NEC Update Vol.1, No.23, July 4, 2005

On the Fourth of July, the voice of opera star and NEC alumna Denyce Graves '88 DP will burst forth nationwide on the ABC television special "An American Celebration at Ford's Theatre--A Salute to Our Troops." The evening of song and comedy was taped this month in the nation's capital before an audience including President Bush and first lady Laura Bush.

Find out more about this broadcast.

photo by Andrew Hurlbut

NEC's Parker Quartet, a group that has honed its sound with two terms as an NEC Honors Ensemble, took first prize in the 2005 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition on June 29. The competition, held in Bordeaux, France, leads to more than 20 European concert appearances for the triumphant foursome, along with the opportunity to record a CD and a 20,000 Euro purse. The Bordeaux prize is the group's third major award this year--a pace of activity that has seemingly had no impact on a busy performance schedule (in photo: a Boston outdoor concert from earlier this summer). The Parker Quartet is currently coached by Martha Strongin Katz.

Read more about this competition success.

Teenaged members of NEC's Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, on a two-week concert tour of Venezuela and Brazil, found opportunities in concert halls, schools, and dirt road bus trips to get closer acquainted with each other, with their youth orchestra counterparts in their host countries, and with unfamiliar landscapes.

While in Caracas, NEC Dean of Preparatory and Continuing Education Mark Churchill announced the signing of a friendship agreement between NEC and the Inter-American Center for Social Action Through Music, a new Venezuelan conservatory. The agreement recognizes music as "a unifying force in the Americas," and opens the door to possible projects encompassing joint performances, research, and student or faculty exchanges.

Read reports from NEC's YPO on tour.

photo courtesy Klein International String Competition

Weeks after completing her NEC bachelor's degree as a student of Donald Weilerstein, violinist Tee Khoon Tang '05 took second prize in the 2005 Irving M. Klein International String Competition, held in San Francisco (in photo, Tang with Mitchell Klein, president of the board of directors of the California Music Center). NEC cellist Alice Yoo, a student of Paul Katz, was also a semifinalist this year.

Read more about this competition success.

photo by Tim Morse

Earlier this week, The Boston Globe published a front-page profile of 14-year-old composer Natasha Sinha (in photo), who has studied at NEC's Preparatory School with Alla Cohen since age 7. Sinha has consistently won ASCAP young composer awards, but still finds time for extracurricular activities--Math League, her school magazine and choral society--as well as organizing a musical instrument donation program.

Read the full profile online.

photo by Tom Fitzsimmons

Stephanie Sonnabend (in photo), who has served as an NEC Trustee or Overseer since 1995 and who currently chairs the Facilities Committee, was among 10 women honored in June at the Boston YWCA's 11th Annual Academy of Women Achiever Awards. "We look to find women who, having been empowered, are empowering others," said YWCA president and chief executive Marti-Wilson Taylor. Sonnabend is chief executive and president of Sonesta International Hotels Corp.

Find out who serves on NEC's Board of Trustees.

photo by Andrew Hurlbut

The last week of June, NEC played host to the inaugural conference of the Learning Laboratory School Network (LLSN), which brought member schools from all over the country to hone engage in this new organization. The network is a project of the Music-in-Education National Consortium (MIENC), which formed as a result of a national education hosted by NEC in 2000 on the theme of "Making Music Work for Public Education." Among the outcomes of NEC's leadership role in the field of education since 2000: the NEC Research Center for Learning Through Music and Boston's Conservatory Lab Charter School.

LLSN members commit to a working partnership with an MIENC member institution and other assessment and networking activities--one of those being the conference itself. In photo: an LLSN member from New York's Bronxville School shares experiences with other attendees.

Find out more about LLSN.

photo by Miro Vintoniv

NEC orchestras during the 2005/2006 concert season will feature no less than four evenings of music conducted by the school's new Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of Orchestras, Joseph Silverstein.

This month's streaming audio clip gives a taste of what's ahead, with an April 2005 Jordan Hall performance by the NEC Symphony under Silverstein's baton. Bartok's Viola Concerto also showcases soloist David Kim, who recently took second prize at the Primrose Memorial Scholarship Competition.

Listen to the Bartok viola concerto.