Performances + Events
In the fall, composer and New England Conservatory alumnus Stellan Connelly Bettany ’25 will continue his studies at the Royal College of Music, in London. Bettany, who released his first album, Armor, in 2023, is completing a second album and working on a piece for string quartet, among other projects. We spoke with Bettany about his time at NEC, his plans for the immediate future, the value of live performance, artificial intelligence in music, and more.
Q: What overarching lessons are you taking with you from your experience at NEC?
A: I learned that the best composers are not solitary creatures — that they actually hold the most intimate relationships with the performers they work with.
Q: Under the supervision of NEC Composition Department Chair Michael Gandolfi, you and Peter Butler ’26 co-directed the Tuesday Night New Music series. What did you learn from hearing so much of your peers’ work, and about programming a new-music series?
A: Tuesday Night New Music means a lot to me. After two years of spending time inside that process, I really felt how significant an opportunity it is for young composers like myself to have their pieces premiered in such a kind and generous community.
Q: How would you describe the value of the live music experience to prospective audiences?
A: I spend time writing for film and multimedia, and one of the aspects of composition that is lost in the process of recording is the need to delicately consider the balance between instruments and sections. I think there is a level of beauty in that type of care for orchestration and a performer’s part. So, for me, as a concert-music composer, the live experience of music is everything.
Q: What are your thoughts and/or concerns about artificial intelligence in the context of art-making?
A: AI will excel at creating content that sounds like the songs of past musical movements, so I think, cynically, that it will be perfect for people who are interested in aligning with just the aesthetic of a particular culture. I think the antidote to this general habit where we imitate the cultures of the ’80s or ’90s, say, is the invention of a new, true, punk genre.
Q: You’re continuing your studies at the Royal College of Music in London. How and why did you choose that program, and is there a particular program in which you’re enrolling? What about working in London excites you?
A: I’m pursuing a master’s in composition at the RCM because I’m excited by the way it can facilitate orchestral performances for composers as well as collaboration with dance companies, both of which I hope will be big parts of this next chapter of my life. I was born in London, I’ve always loved the city, and I’ve always loved its art, and I’m so excited to connect with it in this new way.
Q: What are you working on right now, music-wise?
A: Currently, I’m finishing my second album and working on a very cello-heavy string quartet, among lots of other things.
Q: What are you reading lately?
A: I’m currently reading The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy. Her first book, The God of Small Things, is some of the most beautiful art that exists and I love it dearly.
