Notable Alumni of The New England Conservatory of Music

Coretta Scott King 1927–2006

Civil rights leader and wife of Martin Luther King Jr

Also attended: Antioch University-Los Angeles, Antioch College

Spouse: Martin Luther King Jr. (Emory University, Morehouse College)

Child: Martin Luther King III (Morehouse College)

Luis A. Ferré 1904–2003

Third elected governor of Puerto Rico

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Child: Rosario Ferré (Wellesley College, Manhattanville University)

Marilinda Garcia 1983–

New Hampshire Republican legislator and lobbyist

Also attended: Harvard University, Tufts University

Bianca Garcia 1986–

Former New Hampshire Republican state representative

Also attended: Curtis Institute of Music

E. Ruth Anderson 1907–1989

Musicologist, weather observer and editor

Josephine Hull 1877–1957

Stage and film actress

Also attended: Harvard University

Eleanor H. Porter 1868–1920

Novelist, creator of the Pollyanna series

Walter Pidgeon 1897–1984

Canadian-American actor, two-time Oscar nominee

Cecil Taylor 1929–2018

Free jazz pianist and poet

Herbert Blomstedt 1927–2026

Swedish conductor

Also attended: The Juilliard School

Yitzhak Yedid 1971–

Israeli-Australian composer and pianist

Leroy Anderson 1908–1975

Composer of short, light concert pieces

Also attended: Harvard University

Dave Holland 1946–

Jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader

Alan Hovhaness 1911–2000

Composer of 67 numbered symphonies

Also attended: Tufts University

Father: Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian (Harvard University)

Zari Elmassian 1906–1990

Singer known for Hollywood musicals including The Wizard of Oz

Also attended: California State University--Fresno, University of Rochester

Florence Price 1887–1953

Classical composer, pianist, organist and music teacher

Attended until 1906

Also attended: University of Chicago

Rita Johnson 1913–1965

Film and stage actress

Eric Lu 1997–

Pianist, winner of the 19th Chopin International Piano Competition

Also attended: Curtis Institute of Music

Hettienne Park 1983–

Actress known for Beverly Katz in Hannibal

Also attended: University of Rochester

Bernie Worrell 1944–2016

Keyboardist, founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic

Also attended: The Juilliard School

George Whitefield Chadwick 1854–1931

Composer of the Second New England School

Vaughn Monroe 1911–1973

Baritone singer, trumpeter and big band leader

Also attended: Carnegie Mellon University

Sergiu Comissiona 1928–2005

Conductor and violinist

Chou Wen-chung 1923–2019

Chinese American composer

Regina Carter 1966–

Jazz violinist

Also attended: Oakland University

Carl Davis 1936–2023

Conductor and composer of The World at War score

Also attended: Bard College

Vic Firth 1930–2015

Boston Symphony timpanist, founder of Vic Firth Company

Sarah Caldwell 1924–2006

Opera conductor, impresario and stage director

Also attended: University of Arkansas, Hendrix College, Bates College

Halim El-Dabh 1921–2017

Egyptian-American composer, electronic music pioneer

Also attended: Brandeis University, University of New Mexico-Main Campus

Fred Hersch 1955–

Jazz pianist and composer, 17-time Grammy nominee

Also attended: Grinnell College

Mabel Loomis Todd 1856–1932

Writer and editor of Emily Dickinson's poetry

Spouse: David Peck Todd (Amherst College, Smith College)

Father: Eben Jenks Loomis (Harvard University)

Jamie Saft 1971–

Keyboardist, composer and producer

Also attended: Tufts University

Rick Beato 1962–

YouTuber, guitarist and record producer

Also attended: Ithaca College

Phyllis Curtin 1921–2016

Operatic soprano and music teacher

Also attended: Wellesley College

Henry F. Gilbert 1868–1928

Composer and folk song collector

Filiz Ali 1937–

Turkish pianist, musicologist and music critic

Doctorate · Class of 1962

Monir Vakili 1923–1983

Iranian soprano

Kokui Selormey Hanson 1978–

Ghanaian media personality and broadcaster

Also attended: Spelman College

Helen Maria Winslow 1851–1938

Author, editor, publisher and journalist

Adolph Herseth 1921–2013

Principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Also attended: Luther College

Gertrude Foster Brown 1867–1956

Concert pianist, teacher and suffragist

Katherine Kennicott Davis 1892–1980

Composer of "The Little Drummer Boy"

Also attended: Wellesley College

John Clark 1944–

Jazz horn player and composer

Also attended: University of Rochester

Shirley Brill 1982–

Israeli clarinetist based in Germany

Igor Krivokapič 1965–

Slovenian composer, tubist and instrument inventor

John Vincent 1902–1977

Composer, conductor and music educator

Also attended: Harvard University, Cornell University

James David Christie 1952–

Classical organist and teacher

Also attended: Oberlin College

Elizabeth Aldrich 1947–

Dance historian and choreographer

Arthur Finley Nevin 1871–1943

Composer, conductor and teacher

Sibling: Ethelbert Nevin (University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus)

Ed Schuller 1955–

Jazz bassist and composer

McHenry Boatwright 1928–1994

Operatic bass-baritone and singing teacher

Freddy Cole 1931–2020

Jazz singer and pianist, brother of Nat King Cole

Also attended: The Juilliard School

Ralph Burns 1922–2001

Jazz pianist, composer and arranger

Werner Janssen 1899–1990

Conductor and composer

Also attended: Dartmouth College

Spouse: Ann Harding (Bryn Mawr College)

Sid Ramin 1919–2019

Orchestrator, arranger and composer

Also attended: Boston University, Columbia University in the City of New York

Henry Kimball Hadley 1871–1937

American composer and conductor

Lillian Nordica 1857–1914

Opera soprano

Wang Zitong 1999–

Pianist, third prize at 2025 Chopin Competition

Also attended: Curtis Institute of Music

Mei-Ann Chen 1973–

Conductor, music director of Chicago Sinfonietta

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Lei Liang 1972–

Composer, Grawemeyer Award winner, UC San Diego professor

Also attended: Harvard University

Jing Jing Luo 1953–

Composer

Also attended: Stony Brook University

Thomas Oboe Lee 1945–

Chinese-American composer

Also attended: Harvard University, University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus

Li Shude 1929–2014

Taiwanese violinist and music educator

Madison Mailey 1996–

Canadian rower

Also attended: Northeastern University

Rose Kennedy 1890–1995

Philanthropist and mother of John F. Kennedy

Also attended: Manhattanville University

Spouse: Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (Harvard University)

Father: John Francis Fitzgerald (Boston College, Harvard University)

Dorothea Rhodes Lummis Moore 1857–1942

Physician, writer, newspaper editor and activist

Also attended: Boston University

Spouse: Charles Fletcher Lummis (Harvard University)