The Music Department faculty do not offer lessons. Students who want to pursue lessons during their time at Harvard find their own teachers, usually drawing from the large pool of music instructors in the Boston area. Lists of local teachers and information can be obtained through the Office for the Arts at Harvard. Lessons are arranged privately between the student and his/her instructor, and are usually considered extra-curricular. Some students have their current instructor recommend teachers in the Boston area. Some find their instructor through the bulletin board in the Music Department or seek recommendations from fellow students. The Holden Voice Program of the Harvard Choruses provides subsidized, individual lessons in vocal performance.
Lesson Subsidies for Music Concentrators
In order to support students’ musicianship, the Music Department offers financial awards to all music concentrators (full or joint)* to help with the cost of lessons. Awards are granted once yearly, in September, and are administered by the Office for the Arts. The Music Department awards can be applied to VIRTUAL lessons with any music teacher in the Boston area. Students must find their own tutors and arrange and pay for lessons independent of the Music Department. Students enrolled in the Harvard/NEC or Harvard/Berklee Dual Degree programs are ineligible.
Awards are granted to students currently receiving financial aid; smaller subsidies are available for those students not on financial aid. Otherwise, the aid package and administration of the program is the same as the Office for the Arts Music Lesson Subsidy Program awards. In addition to filling out the online application, you will have to fill out a questionnaire form.
*First-semester sophomores intending to declare a concentration or joint concentration in music are also eligible.
Lesson Subsidies from the Office for the Arts (for all students currently receiving financial aid, regardless of concentration)
The Office for the Arts also maintains a Lesson Subsidy Program to support instrumental and vocal instruction to qualified, full-time, enrolled Harvard undergraduates currently receiving some financial aid. It is intended for students who, without financial help, could not make a sustained commitment to taking music lessons. The program is not for beginning musicians. New applicants must demonstrate a certain level of proficiency and/or potential, as evidenced by their musical activities. Returning applicants who have been awarded subsidies in past academic years will have their financial aid status reviewed prior to any subsidy determination for the new academic year. There is a late September deadline and all application material is to be obtained from them.
Recipients schedule lessons directly with their teachers and are responsible for handling all payments to teachers. The OFA’s online Music Teacher Reference Guide provides a listing of local music instructors who teach, have taught, or are interested in teaching undergraduate students. This listing is a resource only. Recipients may choose to take lessons from other instructors.
NOTE: Students enrolled in the Harvard-NEC or Harvard-Berklee Dual Degree Programs are ineligible for MLSP funding.