Performances + Events
Meet the Concert Artists
New England Conservatory’s esteemed concert artists represent the pinnacle of musical achievement, embodying the artistry, dedication, and excellence that defines NEC. Each of these distinguished musicians brings an extraordinary skill level and unique artistic voice to the global stage. They are redefining the future of music worldwide through the impact of their superior musicianship, meaningful artistic contributions, and deep dedication to their craft.
Meet the Concert Artists
Current Artists
Joshua Brown
’22, ’24 MM, ’26 AD, Violin
Studio faculty: Don Weilerstein
Violinist Joshua Brown has been praised by audiences and critics worldwide for his “richness of sound, elegance of reading…commitment of every moment at the service of the work…” (La Libre). Joshua gained international attention after winning the 2nd Prize and both Audience Awards at the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Other international competition successes include the 1st Prize at the inaugural 2023 Global Music Education International Violin Competition in Beijing, China, as well as the 1st Prize and Audience Award at the 2019 International Violin Competition of Leopold Mozart in Augsburg, Germany.
Joshua was first recognized for his debut performance with the Cleveland Orchestra, of which ClevelandClassical wrote, “Brilliantly played and expertly paced, Brown’s performance checked into every emotional corner… Brown was spellbinding throughout his entire time on stage.” Joshua has gone on to perform regularly with orchestras around the world, including the Munich Radio Orchestra, MDR Sinfonieorchester, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Civic Orchestra, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege, among others, continually garnering praise from critics. After his performance of Brahms’ Violin Concerto in Beijing with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Strad wrote, “Brown spun out silky, weightless phrases that seemed suspended in time;” in Belgium, Le Soir described him as “a real musician, of great sensitivity…with a real sense of nuance;” and the Indianapolis Star described his sound after a performance of Mozart’s 5th Violin Concerto as “addictive and shimmering, with emotions like dynamic colors that shifted beneath a clear, glassy surface.”
A passionate recitalist and chamber musician, Joshua has also appeared regularly in series such as Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Festival Musiq3 in Brussels, the Tchaikovsky Festival in Moscow, the ProMusica series in Mexico, the Matinée Musicale series in Cincinnati, the Jupiter Chamber Players series in New York City, and the North Shore Chamber Music Festival in Chicago. Joshua received the Kronberg Academy’s 2023 Manfred Grommek Prize, and has been named a Pirastro Artist, Yamaha Young Performing Artist, and Luminarts Fellow, among other awards. Upcoming highlights of the 2024/25 season include a recital tour of Taiwan and South Korea, as well as a series of performances of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra in Japan.
Joshua is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music studying under Donald Weilerstein after also earning his Bachelor and Master of Music there. Before his time at NEC, Joshua studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago. Joshua is grateful to be playing an outstanding Nicolo Amati violin from Cremona, circa 1635-1640, on extended loan through the generosity of the Mary B. Galvin Foundation and the efforts of the Stradivari Society, a division of Bein & Fushi, Inc. The Mary B. Galvin Foundation, Inc. and the Stradivari Society support the very highest level of string playing by loaning precious antique Italian instruments to artists of exceptional talent and ability.
Josie Larsen
’23 MM, ’25 AD, Opera Studies
Studio faculty: Bradley Williams
Upcoming Recital: March 30, 2025
Photo Credit: Liza Smith Gee
Josie Larsen, a current Artist Diploma student of Bradley Williams, is a lyric soprano from Sammamish, Washington. She completed her Master of Music degree at New England Conservatory and her bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University, both in Vocal Performance. Recent solo concert works have included Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Villa-Lobos.
Recently, Larsen took the NEC stage as Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Mimi in La Bohème, and the Governess in The Turn of the Screw. During Summer 2024, she covered the role of Countess from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at the Aspen Music Festival. Larsen’s greatest joy from performing comes from the opportunity it provides to connect with others from all around the world in any language.
Yunchan Lim
’26 AD, Piano
Studio faculty: Minsoo Sohn
Photo Credit: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco
Since becoming the youngest person to ever win gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of 18 in 2022, Yunchan Lim’s ascent to international stardom has been meteoric. Marin Alsop expressed: “Yunchan is that rare artist who brings profound musicality and prodigious technique organically together.”
In the years following his Cliburn win, Yunchan made successful orchestral debuts with the New York, Los Angeles, Munich, and Seoul Philharmonic orchestras, as well as Chicago, Lucerne, BBC, Boston, and Tokyo Symphony orchestras among others. Recital appearances include performances at Carnegie Hall, Verbier Festival, the Wigmore Hall, Het Concertgebouw, and Suntory Hall, among other major stages.
Lim’s 2024/25 season highlights include orchestral debuts with Washington National Symphony, London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Vienna Radio Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, and WDR Symphony Orchestras, as well as returning to New York Philharmonic, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra de Paris. This season will also see his recital debut at the Kennedy Center, and a return to Carnegie Hall.
As an exclusive Decca Classics recording artist, Yunchan Lim’s acclaimed debut studio album, Chopin Études Opp.10 & 25 has gone double platinum in South Korea and topped the classical charts around the world.
His previous releases include Liszt’s Transcendental Études (Steinway & Sons); Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” (Universal Music Group); and his appearance on KBS’s 2020 Young Musicians of Korea album.
Born in Siheung, Korea, Yunchan Lim began piano lessons at age 7. He was accepted into the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts at age 13, where he met his teacher and mentor, Minsoo Sohn. In 2019, aged only 15, he became the youngest person to win Korea’s IsangYun International Competition. Yunchan currently studies at the New England Conservatory of Music with his teacher Minsoo Sohn.
Evren Ozel
’21, ’23 MM, ’25 AD, Piano
Studio faculty: Wha Kyung Byun
Upcoming Recitals: October 24, 2024 and April 28, 2025
Photo Credit: Geneva Lewis
American pianist Evren Ozel has established himself as a musician of “refined restraint” (Third Coast Review), combining fluent virtuosity with probing, thoughtful interpretations. Having performed extensively in the United States and abroad, Evren is the recipient of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and is currently represented by Concert Artists Guild as an Ambassador Prize Winner of their 2021 Victor Elmaleh Competition.
Since his debut with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 11, Ozel has been a featured soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, and The Orchestra Now at Bard College, with conductors Jahja Ling, Courtney Lewis, and Leon Botstein. In March of 2025, his first album of Mozart Concertos with the ORF Radio Symphony of Vienna and conductor Howard Griffiths will be released on Alpha Classics.
Ozel’s 2024-25 season highlights include solo recitals for La Jolla Music Society, Capital Region Classical, and Cal Performances. Previously, he has performed recitals for Harvard Musical Association, Schubert Club, Chopin Society of Minnesota, and The Gilmore. Carrying a vast and varied recital repertoire, his 2023-24 season included a program ranging from Bach and Rameau to Ligeti, as well as a program of Beethoven’s last three Piano Sonatas.
An esteemed chamber musician, Ozel performs alongside artists like David Finckel and Wu Han, Stella Chen, Zlatomir Fung, Paul Huang, and Peter Wiley. He spent four summers at the Marlboro Festival, and is currently a 2024-27 Bowers Program Artist for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. His 2024-25 season includes a tour with Musicians from Marlboro, as well as CMS concerts at Alice Tully Hall.
Ozel resides in Boston, where he is currently a candidate in New England Conservatory’s prestigious and highly-exclusive Artist Diploma program, under the tutelage of Wha Kyung Byun. Other important mentors include Jonathan Biss, Imogen Cooper, Richard Goode, Andras Schiff, and Mitsuko Uchida.
Changyong Shin
’25 AD, Piano
Studio faculty: Wha Kyung Byun
Passionate, inspired performances and brilliant technique are the hallmark of pianist Changyong Shin. He has appeared in recital in such renowned venues as Seoul Arts Center, Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, Daegu Concert House, Louvre Museum in Paris, New York City’s The Greene Space, Philadelphia’s Holy Trinity Church, and Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center in California among others. Throughout 2024, he has dedicated himself as the host of the Matinee Concert Series at Arts Center Incheon, curating a dynamic lineup of performances that include both solo showcases and chamber music collaborations with fellow musicians, culminating in four memorable concerts.
In 2021, Changyong captivated audiences with a sold-out recital at Lotte Concert Hall, followed by a sold-out recital tour and multiple performances as part of Lotte Concert Hall’s highly selective “In-House Artist Series.” He also completed a Fantasie recital tour in several cities, including Utah, Boston, New York, Seoul, Ulsan, and Gwangju, in 2023. He has also given numerous solo performances throughout Asia, North America and Europe, including recitals at Carnegie Zankel and Weill Recital Hall, WQXR-FM’s Midday Masterpieces Series, Steinway Hall Artist Series, Newport Music Festival, Italy’s Barletta Piano Festival, Klavier- Festival Ruhr (Ruhr Piano Festival) in Essen, Germany, Kumho Cultural Foundation’s Artist series and Rising Star series at Kumho Art Hall, Paris’s Salle Cortot Hall, Lotte Concert Hall in Korea, Concert Hall at Seoul Arts Center, IBK Chamber Hall in Korea, Evelyn Miller Young Pianists Series, Green Lake Festival of Music, Rose Wagner Center in Utah, Salt Lake City, Coastal Carolina University Guest Artist Series.
He has appeared as a soloist with many orchestras, including Utah Symphony, Hilton Head Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Korean Chamber Orchestra, Daegu Philharmonic Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, and others. Mr. Shin is also a recording artist, whose debut CD was listed as one of the “Best New Recordings of 2018” by WQXR. His second album of Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt, released on Steinway & Sons Label, received rave reviews from ClassicToday. His latest album “Gaspard de la Nuit,” released on Stomp Music label in Korea, received high praise from Pizzicato. An accomplished chamber musician, Mr. Shin has given chamber music recitals across the United States and in Seoul, Korea and Paris, France. Performances of note include a recital at the invitation of Kumho Art Hall, and a special performance of a new work by Korean composer Young-jo Lee at the Recital Hall in Seoul Arts Center as a member of Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts.
Yutong Sun
’19, ’21 MM, ’22 GD, ’25 AD, Piano
Studio faculty: Alexander Korsantia, Dang Thai Son
Upcoming Recital: October 8, 2024
Photo Credit: Jingyan Gao
Yutong Sun has gained international recognition through his success in prestigious competitions worldwide. Notably, he garnered the second prize at the 19th Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition in Spain. Additionally, he won third prize at the 62nd Maria Canals International Music Competition in Barcelona (2016) and first prize at the 54th Jaén International Piano Competition (2012). He has also been honored in competitions such as the New Orleans International Piano Competition, the Horowitz Competition, and the Bösendorfer Competition.
Sun has performed at renowned venues including Salle Cortot in Paris, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Jordan Hall in Boston, The Bolshoi Hall in Saint Petersburg, Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, National Centre for the Performing Arts in China and Shanghai Grand Theatre. His performances have been broadcast by major networks such as Bavarian Broadcasting, Polish Radio, and Spanish Radio and Television Corporation.
As a soloist, Sun has collaborated with numerous esteemed orchestras, including the Symphony Orchestra of Galicia, the City of Granada Orchestra, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Spain, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Santander Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic, and the China NCPA Orchestra. He has worked with distinguished conductors such as Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez, Paul Mann, Earl Lee, Nicholas McGegan, Matthew Kasper, Lio Kuokman, Yifan Sun, Maciej Tworek, José Trigueros, and José Molina. Sun has also appeared at prominent music festivals, including the Beethoven Easter Festival, Kissinger Sommer, and the International Holland Music Sessions.
A native of China, born in 1995, Yutong Sun is currently pursuing the prestigious Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Professors Alexander Korsantia and Dang Thai Son. He previously studied at the Music School attached to the Central Conservatory in Beijing with Professor Hua Chang. His first piano recital CD was recorded by Naxos in 2012 and released worldwide in 2013 as part of their Laureate Series.
Dani Jingdan Zhang
’26 AD, Opera Studies
Studio faculty: Bradley Williams
Apprenticed with Professor Nancy Yuen, Soprano Dani Jingdan Zhang received her bachelor’s (Honours) and master’s degree with distinction from Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. In the Fall 2024, she began her study for the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies at the New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Professor Bradley Williams.
As one of the stars of 2019 RTHK Young Music Makers, Zhang has recorded a series of TV productions and radio broadcasts for RTHK. She has been invited to “The Sound of Art” hosted by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, RTHK’s concert series “The GBA Concert Hall”, and the RTHK’s interview programme “Musicians’ Terrace”. In 2021, as a young artist, she was invited by Beijing Great Wall Cultural Festival and Shenzhen Cultural Center to perform in the concert series of Chinese and foreign classics. In the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, she performed Bach’s “Mass in B minor” as a soprano soloist in collaboration with the Hong Kong Bach Choir and Orchestra. In 2022 HKU MUSE, she made her first collaboration with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil), singing the soprano solo in “Fauré’s Requiem” with Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus and HKU Chamber Singers under the baton of Yu Long. In the 2023/24 season, when the HK Phil was celebrating its 50th anniversary, she was once again invited by the HK Phil to jointly perform soprano solo in Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Poulenc’s “Gloria”. In collaboration with Macao Orchestra and Learners Chorus, she also sang soprano solo in Bach’s “Easter Oratorio” and excerpts from “Handel’s Messiah” in St. Dominic’s Church, Macao. She also recently performed soprano solo in “Carmina Burana” with Sichuan Symphony Orchestra and Shinik Hahm
Zhang made her debut with the Opera Hong Kong as Norina in Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale” in the Hong Kong City Hall, followed by a successful performance as Musetta in Puccini’s “La bohème” at Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. Her other major operatic roles include Ilia in Mozart’s “Idomeneo”, Cleopatra in Handel’s “Giulio Cesare”, Nedda in Leoncavallo’s “I Pagliacci” and Pamina in Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte”. She has also performed as partial roles, such as, Cunégonde from “Candide”, Micaëla from “Carmen”, Nannetta from “Falstaff” and Dorabella from “Così fan tutte”. And she was also invited to sing at the concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Opera Hong Kong. She has won awards in many international and national competitions, including Finalist Award in 2022 Donizetti International Singing Competition in Italy, Semi-Final Award in the 1st Sumi Jo International Singing Competition in France, First Place in the Bel Canto Professional Group Gold Award of the 2023 PREMIA International Young Artists Music Festival Competition, which also invited her to perform in the Prizewinners Gala Concert at Carnegie Hall in New York, and First Place in the 14th Chinese Golden Bell Award for Music (Hong Kong competition area).
