“NEC taught me how to think.”
Although he had been a pianist since childhood, when composer, performer and social justice artist Anthony R. Green ’08 MM discovered midway through college that composition was a field of study, it was a calling he couldn’t ignore.
Deciding to change his major to composition was easy, he said, and so was deciding to attend NEC for his master’s degree when he learned that Lee Hyla was on the composition faculty. Hyla and three other faculty members shaped his NEC experience, exposing him to many different philosophies and approaches to the practice that helped him become the composer he is today. “I wouldn’t have been able to compose without that private tutelage mixed with the classes I took at NEC,” he said.
Anthony conveys the power of music through compositions that are inspired by social justice issues. He emphasized the importance of recognizing that musicians can’t succeed on their own. “It is a blessing to study at an institution like NEC to get valuable feedback from people who have been in this industry for years,” he said. “We need each other to teach and to grow simultaneously and synergistically.”
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Photo Credit: Michel Marang