The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States. The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of Continuing Education. At the collegiate level, NEC offers the Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts, as well as the Undergraduate Diploma, Graduate Diploma, and Artist Diploma. Also offered are five-year joint double-degree programs with Harvard University and Tufts University. NEC is the only music school in the United States designated as a National Historic Landmark. Its primary concert hall, Jordan Hall, plays an important role in the cultural scene of the entire New England region, hosting over 600 concerts each year and receiving frequent praise for its acoustical qualities. In June 1853 Eben Tourjée, at the time a nineteen-year-old music teacher from Providence, Rhode Island, made his first attempt to found a music conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts.