Noor Al Hussein Foundation

Community Development - Culture & Arts

National Music Conservatory

The National Music Conservatory (NMC) was established in 1986 under the umbrella of the Noor Al Hussein Foundation to encourage the development of talented musicians and to promote music appreciation in Jordan. The NMC is a non-profit, educational, cultural, and artistic institution that consistently produces accomplished musicians who demonstrate international standards of excellence. The NMC also created the orchestra of the National Music Conservatory which will form the nucleus of the future Amman Symphony Orchestra.

NMC provides music education at the college and preparatory levels. At the college level, NMC offers a Bachelor’s degree in Music (in performance, composition and conducting, Arab music, and music education) in accordance with an NMC/Yarmouk University cooperation agreement and approved by the Ministry of Higher Education in Jordan. The NMC also offers a BA in Music Therapy, in cooperation with the international non-governmental organization Music in ME. This degree program , prepares graduates to become music therapists, using music to treat victims of trauma related to armed conflict, loss, illness, or disability. The program will be part of the Middle East Institute of Music Therapy, the first of its kind in the Arab world. The NMC hopes to establish a sponsorship fund for students with special circumstances from Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, Somalia and Jordan.

The preparatory level is geared towards students ages 4 - 18. It provides instruction in orchestral and Arab music instruments, as well as piano, guitar, and voice. This instruction is augmented with music courses in theory, appreciation, history, reading, ear training and analysis.

The NMC prepares its students for the exams of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, of which the NMC is the local representative, and the exams of the joint jury with the French Conservatoire National de Region de Boulogne Billancourt. Also, the NMC is a member of the European Association of Conservatories and Music Schools (AEC) and it hosts the Arab Academy of Music.

Thousands of young students have trained at the National Music Conservatory. It provides opportunities for advanced students to pursue their specialization abroad and to participate in international competitions, seminars, workshops, and master classes to enhance their music education.

In Jordan, the NMC is an active supporter of frequent international and regional music concerts, recitals, and conferences that take place locally and abroad.

The NMC pioneered the establishment of the Student Orchestra and other performing groups, including the Faculty Chamber Orchestra, the Arab Music Ensemble, Choir, and Chamber Music Ensemble. In 2004, the NMC established the Palestinian String Youth Orchestra to give the underprivileged Palestinian youth (ages 8-15) living at refugee camps in Jordan the opportunity to develop their music skills and talents.

For more information visit NMC website www.nmc.edu.jo.