Funded by the Ford Foundation and administered by the National Music Council, the project placed young composers (age 35 and under) in public school systems as composers-in-residence.
Six pilot projects were established in schools, including the Baltimore, San Diego, and Farmingdale, New York systems.
In 1967 a symposium was held at Arlie House in Warrenton, Virginia to discuss means of evaluating Comprehensive Musicianship.
In 1968 the Ford Foundation gave MENC a grant of $1,340,000 to administer the Contemporary Music Project for an additional five years.
From 1968 to 1973 the Contemporary Music Project consisted of three programs: Professionals-in-Residence to Communities, the Teaching of Comprehensive Musicianship, and Complementary Activities.