Performances + Events
Top: Yunchan Lim (photo: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco), Yutong Sun (photo: Jingyan Gao), Josie Larsen (photo: Liza Smith Gee); Bottom: Changyong Shin (photo: c/o Changyong Shin), Evren Ozel (photo: Geneva Lewis), Dani Jingdan Zhang (photo: c/o Dani Jingdan Zhang), Joshua Brown (photo: c/o Joshua Brown)
New England Conservatory (NEC) is pleased to announce the launch of the Institute for Concert Artists (ICA at NEC) and its flagship NEC Concert Artists Series, which will be a cornerstone of the Institute. Expanding on the legacy of NEC’s prestigious Artist Diploma—its highest-level performance designation—the ICA offers a transformative experience for artists of extraordinary talent who are on the threshold of major performing careers. A dynamic pathway to launching a professional life, this two-year, highly selective program will provide the ICA artists with curated access to preeminent performers and innovative arts leaders in addition to individualized mentorship from NEC’s esteemed faculty. Artists emerge from the program comprehensively equipped to navigate the demands of a professional career with confidence and vision.
The ICA will include seven artists during this initial year—Joshua Brown, ’22, ’24 MM, ’26 AD, violin; Josie Larsen, ’23 MM, ’25 AD, soprano; Yunchan Lim ’26 AD, piano; Evren Ozel, ’21, ’23 MM, ’25 AD, piano; Changyong Shin, ’25, AD, piano; Yutong Sun, ’19, ’21 MM, ’22 GD, ’25 AD, piano; and Dani Jingdan Zhang, ’26 AD, soprano—and will expand to eight over the next two years as Jazz and Contemporary Musical Arts are added to the program.
The artists will work with the ICA Advisor, pianist Gloria Chien, ’99, ’01 MM, ’04 DMA, who earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from NEC, and is the Artistic Director of Chamber Music Northwest, String Theory, and the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival. Chien comments:
“I am honored to join my alma mater as the advisor of the newly launched Institute for Concert Artists. This role allows me to contribute to the Institute’s mission of nurturing each individual’s artistic vision, cultivating meaningful connections, and maximizing their impact in the world of music. I look forward to supporting the burgeoning careers of the exceptional artists of the ICA at NEC.”
The ICA at NEC focuses on three key pillars: complementing artistic excellence with comprehensive professional readiness; creating connections within the NEC community and the professional world; and introducing new generations of NEC concert artists to the global stage. Accordingly, ICA artists will receive a full-tuition scholarship and stipend, and be eligible for support for travel and artistic projects. They will also be featured in the newly launched NEC Concert Artists Series, a showcase for musicians in NEC’s professional programs, including the ICA, Professional Quartet, and Professional Trio programs. NEC President Andrea Kalyn comments:
“We’re excited to build on the foundation of mentorship by NEC’s distinguished faculty to propel young artists towards dynamic performance careers with greater connection to professional resources, opportunities, purpose, and profile through the Institute for Concert Artists.”
In conjunction with the formation of the ICA at NEC, an Advisory Council of creative innovators and artistic leaders will serve as thought partners for Kalyn and Chien, providing perspective and counsel on programming and guidance for NEC Concert Artists to support and strengthen their success.
Applications for Fall 2025 will open on Monday, September 16, 2024. More information about the Institute for Concert Artists can be found here.
About Gloria Chien, Advisor, Institute for Concert Artists (ICA at NEC)
Taiwanese-born pianist Gloria Chien has a singularly diverse musical life as a noted performer, concert presenter, and educator. She made her orchestral debut at the age of sixteen with the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Thomas Dausgaard, and she performed again with the BSO under Keith Lockhart. She was subsequently selected by the the Boston Globe as one of its Superior Pianists of the year, “who appears to excel in everything.” In recent seasons, she has performed as a recitalist and chamber musician at Alice Tully Hall, the Library of Congress, the Phillips Collection, the Dresden Chamber Music Festival, and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan. She performs frequently with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In 2009, she launched String Theory, a chamber music series in Chattanooga, Tennessee that has become one of the region’s premier classical music presenters. The following year she was appointed Director of the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo, a position she held for the next decade.
In 2017, she joined her husband, violinist Soovin Kim, as artistic director of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vermont. The duo became artistic directors at Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon in 2020. They were named recipients of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Award for Extraordinary Service in 2021 for their efforts during the pandemic. Most recently, Gloria released two albums: Gloria Chien LIVE on the Music@Menlo LIVE label, and Here With You with acclaimed clarinetist Anthony McGill on Cedille Records. Gloria received her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees at the New England Conservatory of Music with Wha Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman. She is Artist-in-Residence at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, and she is a Steinway Artist.
