Professor of Music Thomas F. Kelly, who is the department chair, says the undergraduate program is not geared to creating performers alone. Rather, he said, he'd prefer to graduate well-rounded musicians.

"I've spent a fair amount of time talking to people who are thinking about coming to Harvard, and there's an enormous difference between conservatory programs and our program," Kelly says. "Harvard's approach is that this is pre-life, rather than pre-professional training, and we try to make that clear to students."

He notes that there are many musicians who have come to Harvard and then left to be highly successful. Unlike students at some conservatories, they also have the advantage of having had a sound liberal arts education, he said.

But Kelly says that students who want to pursue music know that they compromise in their musical training by choosing Harvard. Others, he said, might well benefit from being part of a smaller program that concentrates on performance and practice.

"I think they've chosen to make a sacrifice, and that mostly means their personal time," Kelly says. "Once they're here, the standards of performance are things they need to set for themselves."

Balancing Act

The difficulty of attempting a concentration in music at Harvard is left to the most dedicated students.

In interviews, music concentrators said they are willing to give up their free time, their other interests and even their social lives in order to make time for music.