Music has been a prominent feature of life at Lawrence since its founding in 1847; the first Bachelor of Music degree was conferred in 1892. Today, the conservatory curriculum affords students a unique blend of professional education in music and a liberal arts education, a combination that has produced outstanding performers, composers, educators, and scholars. A superb faculty prides itself on the individual attention given to more than 300 music majors who pursue their undergraduate degrees at Lawrence.

Conservatory training is, by its nature, rigorous. While the Lawrence Conservatory is highly competitive, students compete not with each other, but with themselves, testing their capacity to discover and realize their own potential. Lawrentians - faculty and students alike - celebrate each others' achievements with enthusiasm and unselfishness.

As a nationally recognized conservatory integrated with a distinguished college of the liberal arts and sciences, Lawrence offers a distinctive educational opportunity, providing professional music training without compromising other intellectual and academic opportunities. All Lawrence Conservatory students pursue at least one-third of their course work outside of music, and many choose to complete both the Bachelor of Arts degree and the Bachelor of Music degree in a special five-year program. The study of music at Lawrence is a challenge pursued in the context of the vibrant intellectual life of a highly regarded liberal arts college.

Lawrence is exclusively an undergraduate college. Unlike many other music schools, Lawrence conservatory students do not compete with graduate students for roles in the opera, chairs in the orchestra, or faculty attention. The conservatory faculty is an active group of performers, educators, scholars, and composers, engaged in their art but committed to teaching undergraduates. While maintaining active performance careers, the faculty also serve as advisors and mentors to their students. The long-lasting friendships forged from these close relationships between students and teachers are a hallmark of a Lawrence education.