NEC Students and Faculty in the News

A roundup of new and noteworthy NEC faculty and student press spotlights from the week of December 4, 2023.

The New York Times listed piano department co-chair Bruce Brubaker’s new album ‘Eno Piano’ on its list of ‘5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now,’ naming it among the highlights.

“…by placing this music in a solo piano context, Brubaker reminds us of its important connections to early Minimalism, and some selections sound out of the Wandelweiser collective,” the article reads. “On top of which, he makes this work — intended by Eno to be “as ignorable as it is interesting” — sound utterly gorgeous.”

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NEC recently spoke to Brubaker about the creative process behind “Eno Piano.” Read that interview here.

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The Korea Herald ran an in-depth feature on pianist Song-Hyeon Kim ’24, second prize winner in the 2023 Isangyun Competition in South Korea, and his teacher, NEC faculty member HaeSun Paik. At the competition, Kim also won the UNESCO Creative City of Music Special Prize, decided by audience votes, and the Seong-ywang Park Special Prize, awarded by the Kumho Culture Foundation for promising young Korean pianists.

After performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 during the competition finals, many in the audience stood up to applaud.

“I burst into tears when I saw that (scene). There were some shortcomings, but it felt like I poured everything I could at that moment, so I just waited with the thought that it doesn’t matter how it turns out. So, I’m very grateful for the much better result than I expected,” said Kim, 21.

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In its exploration of Boston musicians nominated in the 2024 Grammys, the Bay State Banner gave faculty member Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol, nominated for Best Engineered Album, Classical for his album “A Gentleman of Istanbul,” the first mention.

Sanlikol, who also serves as director of NEC’s Intercultural Institute, spoke to the Banner about the album, inspired by Evliya Çelebi, a 17th-century Ottoman intellectual.

“Immersing himself in what he terms, “a decade of studies,” he learned to play traditional Turkish instruments: the oud (“a short-necked lute”); and the ney (“a type of flute”),” the Banner reads. “He also studied Sufi dervishes and practiced singing Koranic recitations. All of this combined to create his own interpretations of deep, musical cultures.”

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