Institute for Concert Artists Showcase Features Extraordinary Collaborations and Clear Camaraderie

Pianist Yutong Sun and soprano Josie Larsen

On March 25, five of NEC’s Concert Artists appeared in a single extraordinary program. Each of the artists has appeared or will appear in recital this season on the Conservatory’s Concert Artists Series, which was launched in 2024 as part of the Institute for Concert Artists. In establishing the institute this past fall, NEC expanded on its prestigious artist diploma program and created a sense of community for exceptional musicians whose performing careers are ascendant. The ICA Showcase concert this month featured collaborations the artists had long wanted to explore. “They’ve actually always wanted to collaborate,” said ICA Adviser Gloria Chien ’99, ’01 MM, ’04 DMA.

Soprano Dani Jingdan Zhang ’26 AD sang “Quel guardo il cavaliere” from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Poulenc’s Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon with pianist Yutong Sun ’19, ’21 MM, ’22 GD, ’25 AD, and the two musicians were joined by violinist Joshua Brown ’22, ’24 MM, ’26 AD for a performance of Bachelet’s Chère nuit. Brown performed Franck’s Violin Sonata in A major with pianist Evren Ozel ’21, ’23 ’25 AD, soprano Josie Larsen ’23 MM, ’25 AD sang “Come scoglio” from Mozart’s Così fan tutte, “How beautiful it is” from Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and “Sì. Mi chiamano Mimi” from Puccini’s La bohème with Sun at the piano, and Sun and Ozel closed the concert with a two-piano arrangement of Gershwin’s An American in Paris. It was a celebratory evening of magnificent performances and clear camaraderie.