Performances + Events
Meet the Concert Artists
New England Conservatory’s esteemed concert artists represent the pinnacle of musical achievement, embodying the artistry, dedication, and excellence that defines NEC. Each of these distinguished musicians brings an extraordinary skill level and unique artistic voice to the global stage. They are redefining the future of music worldwide through the impact of their superior musicianship, meaningful artistic contributions, and deep dedication to their craft.
Meet the Concert Artists
Current Artists
Josie Larsen
’23 MM, ’25 AD, Opera Studies
Studio faculty: Bradley Williams
Josie Larsen, a current Artist Diploma student of Bradley Williams, is a lyric soprano from Sammamish, Washington. She completed her Master of Music degree at New England Conservatory and her bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University, both in Vocal Performance. Recent solo concert works have included Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Villa-Lobos.
Recently, Larsen took the NEC stage as Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Mimi in La Bohème, and the Governess in The Turn of the Screw. During Summer 2024, she covered the role of Countess from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at the Aspen Music Festival. Larsen’s greatest joy from performing comes from the opportunity it provides to connect with others from all around the world in any language.
Evren Ozel
’21, ’23 MM, ’25 AD, Piano
Studio faculty: Wha Kyung Byun
Pianist Evren Ozel, who studies with What Kyung Byun at New England Conservatory, has established himself as a musician of “refined restraint” (Third Coast Review), combining fluent virtuosity with probing, thoughtful interpretations. Having performed extensively in the United States and abroad, Ozel is the recipient of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant and a 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant and is currently represented by the Concert Artists Guild as an Ambassador Prize Winner of their 2021 Victor Elmaleh Competition.
Since his debut with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 11, Ozel has been a featured soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, and The Orchestra Now at Bard College, with conductors Jahja Ling, Courtney Lewis, and Leon Botstein. In March of 2025, his first album of Mozart Concertos with the ORF Radio Symphony of Vienna and conductor Howard Griffiths will be released on Alpha Classics.
Ozel’s 2024-25 season highlights include solo recitals for La Jolla Music Society, Capital Region Classical, and Cal Performances. Previously, he has performed recitals for Harvard Musical Association, Schubert Club, Chopin Society of Minnesota, and The Gilmore. Carrying a vast and varied recital repertoire, his 2023-24 season included a program ranging from Bach and Rameau to Ligeti, as well as a program of Beethoven’s last three Piano Sonatas.
An esteemed chamber musician, Ozel performs alongside artists like David Finckel and Wu Han, Stella Chen, Zlatomir Fung, Paul Huang, and Peter Wiley. He spent four summers at the Marlboro Festival, and is currently a 2024-27 Bowers Program Artist for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. His 2024-25 season includes a tour with Musicians from Marlboro, as well as CMS concerts at Alice Tully Hall.
Yutong Sun
’19, ’21 MM, ’22 GD, ’25 AD, Piano
Studio faculty: Alexander Korsantia, Dang Thai Son
Yutong Sun, a native of Tianjin, China, studies with Alexander Korsantia and Dang Thai Son at New England Conservatory. He has gained international recognition by winning prizes at prestigious competitions, including first in the Premio Jaén, second in the Santander International Piano Competition, and third in the Maria Canals International Competition.
Yutong’s formative studies began at the Central Conservatory of Music Middle School in Beijing under Hua Chang. He made his recital debut at age ten in Beijing and his orchestra debut with the Orchestra of Granada in Spain at age 16. He has since appeared in major venues worldwide, including the Salle Cortot in Paris, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, NEC’s Jordan Hall in Boston, and Bolshoi Hall in St. Petersburg.
Sun has performed with the Quiroga Quartet and been a soloist with major orchestras, including the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine; Symphony Orchestra of Galicia, City of Granada Orchestra, and RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Spain; St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra; and Phoenix and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestras.
Joshua Brown
’22, ’24 MM, ’26 AD, Violin
Studio faculty: Don Weilerstein
Praised for his unique musical voice and instincts, violinist Joshua Brown has found success in performances and competitions worldwide. Brown was first recognized for his debut performance with the Cleveland Orchestra at the age of fifteen, for which he received glowing reviews. Following that debut, he has performed with dozens of orchestras both here and abroad, continually garnering praise from critics.
In 2023, Joshua was named the winner of the inaugural Global Music Education League International Violin Competition in Beijing, China. After four rounds of competition, he was awarded the Gold Medal, $100,000, and 3 years of international concert engagements. In 2022, Brown was also named a prize winner of the 11th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Additionally, in 2019, at the age of nineteen, Joshua won the Tenth International Violin Competition of Leopold Mozart in Augsburg, Germany, securing the First Prize, “Mozart” Prize, the Audience Award, the Chairman of the Jury Special Prize, the Kronberg Academy Special Prize, and the CD Production Special Prize. Other honors include the Kronberg Academy’s Manfred Grommek Prize, the Second Prize and Audience Award at the Cooper International Violin Competition, as well as being named a YoungArts Winner, Luminarts Fellow, Yamaha Young Performing Artist, Arkady Fomin Scholar, and Pirastro Artist.
Brown has performed regularly with orchestras in the United States and Europe (including The Cleveland Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, MDR Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Civic Orchestra, China Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, and Rockford Symphony Orchestra, among many others) and has continually garnered praise from critics.
As a full-scholarship recipient, Joshua earned his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music with Donald Weilerstein at New England Conservatory of Music before continuing to his Artist Diploma.
Yunchan Lim
’24 UC, ’26 AD, Piano
Studio faculty: Minsoo Sohn
Photo Credit: yunchanlimofficial.com
In June 2022, Yunchan Lim became the youngest person ever to win gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of 18; his performances throughout showcased a “magical ability” and a “natural, instinctive quality” (La Scena) that astounded listeners around the world. Marin Alsop expressed: “Yunchan is that rare artist who brings profound musicality and prodigious technique organically together.” The depth of his artistry and connection to listeners also secured him the Audience Award and Best Performance of a New Work.
His audacious performance of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes “created a buzz throughout the international piano community” (Gramophone), and his appearance with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 delivered the defining moment of competition, as one critic noted: “The applause that followed was endless: a star had emerged before our eyes” (Seen and Heard International). The video of Lim’s Rachmaninov performance trended globally on YouTube in the days after and has now become the most-watched version of that piece on the platform, amassing well over 10 million views. The New York Times later listed it as one of the Top 10 Classical Music Performances of 2022.
Just 19 years old, Lim’s ascent to international stardom has been meteoric. In the past year, Lim has debuted with the New York Philharmonic at the Lincoln Center and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, as well as the Chicago Symphony, Lucerne Symphony, KBS Symphony, and Tokyo Symphony orchestras, among others.
In his 23/24 season, Lim debuted with the Royal Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Hungarian Radio Symphony, Boston Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, and Sendai Philharmonic orchestras, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, and Orchestre de Paris.
Born in Siheung, Korea, Lim began piano lessons at age seven. He auditioned for and was accepted into the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts at age 13, where he met his teacher and mentor, Minsoo Sohn. Lim entered the international music stage a year later, in 2018, winning second prize and the Chopin Special Award in his first-ever competition, the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists. Also, that year, he stood out as the youngest participant in the Cooper International Competition, where he won both the third prize and the audience prize and was provided the opportunity to perform with the Cleveland Orchestra. 2019 brought more accolades when, at 15, he was the youngest to win Korea’s IsangYun International Competition, also taking home two special prizes.
Jingdan-Zhang
’26 AD, Opera Studies
Studio faculty: Bradley Williams
Photo Credit: hkphil.org
Soprano Dani Jingdan Zhang received her master’s degree at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) under the tutelage of soprano Nancy Yuen. She has attended master classes with world-renowned singers, including Diana Damrau, Sumi Jo, Barbara Bonney, Nelly Miricioiu, Shenyang, Warren Mok, and Darryl Edwards.
Zhang is among the winners of the 2019 RTHK Young Music Makers and has recorded a series of TV productions and radio broadcasts for RTHK. In 2020, she took part in the recording of The Sound of Art, hosted by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and an online concert series, The GBA Concert Hall. In 2021, Zhang performed Bach’s Mass in B minor as the soprano soloist with the Hong Kong Bach Choir, conducted by Jerome Hoberman. In 2022, she debuted with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, singing the soprano solo in Fauré’s Requiem under the baton of Long Yu in collaboration with HKU MUSE. More recently, she debuted at the Opera Hong Kong as Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and appeared as Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème.
At HKAPA, Zhang’s operatic roles include Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo, Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, and Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. She has also performed in Opera Scenes as Cunégonde from Candide, Micaela from Carmen, Nannetta from Falstaff, and Dorabella from Così fan tutte. She was invited to perform Mozart’s concert arias in the 35th Anniversary Academy Festival Presents Concerto Feast with the Academy Symphony Orchestra.
