Belmont Ranked No. 1 ‘Hidden Gem’ Music School

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2026
Nancy Allen has a vocal lesson with student at Belmont University

In a new Music School Central publication written by Bill Zuckerman, Belmont University was ranked the number one hidden gem music school in 2020. The article highlights Belmont’s School of Music, Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business (CEMB), unique majors available and the location of Music City, among other strengths.

Zuckerman explained the schools on the list are “schools with amazing faculty, incredible resources and alumni who have accomplished a tremendous amount in music.” The article explained that the schools mentioned have unique, niche programs only available in a handful of schools, such as contemporary music, or perhaps are in environments that are more conducive to some students, like liberal arts colleges.

“Located in the capital of music, students at Belmont frequently gain internship opportunities in companies on ‘Music Row’ – an area of Nashville where large conglomeration of music companies have their own campuses,” wrote Zuckerman.

He explained that Belmont offers an impressive list of unique majors only available at a handful of colleges including songwriting, music business, audio production, commercial music composition and more. Zuckerman said, “Belmont is unsurpassed in its contemporary music program; it is among the very best in the country in this particular genre.” While Belmont is best known for contemporary music offerings, Zuckerman states that the University also has a solid classical music performance program.

In the article, Belmont’s CEMB is compared to New York University’s Clive Davis program, as both focus on skills to succeed in the music industry rather than performance.