Intensive Study Project (ISP)

CMCB'S Intensive Study Project (ISP) is a targeted, five-level curriculum that helps students in grades 7-12 prepare for advanced musical study at conservatories or colleges and universities with strong music departments.

The ISP learning environment revolves around self-improvement, risk-taking and mutual support. Students are selected based on a proven motivation to musical excellence and a willingness to take on the extra challenges and time commitment the program demands. With exceptional instruction and mentoring, we help make "conservatory material" out of motivated young people and, particularly for inner-city students, give them the tools they need to compete more effectively with their suburban counterparts in college admissions processes and for jobs in the performing arts or arts education. We train up to 40 students each year with a curriculum that includes:

  • Private lessons in at least one musical instrument
  • Performance classes and opportunities
  • Ensemble and orchestra coaching
  • Music theory and composition (four years required) in our high-tech digital lab
  • Mentoring and opportunities to learn from master artists
  • String technique class
  • Piano seminar

In addition to cultivating exceptional artistic ability, ISP training also builds life and leadership skills. We have seen a high correlation between students who continue in ISP and those who attend noted institutions of higher learning. ISP graduates have attended, among others, Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, Boston University, Brandeis, Brown University, Columbia, Harvard, McGill, New York University, Northwestern, Oberlin College, Princeton, SUNY, Syracuse, Tufts, UMASS, Wellesley College, and Wesleyan. Many graduates return to the cultural community as professional musicians, faculty, Board members, donors, and arts advocates.

For more information, contact Artistic Director William Fickes at 617-482-7494 x23 or fickes@cmcb.org.