The Second New England School is viewed by musicologists as pivotal in the development of an American classical idiom that stands apart from its European ancestors.
The specific "Boston Six" are named as John Knowles Paine (1839–1906), Arthur Foote (1853–1937), George Chadwick (1854–1931), Amy Beach (1867–1944), Edward MacDowell (1861–1908), and Horatio Parker (1863–1919).
The first influential figure was William Billings (1746–1800), a native of Boston, who was a self-taught amateur musician and a tanner.
At the age of twenty-three Billings had already composed more than one hundred original pieces of sacred music, and in 1770 he published his first tunebook, The New England Psalm Singer.
Perhaps even more significant as a sign of both Billings's intentions and the times in which he lived, he advertised the work as “never before published” and stressed that it was composed by “a native of Boston”—made in America by an American.
He expertly adapted the melodies of instrumental works from European masters such as Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert into his collections of sacred music and published them.
Amy Beach, George Chadwick, Arthur Foote, Edward MacDowell, John Knowles Paine and Horatio Parker collaborated and eventually became known as the Boston Six.
It is not surprising then, that Boston should have nurtured a tradition of musical composition and a group of composers who are often considered together a "school.
John Knowles Paine, who served as the first Professor of Music at Harvard University, was considered as the leading compositional authority during his lifetime and, unofficially, the leader of this group.
Americans often learned music theory and composition in Europe or from European musicians who had emigrated to the United States.
As a result, large portions of American classical music written at the time reflect European influences, especially from Germany.