The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music. It was founded on October 20, 1924, and it began accrediting schools in 1939. It is based in Reston, Virginia.
Accreditation NASM is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as a programmatic accreditation organization for institutions offering degree and non-degree educational programs in music and music-related disciplines.Directory of Programmatic Accrediting Organizations , Council for Higher Education Accreditation, accessed December 11, 20092009-2010 Directory of CHEA-Recognized Organizations , Council for Higher Education Accreditation, accessed December 7, 2010 It currently has approximately 625 accredited institutional members, including specialty schools of music, conservatories, and universities offering music programs.
History On June 10, 1924, leaders from six music schools met to organize the inaugural convention of the "National Association of Schools of Music and Allied Arts", which was held on October 20, 1924 in Pittsburgh. The six founding schools were:
Burnet Corwin Tuthill (1888–1982), Cincinnati Conservatory of Music John James Hattstaedt (1851–1931), American Conservatory of Music (1886–1991) Kenneth McPherson Bradley (1872–1954), Bush Conservatory of Music, which merged in 1932 with The Chicago Conservatory College under duress of the Great Depression Arthur Wright Mason (1866–1955), Louisville Conservatory of Music, which merged in 1932 with the University of Louisville under duress of the Great Depression Charles Newell Boyd (1875–1937), Pittsburgh Musical Institute, which merged in 1963 with the University of Pittsburgh Edwin John Stringham (1890–1974), Wolcott Conservatory of Music, founded in 1920 and in 1925 was reorganized and renamed as the Denver College of Music
The attendees at the first NASM Convention of October 20, 1924, decided to officially form the "National Association of Schools of Music and Allied Arts." The accreditation aspect of NASM, though, did not launch until about 1929. The charter members currently in existence are:
The Music Conservatory of Chicago College of Performing Arts Cleveland Institute of Music Converse College, Spartanburg, South Carolina Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester New England Conservatory of Music, Boston Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois Oberlin College Syracuse University University of Cincinnati University of Iowa, Iowa City University of Kansas, Lawrence University of Michigan University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln University of Oregon University of the Pacific, Stockton, California University of Southern California Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Milwaukee Yale University
NASM's founding officers were Kenneth M. Bradley, President; Burnet C. Tuthill, Secretary; and Charles N. Boyd, Treasurer.Los Angeles Times, Nov. 16, 1924, "Organize National Music Association", retrieved from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. C39Tuthill, pg. 1
Current and past presidents 1924–1928 — Kenneth McPherson Bradley (1872–1954), Bush Conservatory of Music 1928–1931 — Harold Lancaster Butler (1874–1957), Syracuse University, University of Kansas 1932–1935 — Earl Vincent Moore (1890–1987), University of Michigan 1935–1944 — Howard Harold Hanson (1896–1981), Eastman School of Music 1944–1948 — Donald Malcolm Swarthout (1894–1962), University of Kansas 1948–1952 — Price Asher Doyle (1896–1967), Murray State University 1953–1962 — Thomas Artur Gorton (1910–1997), University of Kansas (served 4 terms as president) 1955–1958 — Erza William Doty (1907–1994), University of Texas at Austin 1962–19?? — Charles Brownlow Hunt, Jr. (1916–2002), Peabody College 1968 — Robert Hargreaves (1914–2000), Ball State University"NASM Meeting in Chicago Attracts Record Turnout" (PDF). The Diapason. 59 (2): 1. January 1968. 1971–1972 — Carl Melvin Neumeyer (1911–1972), Illinois Wesleyan University 1976–1978 — Warner Imig (1910–2005), University of Colorado at Boulder 1979–1982 — Robert Earl Bays (1921–2015), Robert BAYS Obituary. Retrieved 2025-06-19. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 1983–1985 — Thomas W. Miller (1930–2018), Northwestern University 1986–1988 — Robert Burr Glidden (born 1936), Florida State University 1989–1991 — Robert J. Werner (1932–2022), University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music 1992–1994 — Fred Miller (1930–2006), DePaul University 1995–1997 — Harold M. Best (born 1931), Wheaton College, Illinois 1998–2000 — J. William Hipp (born 1934), University of Miami School of Music 2001–2003 — David J. Tomatz (1935–2014), University of Houston 2004–2006 — Karen Lias Wolff (born 1937), University of Michigan, Oberlin Conservatory of Music 2007–2009 — Daniel Sher (born 1943), University of Colorado at Boulder 2010–2012 — Donald Gibson (born 1948), Florida State University 2013–2015 — Mark Wait (born 1947), Vanderbilt University 2016–2018 — Sue Haug (born 1947), Pennsylvania State University 2025–2027 — Tayloe Harding (born 1959), University of South CarolinaTAYLOE HARDING. NASM. Retrieved 2025-06-19. 2027– (President-Elect) James Forger (born 1951), Michigan State UniversityJames Forger. Michigan State University. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
See also List of recognized accreditation associations of higher learning United States Department of Education European Association of Conservatoires (AEC) National Association for Music in Higher Education, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
References General references Carl Melvin Neumeyer (1911–1972), "The History of the National Association of Schools of Music," Doctor of Music Education dissertation, Indiana University, Bloomington (1954) Carl Melvin Neumeyer (editor) (1911–1972), By-laws and regulations, National Association of Schools of Music (1965) Bulletin of the National Association of Schools of Music Burnet Corwin Tuthill (1888–1982), NASM, the first forty years; a personal history of the National Association of Schools of Music, National Association of Schools of Music (1973) Sheila A. Barrows (born 1931) (compiler & editor), Historical Perspectives, 1924-1999: National Association of Schools of Music, Seventy-Fifth Anniversary, National Association of Schools of Music (1999) Inline citations
External links Official website