Longy School of Music

Longy School of Music is a Cambridge music school built around the idea that music belongs to everyone and that there is no single way to be a musician. Instead of prescribing a fixed course of study, it encourages students to curate their own artistic path, create new career possibilities and open up the traditional canon. Programs include the Master of Music, a Graduate Performance Diploma, a Graduate Diploma in Composition and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies.

Coursework often questions tradition. In one project, vocal students perform nineteenth-century lieder that would traditionally be off-limits to their voice type, gender or sexuality, bringing alternative character perspectives to the songs. Jazz and contemporary music are part of the offerings, and faculty include accomplished musicians, industry leaders and Grammy winners. Alumni highlighted by the school include a singer who has performed with Boston Lyric Opera and Virginia Opera and a faculty member at Singapore’s Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.

What to Know

• An online Master of Music in Music Education is also offered.
• Changemakers Workshops provide professional development for music educators.
• Financial aid is available, and prospective students can tour the Cambridge campus in person.
• Auditions ask for 15 minutes of music of the applicant’s choosing, and no repertoire list is required.