Musicians and other artists often work in isolation, with no immediate reward in sight. So the awards and honors that sometimes recognize their work are a welcome connection to the world that draws inspiration and strength from their efforts.
Here are some respected forums in which members of the NEC community have been recognized.
What's New
Fischoff 2013
2013-05-12 Trio Concorde, a piano trio coached by Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, received the bronze medal in the senior strings division at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association's annual competition.
Find more NEC Fischoff winners.
2013 Jazz Journalists Association Awards for Music
2013-05-01 The Jazz Journalists Assocation announced winners of the 17th annual JJA Jazz Awards for musicianship in 29 categories. Here are the categories in which NEC musicians were recognized.
Record of the Year and
Large Ensemble of the Year
Centennial: Newly Discovered works of Gil Evans
Ryan Truesdell '06 M.M.
This recording also includes several other NEC performers, as noted here when it received several Grammy nominations. The recording ultimately won a posthumous Grammy for Evans, as arranger.
Best Male Vocalist
Gregory Porter '86
Best Female Vocalist
Luciana Souza '94 M.M.
Violinist/Violist/Cellist of the Year
Regina Carter '82
Traps Drummer of the Year
Billy Hart of the faculty
More about these awards, and full list of winners.
Guggenheim 2013
2013-04-12 Kati Agócs of the faculty and alumnus Mathew Rosenblum '78, '79 M.M. were among the 11 composers awarded 2013 Guggenheim Fellowships.
Find more NEC Guggenheim Fellows.
Hannover 2012
2012-10-15 Dami Kim '10, '12 M.M., who is currently completing the Graduate Diploma program at NEC as a student of Miriam Fried, was one of two first prize winners at the 8th International Joseph Joachim Violin Competition Hannover in Germany. Along with a 50,000 Euro cash prize, sponsored concerts, and a Naxos recording project, Kim receives use of a Guadagnini violin for three years.
Tchaikovsky Young Musicians 2012
2012-09-15 Zlatomir Fung, a 13-year-old student of Emmanuel Feldman in NEC's Preparatory School, won second prize in the cello division of the 7th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, held in Montreux, Switzerland. We don't have video from the competition, but you can watch Zlatomir in a recent solo performance.
Kapell 2012
2012-07-24 Jin Uk Kim '08 M.M., '10 G.D., who is currently completing the doctoral program at NEC as a student of Wha Kyung Byun, took second prize at the William Kapell International Piano Competition, held this month in Maryland. Of the NEC pianists accepted into this competition, three were among the nine semifinalists, with Kim one of only three pianists in the final round.
Naumburg 2012
2012-06-12 Violinist Tessa Lark, a student of Miriam Fried and Lucy Chapman, took first prize at the Naumburg Competition, which currently runs on a three-year rotation between pianists, string players, and singers. Lark joins the dozens of NEC-affiliated musicians who have excelled at this competition in its almost century-long history.
Find more NEC Naumburg winners.
Tokyo Viola 2012
2012-06-04 Wenting Kang, a student of Kim Kashkashian, took first prize at the 2nd Tokyo International Viola Competition, with a jury led by Nobuko Imai. Kang will receive a viola made and donated by Robert Blaszauer of Budapest, and an invitation from the Verbier Festival Academy 2013, along with a million-Yen purse.
Find more NEC winners of the Tokyo International Viola Competition.
Queen Elisabeth 2012
2012-05-26 Nine NEC violinists were admitted as candidates in Belgium's Queen Elisabeth Competition. Six of these opted to participate, and three advanced to the finals. As unranked laureates, Ermir Abeshi, Dami Kim, and Nancy Zhou each receive 4,000 Euros and a recital booking. The performances of these three as well as those of GaHyun Cho, Yoojin Jang, and Jung Yoon Yang are preserved as podcasts by RTBF.
Find more NEC Queen Elisabeth winners.
Fischoff 2012
2012-05-14 Trio mod3tre, consisting of violinist Tessa Lark, cellist Deborah Pae, and pianist Misha Namirovsky, took the silver medal in the Senior Strings division of the 2012 Fischoff Competition. The group is coached by Vivian Hornik Weilerstein.
Find more NEC Fischoff winners.
Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards
2012-04-19 Third Stream (Contemporary Improvisation) alumnus Don Byron '84 is one of 21 individuals in the first class of Doris Duke Artists, presented by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Over the next 10 years the Foundation will fund the work of 200 performing artists, and those designated Doris Duke Artists will receive an unrestricted cash grant of as much as $275,000. "The first class of artists were chosen based on demonstrated evidence of exceptional creativity, ongoing self-challenge and the continuing potential to make significant contributions to their fields in the future," according to a statement from the Foundation. Byron, cited for his work in "exploring and reinterpreting an existing tradition," is one of six musicians in the initial group of honorees, who range from stage director Anne Bogart to choreographer Reggie Wilson.
Byron's most recent recording project, Love, Peace, and Soul, explores the gospel heritage of Thomas A. Dorsey and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Grammy Awards
2012-02-13 At the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, the opera Elmer Gantry was named "Best Contemporary Classical Composition." An alumni team of composer Robert Livingston Aldridge '80 M.M. and librettist Herschel Garfein '82 M.M. share the honors. Like many new operas, Elmer Gantry went through a long gestation, including workshop performances in Boston in 1992. Boston singers in the cast include Keith Phares '00 M.M. in the title role. This Naxos recording was also honored by the Grammys as "Best Engineered Classical Recording."
Louisiana 2011
2011-10-15 Michael Namirovsky, who entered the D.M.A. program at NEC this fall as a student of Hung-Kuan Chen, has taken first prize at the "Artist Level" in the Louisiana International Piano Competition, held every two years since 2005. Namirovsky's prize includes performances with the St. Petersburg Symphony in Russia and at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, along with a solo CD recording and $6,000 cash award. NEC has previously sent a winner to this competition, 2007 first-prize winner Dizhou Zhao '02, '05 M.M., '07 G.D.
MacArthur 2011
2011-09-20 Cellist Alisa Weilerstein, a member of NEC ensemble-in-residence the Weilerstein Trio, became the 10th NEC-affiliated musician to receive a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.
Gilmore 2011
2011-08-08 George Li, a 15-year-old student of Wha Kyung Byun enrolled in the NEC@Walnut Hill program, is believed to be the youngest awardee for the Gilmore Young Artist Award since the award was launched in 1990.
Tchaikovsky 2011
2011-06-30 NEC's prize winners at the XIV Tchaikovsky Competition, held in Moscow and St. Petersburg, were Narek Hakhnazaryan '11 A.D., gold medal in cello; JeHye Lee '08 M.M., '10 G.D., third prize in violin; and Nigel Armstrong '07 Prep, fourth prize in violin.
photo by Andrew Hurlbut
2013-05-15
FELIX MENDELSSOHN