
Robert Mann, 2004
Herbert Marcuse, 1968
Jean Mayer, 1990
Carl McKinley, 1963
Marian McPartland, 2001
Mabel Mercer, 1980
Arthur Tillman Merritt, 1964
Olivier Messiaen, 1986
Edgar Meyer, 2018
Mildred Miller, 1966
Gladys Child Miller, 1975
Nathan Milstein, 1987
Bruno Monsaingeon, 2007
John Moriarty, 1992
Erica Morini, 1963
Jean Morrow, 2019
Blanche Honegger Moyse, 1984
Charles Munch, 1964
Thea Musgrave, 2004
Conlon Nancarrow, 1990
Jessye Norman, 2019
Roger Norrington, 2010
Ursula Oppens, 2019
Seiji Ozawa, 1982
Hermeto Pascoal, 2017
Claiborne Pell, 1979
George Perle, 2002
Stephanie Perrin, 2008
Malcolm Peyton, 2016
Harvey Phillips, 1971
Ann Hobson Pilot, 2023
Daniel Pinkham, 1993
Walter Piston, 1969
Joseph Polisi, 2001
Harold I. Pratt, 2017
André Previn, 2017
Steve Reich, 2011
Regina Resnik, 2007
Max Roach, 1982
Richard Rodgers, 1976
Sonny Rollins, 2002
Charles Rosen, 2003
Samuel Rosenbaum, 1972
Eric Rosenblith, 1996
Alex Ross, 2010
Peter Lyman Row, 2018
Ruth Rubin, 1994
Carl Ruggles, 1968
George Russell, 2005
Jesus Maria Sanroma, 1963
Peter Schickele, 1999
Alexander Schneider, 1989
Mischa Schneider, 1985
Gunther Schuller, 1978
William Schuman, 1981
William Schwann, 1982
David Scudder, 2003
Peter Serkin, 2001
Rudolph Serkin, 1985
Roger Sessions, 1966
Ravi Shankar, 1993
Robert Shaw, 1983
Russell Sherman, 2015
George Shirley, 2012
Wayne Shorter, 2007
Catherine Filene Shouse, 1975
Leonard Shure, 1990
Beverly Sills, 1973
Paul Simon, 2024
Joseph Silverstein, 1986
Leonard Slatkin, 2016
Warren Story Smith, 1964
Maynard Solomon, 2005
Robert Spano, 2024
Robert Sproull, 1998
Mavis Staples, 2021
Janos Starker, 2006
Eleanor Steber, 1962
Michael Steinberg, 1966
Daniel Steiner, 2006
Isaac Stern, 1962
William Grant Still, 1973
Shinichi Suzuki, 1966
Cecil Taylor, 1977
James Taylor, 2022
Clark Terry, 1997
James Terry, 1993
Lewis Thomas, 1982
Randall Thompson, 1975
Virgil Thomson, 1986
Joan Tower, 2006
Leo Treitler, 2011
Alice Tully, 1974
Karen Tuttle, 2010
Dawn Upshawn, 2024
William Valkenier, 1968
Roger Voisin, 1991
Mark Volpe, 1998
Susan Wadsworth, 2002
William Warfield, 1998
Chou Wen-chung, 2019
Randy Weston, 2013
Paul Taylor White, 1965
Jordan M. Whitelaw, 1981
Leta Whitney, 1973
Chester W. Williams, 1976
John Williams, 1985
Christoph Wolff, 1999
Stefan Wolpe, 1969
G. Wallace Woodworth, 1958
Bernie Worrell, 2016
Susan Youens, 2014
Benjamin Zander, 2009
Bernard Zighera, 1984
David Zinman, 2023
John Zorn, 2014
