College

This spring at NEC, a group of violin students in faculty member Ayano Ninomiya's studio arranged the Dichterliebe song cycle, composed for voice by Robert Schumann based on the poetry of German romantic poet Heinrich Heinne, for the violin. The students collaborated to develop a new musical notation system they could use as they translated the scores of each song. After weeks of experimenting, integrating new skills, and receiving coaching from Ninomiya and guest faculty Tanya Blaich, students presented the final cycle—fully reimagined for the violin.

Vocal Performance major and leader of NEC's Queer Student Union Molly Knight ’25 has used her position to create welcoming spaces on campus for NEC's LGBTQIA+ community, from developing a Gay Library within the CEB office to coordinating a panel of NEC students, faculty, and staff to share their experiences of being queer in music. Knight, a talented classical soprano studying with faculty member MaryAnn McCormick, reflects on her NEC experience, looks ahead to her final year and post-grad goals, and shares her best advice for incoming students.  

Violinist Joshua Brown ’22, ’24 MM, ’26 AD won Second Prize at the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition, along with both audience prizes. He receives €20,000 and concert opportunities in Belgium and abroad for his win. Fellow NEC alumni Julian Rhee ’22, ’24 MM and Minami Yoshida ’21, ’24 MM also finished as laureates, placing fifth and sixth, respectively.  

Built in 1711 and donated to NEC in 1999 by alumna John Hsu ’53, ’55 MM, ’71 hon. DM, the Tecchler is one of the finest instruments in NEC’s collection and is among the few offered to students in an annual in-house competition. The remarkable instrument underwent a significant restoration throughout the last year before being offered recently to cellist Annie Hyung ’25 MM, its new holder for 2024-2025.

When she first arrived on NEC's campus, accomplished jazz clarinetist and recent graduate Jahnvi Madan ’24 had never composed a piece of music before. Remarkably, just a few years later, she became the youngest musician to be commissioned by Seattle's Earshot Jazz to create a new original composition for its 2023 Festival. As an Indian-American woman who grew up seeing very little representation of herself in media, especially in the arts, Jahnvi embeds her identity and experiences into her music — and her compositions are resonating widely.

New England Conservatory celebrated the graduating class of 2024 on Sunday, May 19, in historic Jordan Hall during a ceremony for graduates, family, and friends. Honorary degrees were awarded to legendary singer-songwriter Paul Simon ’24 hon. DM, soprano Dawn Upshaw ’24 hon. DM, and conductor Robert Spano ’24 hon. DM, with remarks from Simon along with NEC President Andrea Kalyn, Alumni Speaker Lina González-Granados ’14 MM, ’15 GD, and Student Speaker June Chung ’24 MM. 

This month, NEC students and faculty electrified the Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre during Chirp, a six-night concert series featuring live electronic music and cutting-edge technology. Chirp concerts included multimedia compositions, acousmatic music, and computer-assisted pieces. The performances were led by faculty members Davide Ianni, Ted Reichman, Lautaro Mantilla, John Mallia, and Stratis Minakakis.   

Whether performing with the Gospel Ensemble, hosting events for the Center for Cultural Equity and Belonging, or songwriting with this spring's electronic-inspired CMA Honors Ensemble, redbird, Yifei Zhou ’22, ’24 MM has been deeply engrained within NEC's community since her first undergraduate semester. Having just graduated with her Master of Music, she reflects on her musical growth at NEC and the people and experiences that shaped this formative time.

Cellist Leland Ko ’24 AD and violinist Nathan Amaral ’24 GC are two of the four winners of the 2024 Concert Artists Guild (CAG) Louis and Susan Meisel Competition, announced May 10.