Performances + Events
Your Impact at NEC
Your gift to NEC has a profound and lasting impact on students dedicated to creating meaningful lives through music.
Thank you for making the unparalleled NEC experience possible!
Your Impact at NEC
Your gift to NEC has a profound and lasting impact by supporting:
- Financial aid for more than 90% of NEC students
- Over 400 internationally-esteemed College and Prep faculty members
- NEC’s new Integrative Curriculum that emphasizes project-based learning, collaboration, and experimentation so our students can create the future of music as artistic leaders, difference makers, and community builders
- Masterclasses and residencies featuring world-renowned musical guests annually
- Partnerships with 119 organizations in the greater Boston community and beyond
- Individual advising and career coaching to incubate new creative work and encourage artistic exploration and innovation
- Opportunities to engage with 119+ community partners across the Boston area through robust, meaningful performances and teaching fellowship programs
Thank you for making the unparalleled NEC experience possible!
After NEC
Student Stories
You Inspire NEC Students
-
Amaryn Olmeda ’25 Prep, ’29, Violin
Amaryn Olmeda is shaping the future of classical music. A rising violinist studying with Miriam Fried, Amaryn has quickly emerged as one of her generation’s most compelling young artists.
Since winning First Prize and the Audience Choice Award at the Sphinx Competition, she has performed with many of the nation’s leading orchestras and made acclaimed debuts at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.
Her 2023 recording of Carlos Simon’s Between Worlds for Deutsche Grammophon further established her as an important new voice, earning praise from The Strad. With support from the Starling Violin Scholarship, Amaryn is building a career that extends NEC’s tradition of artistic excellence to audiences around the world. -
Chris Ryan Williams ’28 AD, Contemporary Musical Arts
Chris Ryan Williams will be starting at the New England Conservatory Institute for Concert Artists in the fall of 2026. Williams is an artist and musician whose work unfolds through electroacoustic composition and performance installation.
His recordings have earned national recognition, with his EP Live garnering praise from The Quietus and Jazz Right Now, and his debut album Odu:Vibration II named one of NPR’s Best New Albums.
Williams’s work has been presented at major venues and festivals, including the Venice Biennale, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and National Sawdust, and he has received commissions from organizations such as the American Composers Forum and the International Contemporary Ensemble. His NEC scholarship is generously supported by The Dean’s Scholarship. -
Clayton Stephenson ’23 NEC/Harvard, ’27 AD, Piano
Clayton Stephenson is a graduate of the Harvard/NEC dual-degree program and has returned to NEC to pursue an Artist Diploma, as part of NEC’s Institute for Concert Artists, where he studies with Wha Kyung Byun.
Stephenson rose to international prominence as the first Black finalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and has since earned an Avery Fisher Career Grant, won the inaugural Nina Simone Piano Competition, and received the Sphinx Medal of Excellence.
Recent appearances have included performances with major orchestras across the United States and Europe, as well as recitals at the Concertgebouw, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Stephenson’s education is generously supported by the Saj-nicole A. Joni and Marya Weinstock Endowed Scholarship Fund in Honor of Veronica Jochum.
After NEC
Faculty Stories
You Empower NEC Faculty
-
Molly Gebrian ’06 MM, ’08 GD | Advancing Neuro-Inclusive Music Education
Molly Gebrian is pioneering evidence-based teaching strategies that recognize and support the diverse ways students learn, process information, and engage with music. Drawing on neuroscience, research, and lived experience, her work challenges traditional assumptions about learning and achievement.
By creating more inclusive and responsive learning environments, she helps students build confidence, reduce barriers to success, and reach their full artistic potential. -
Katarina Miljkovic | Reimagining Music Theory Education
How do we make complex musical concepts more accessible, engaging, and intuitive for today’s learners? Katarina Miljkovic is transforming the way students experience music theory through innovative teaching tools that make learning more visual, interactive, and student-centered.
By replacing traditional linear course structures with dynamic and interactive learning maps, she helps students visualize the connections between concepts, navigate complex material with confidence, and take greater ownership of their learning. Her approach reduces barriers to understanding, fosters curiosity and exploration, and creates a more engaging pathway to musical mastery. -
Vanessa Mulvey | Reimagining Wellness in Music Education
How can musicians build healthy, sustainable habits in the midst of rigorous training? Vanessa Mulvey is integrating physical wellness directly into the learning process through innovative, science-based movement tools designed specifically for musicians.
By creating accessible digital resources that help students reduce tension, improve coordination, and build greater body awareness, she is empowering young artists to perform at their highest level while supporting long-term physical health and resilience.
After NEC
Program Stories
Powering the NEC Experience
-
The Integrative Curriculum
NEC’s Integrative Curriculum is redefining conservatory education. By combining artistic excellence with leadership, entrepreneurship, collaboration, and innovation, students develop the skills and confidence to shape meaningful careers and expand the impact of music in society.
This dynamic, interdisciplinary approach empowers students to cultivate their unique artistic voices while preparing them to lead, create, and thrive in an ever-changing cultural landscape. -
Expanded Education
Through Expanded Education, NEC is extending its reach and the transformative power of music beyond campus to serve learners of every age, background, and stage of life.
From Preparatory School and summer programs to adult learning and digital offerings, these initiatives create new pathways to artistic growth, foster lifelong engagement with music, and strengthen communities through meaningful musical experiences. -
Community Performances and Partnerships
For more than two decades, NEC’s Community Performances and Partnerships program has demonstrated the power of music to connect, inspire, and transform. Recognized as a national leader in community engagement, CPP prepares students to use their artistry in service of others while building meaningful relationships with schools, healthcare organizations, community centers, and nonprofit partners.
Through immersive learning and real-world experiences, students discover how music can enrich lives, strengthen communities, and create lasting social impact—preparing them to become artists who lead both on and off the stage.
