Performances + Events
When violinist, fiddler, and composer Lily Honigberg ’18, ’20 MM arrived as a first-year student at New England Conservatory, she thought she’d eventually become an orchestral musician. Instead, her experiences led to a career working in many musical settings. Honigberg played the fiddle on Shaboozey’s hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and on FINNEAS’s album For Cryin’ Out Loud!, performed on the soundtrack of the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and is currently on tour with pop-country singer-songwriter Dasha. Honigberg’s debut album of fiddle music, The Sun’s Valley, was released in June 2023. We spoke with Honigberg about her time at NEC and the wide-ranging work she’s done across genres since she graduated.
Q: Why did you choose at attend NEC?
A: My dad, a cellist in the National Symphony Orchestra, wanted me to go to a top conservatory to study with the incredible teachers there.
Q: What have you been up to since graduating from NEC? What projects have you been working on? Do you have any goals you are looking to accomplish?
A: 2024 was a special year for me, and I am so grateful for the opportunities I was given. I played fiddle on Shaboozey’s No. 1 song “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” on FINNEAS’ new album, on a track with TY Dolla$, Juicy J, and Denzel Curry, and started touring with pop country star Dasha. I recently played at Lollapalooza, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Reading and Leeds Festivals in England. I live in L.A. now and have been fortunate enough to play on several soundtracks including in a specialty band for the motion picture Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) and release music under my own name. I have a lot of different things going on and am looking forward to shifting my focus to Celtic and fantasy soundtrack scoring in a few years, but am loving touring for now!
Q: What are some of your favorite memories from your time at NEC?
A: Some of my favorite memories include Hankus Netsky ’76, ’78 MM wearing sandals and conducting the Jewish Music Ensemble, Lucy Chapman and I dancing around her studio together singing Bach at the top of our lungs, and the Wild Card Honors Ensemble with my band Night Tree. Additionally, Anthony Coleman ’77 screaming the rules of Cobra to us with enthusiasm, James Klein assigning impossible essays and bringing us brownies, every moment with Ran Blake, and meeting James Heazlewood-Dale ’18 MM.
Q: Share a story about one of your favorite faculty or studio instructors.
A: In Contemporary Improvisation, Lautaro Mantilla ’11 MM had us perform a song for one of the concerts in the spring, and I remember him holding a sign with the lyrics he wanted us to sing, jumping around in the basement room of the academic building and screaming as loud as he could while flailing around. Coming from a classical background it took me a while to tap into the wild side and freedom of expression in that way, and Lautaro helped me take that leap. Another favorite story is when we built an entire orchestra out of garbage with Warren Senders and got bubble-tea straws out of the trash and sanitized them to make flutes.
Q: How have your NEC experiences shaped your artistic approach?
A: NEC opened the door to improvisation for me, and also taught me that I did not want to play in an orchestra, which is what I entered NEC thinking I would do professionally. I also met James Heazlewood-Dale, a corgi lover and Australian bass player at NEC, and I have brought him on to every personal project I’ve recorded since 2020.
Q: Share any other stories about what has inspired you at NEC and beyond.
A: The first band I ever played in, Night Tree, changed my life. We won the Wild Card Honors Ensemble in 2016–2017. It gave me a taste of the road, improvising, writing, creating, and building a living, breathing organism with a group of musicians who inspire me. Night Tree was made up of McKinley James ’20, Sunniva Brynnel ’18 MM, Zach Mayer ’17 MM, Chris Overholser ’19, and Julian Loida ’17 MM. We are all still friends and they are some of my favorite players out there. Sunniva, McKinley, and I have done work together in recent years, and we were all at Zach’s wedding in 2022. I am also grateful to NEC for the opportunity to work with coach and fiddler Winifred Horan ’86, who taught me so much in my early days as a fiddle player.
Q: Do you have any advice for young musicians/current NEC students?
A: Do the thing, and dream big. There are no limits to what you can accomplish. A lot of it is chance, and a lot of it is hard work. Set yourself up for success in every way you can, and maintain as pure a relationship with your instrument — practicing alone and learning things for yourself — as you can.
