Conservatory Connections

Mission: Boston Conservatory at Berklee encourages students to give back to the community by participating in various outreach events through the school’s Conservatory Connections performance program. The program provides exceptional student performances for various community organizations. We are committed to sharing the talent of our students with a variety of audiences who are unable to attend traditional performances.


Conservatory Connections is a robust community outreach program designed to bring the arts to audiences who are unable to travel to campus to attend traditional performances. In a given year, Conservatory Connections presents more than 130 performances to 40-plus community partners that include shelters, assisted living facilities, community centers, and veterans' organizations, and it also offers a number of community engagement programs, such as dance classes for children on the autism spectrum and movement classes for low-mobility senior citizens.

Conservatory Connections was founded in 1999 by a group of students who did not want to lose sight of why they were training for a life in the arts: to tell stories, to inspire dialogues, and to connect with others. These students had a vision of bringing the arts to underserved audiences and made it their mission to use performance as a way of empowering others to live fuller, healthier lives. Now supported by the Communications and Marketing Division, Conservatory Connections strives to do the following:

  • Connect students with a diverse community of audiences
  • Develop community partnerships throughout the Boston area
  • Provide non-traditional performance opportunities for our students
  • Introduce students to new audiences and unconventional performance spaces
  • Make art more accessible to the community
  • Highlight the extraordinary talent of the Conservatory to the Boston community

Today, more than 38 percent of the Conservatory’s total student population participates in Conservatory Connections, representing all three specialities for which the school is known: dance, music, and theater. By participating in Conservatory Connections, students can experience performing for non-traditional audiences in unconventional spaces and, more importantly, use their talent to give back to their community.

Conservatory Connections offers outreach performances, community classes, and autism-related programming. Ensemble groups, including the Troubadours (opera), Cabaret (theater), and Chamber Music, perform for community partners citywide, while autism-friendly performances bring children and families on campus to experience live theater.

Community partners include Boston Public Library (Boston, Allston, Brighton), Center Communities of Brookline, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Driscoll School, ETHOS Lunch Group, and many others.