Performances + Events
NEC Teaching Artistry Alumni Panel
SB 300 or Virtual
Please register to attend in person or virtually using the "Get Tickets" button above. Registrants will receive live stream information via email. This event is part of the Teaching Artistry @ NEC Workshop Series.
Artist(s)
Ashleigh Gordon ’08 MM
Described as a “charismatic and captivating performer,” Ashleigh Gordon has recorded with Switzerland's Ensemble Proton and Germany's Ensemble Modern; performed with Grammy-award winning BMOP and Grammy-nominated A Far Cry string ensemble; and appeared at the prestigious BBC Proms Festival with the Chineke! Orchestra and at Carnegie Hall with the Gateways Music Festival among numerous ensembles.
Ashleigh is co-founder, Artistic Director and violist of Castle of our Skins, a Boston-based concert and educational series devoted to celebrating Black Artistry through music. In recognition of her work, she has been featured in the Boston Globe and New York Times, and awarded the 2016 Charles Walton Diversity Advocate Award from the American Federation of Musicians. She is a 2019 Brother Thomas Fellow, a nominee for the 2020 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities, and named one of WBUR’s “ARTery 25”, twenty-five millennials of color impacting Boston’s arts and culture scene.
Tim Lienhard ’08, ’10 MM
Tim Lienhard is a Houston-based trombonist and educator who performs with the Jazz Houston Orchestra and Texas Jazz Orchestra. He has been a guest artist and clinician at the JZ Club in Shanghai, China, the Panama Jazz Festival, and he is on the Expanded Education faculty for summer programs at New England Conservatory. He is the founder and executive director of Jazz Lab — an organization which offers jazz education sessions and workshops for youth and adults. He performs on Edwards trombones, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Jazz Performance Studies from New England Conservatory, and studied under Bob Brookmeyer, Frank Carlberg, John McNeil, and Douglas Yeo.
Kristo Kondakçi ’13, ’15 MM
Kristo Kondakçi is the David and Janet McCue Music Director of the Kendall Square Orchestra, a Boston-based ensemble uniting musicians from more than 70 science and technology institutions across Greater Boston. Under his leadership, the orchestra’s Symphony for Science concerts at Symphony Hall have mobilized substantial support for healthcare and community- focused causes, establishing a compelling model for mission-driven orchestral work at scale. Kondakçi has collaborated with orchestras across the United States and Europe and serves as cover conductor for the Portland Symphony Orchestra.
Kondakçi has shaped a career at the intersection of high-level performance, education, civic engagement, and organizational leadership. He has co-founded initiatives that harness music as a tool for social connection, addressing issues including homelessness, climate change, and immigrant and refugee support. His work has been featured at the 2022 Earthshot Prize ceremony and by NowThis News, reaching millions worldwide. He is an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music and has presented at TEDxBoston and the League of American Orchestras.
Born in Tirana, Albania, Kondakçi’s artistic outlook is informed by his family’s escape from communist rule. He holds degrees in conducting and composition from New England Conservatory, where he serves on the President’s Council.
