Performances + Events
At New England Conservatory’s 154th Commencement on Sunday, May 18, graduates were encouraged to approach tomorrow with the confidence that they, uniquely, can have an impact on society — that wherever they are in the future, their artistry will resonate impactfully in a wider world.
“You will shape the future of music,” NEC President Andrea Kalyn told graduating students during the ceremony in Jordan Hall, “but looking out at you all today, I see not just the future of music, I see the future of society. I see a future brimming with artistry, with imagination and creativity, with care and collaboration, with purpose and meaning, with the power to move hearts, to connect minds, to change lives.”
NEC President Andrea Kalyn delivers remarks during the Conservatory’s 154th Commencement.
Daunting as today’s world might seem to musicians who are leaving the Conservatory and embarking on new paths, Kalyn assured the Class of 2025 that the timing of their arrival at this moment bodes well for them and for the many people whose paths they’ll cross.
“To say that we live in a time of great change and uncertainty is to state the obvious,” Kalyn said. “But what might not be so obvious is that for musicians, it’s also a time of possibility and opportunity — a time for you all to sing — because the world very, very badly needs your voices — your curiosity, creativity, your ability to listen and collaborate, your resilience, your perseverance and pursuit of excellence, your empathy, your connection, your joy.”
From left: NEC President Andrea Kalyn with Life Trustee Wendy Shattuck, City of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Boston Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Chad Smith, and film composer Conrad Pope during NEC’s 2025 Commencement.
Undergraduate and graduate degrees were conferred during a ceremony that also included the presentation of honorary doctor of music degrees to Boston Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Chad Smith ’95 NEC/Tufts, ’98 MM; City of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu; film composer Conrad Pope ’73; and life trustee Wendy Shattuck ’75. Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas ’25 hon. DM and Marvin E. Gilmore, Jr. ’51, ’24 hon. DM received honorary degrees earlier in the academic year.
Together, these individuals exemplify the artistic excellence, innovation, and leadership that define NEC, an institution whose influence reaches far beyond Boston.
Violinist and NEC Concert Artist Joshua Brown performs during Commencement.
Orchestral conductor Tianyi Timothy Ren ’25 MM (pictured at top) urged his fellow classmates to “keep our most cherished beliefs at a distance.” Pointing to the liberating experience he had reading Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, Ren said, “Depth often begins where certainty ends.
“Comfort isn’t what we as artists are called to produce — at least not always,” he said. “Our task is, I think, to live alertly at the threshold between conviction and ambiguity. A work of art asks us: What do you believe? But more crucially, it follows with: And are you sure?” The future, Ren said, will not be without challenges. “There will be moments ahead when we feel like everything we believe about music is unraveling — when our aesthetics are challenged, our methods doubted, our identity obscured. That’s OK. That means we’re indeed paying attention. That means we’re alive.”
The graduation ceremony, which was preceded by a Commencement Concert on Saturday featuring performances by graduating students, included a processional led by a four-piece New Orleans-style jazz band that marched through the hall and onto the stage in a performance of four tunes (“Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” “When You and I Were Young, Maggie,” “Rosetta,” and “The World is Waiting for Sunrise”), and a musical interlude by violinist and NEC Concert Artist Joshua Brown ’22, ’24 MM, ’26 AD, who performed the Prelude from J.S. Bach’s Partita No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006.
Awards were presented to students and faculty during a program marked by hopefulness and optimism steeped in the shared understanding of something approaching magic.
Alumni Speaker Brian McCreath speaks to the Class of 2025.
Alumni Speaker Brian McCreath ’90 MM told graduating students that “being a graduate of New England Conservatory will open doors for you in every corner of the music world.”
“People come (to Boston) largely because of what you offer,” McCreath said. Echoing Kayln’s sentiments, he told the graduating students, “This is a very troubled world, and in welcoming you to the NEC alumni community, my wish for you is that, whatever your artistic and professional ambitions might be, you draw on the strength of all of these different levels of community to help make this world better.”
Commencement Speaker and honorary doctor of music degree recipient Chad Smith addresses NEC’s Class of 2025.
After going “off-script” to tell Ren, the Student Speaker, “Timothy, that was an awesome speech,” prompting another round of applause, Smith, the 2025 Commencement Speaker, reflected on his time at NEC, saying, “This building, this stage, was my temple, and Boston was my holy land.” Thirty years on from his graduation from the Conservatory, Smith said, “Our world, our culture, our leaders are increasingly obsessed with certainty,” and, “certainty is antithetical to our practice of music.”
“Artists themselves change,” he said, asking, rhetorically, why else an artist would record a piece of music more than once. “We are human and capable of learning,” after all.
“The best among you have become more empathetic, collaborative, focused, and refined,” Smith said. “You are among the finest trained musicians in the world. We need what only you are able to give.”
“Music can connect us, heal us, uplift us, and inspire us to create a better world, centered in our humanity, because music is fundamentally humanistic work,” Kalyn said. “Class of 2025, you are musicians the world needs now. You are creators of the profound impact that music can have in a challenged world. So venture into that world with confidence and purpose. Carry with you every skill you have learned here — musical and otherwise. Carry with you your passion, dedication, and unwavering belief in the power of music and the drive to turn that power into purpose. Illuminae the spirit of NEC and shape the future of music and society.
“My penguins,” Kalyn said, referring to NEC’s mascot, “never forget that you are forever part of the NEC family — you are part of the history of this institution, part of its legacy, and part of its impact. NEC will always be your home.”
2025 Commencement Highlights
NEC’s 154th Commencement, on Sunday, May 18, was preceded the previous evening by a Commencement Concert. Here are some images from the Conservatory’s weeklend-long celebration of the Class of 2025.
Awards Bestowed on Students and Faculty
Violinist Michael Fisher ’25 received the Tourjée Alumni Award.
The Donald Martino Award for Excellence in Composition, which is given to an outstanding composition student, was awarded to Tomer Rozen ’25 MM.
Yi-Chen Chang ’02 MM, ’04 MM, ’25 DMA received the Lyman Row Global Musicianship Award, which is presented to a student who demonstrates a deep commitment to and in-depth study of a world music tradition.
The Award for Excellence in Liberal Arts, which is given to a senior who completes outstanding work across multiple disciplines in the liberal arts and who serves the NEC community through extracurricular activities that extend beyond their musical studies, was given to violist Katherine Purcell ’25.
The Entrepreneurial Musicianship Spark Award, which grants each recipient $1,000 in recognition of their entrepreneurial spirit, was given to jazz saxophonist Lenka Molcanyiova ’25 MM, double-bassist Alyssa Peterson ’25, and pianist Samuel Xu ’25 MM.
The George Whitefield Chadwick Medal, which is awarded to an exceptional undergraduate, was presented to jazz trombonist Aiden Coleman ’25.
The Gunther Schuller Medal, which honors a graduate student who has made extraordinary contributions to the conservatory, was presented to collaborative pianist Pualina Lim ’23 MM, ’25 GD.
Faculty member Erica Washburn, NEC’s director of choral activities, received the Louis and Adrienne Krasner Teaching Excellence Award.
Faculty cellist Laurence Lesser was recognized with a presidential commendation, an honor that was also bestowed in February on the late Marylen Sternweiler, who served on the President’s Council at NEC.
