NEC Update Vol. 2, No. 27, August 21, 2006

New Director of Student Life

photo by Andrew Hurlbut

Catherine DesRoche joined NEC this summer as the new Director of Student Life. Students and parents will have many opportunities to meet her during Orientation activities beginning August 26, and at her office on the ground floor of the Residence Hall throughout the school year.

DesRoche was a Resident Assistant at Emmanuel College while completing her B.A. in elementary education. She recently completed an M.Ed. at Suffolk University, where she served as a graduate fellow in programming and development of student activities.  Her  community service activities include Alternative Spring Break, Project Hope, and Habitat for Humanity.

Schedule your fall Prep audition

NEC Preparatory School large ensembles are now "open for business" for online scheduling of seating auditions. If someone in your family has been confirmed for fall placement in any of the Prep orchestras and choruses, they may use the NEC Web site to schedule their audition, download audition excerpts, and update their record. Auditions for chamber music, theory, and teacher placement may be scheduled by calling (617) 585-1130. All auditions take place September 9-10.

NEC Prep begins in-person registration for lessons and classes on September 5. The 2006/2007 large ensembles calendar, course catalog, and registration form are now available online as downloadable PDFs. Printed course catalogs and registration forms have been mailed to current Prep families.

photo (c) Bayreuther Festspiele GmbH / Joerg Schulze

The Bayreuther Festspiele in Germany, founded in 1876 by composer Richard Wagner, is Valhalla for Wagner fans and the ultimate credential for a Wagner singer.

This summer, NEC alumni occupy two of the key roles in Wagner's Ring Cycle. Siegfried, whose destiny it is to capture the Rhine Maidens' gold ring, is played by tenor Stephen Gould '86 M.M. Soprano Linda Watson '79 plays Brunnhilde, whose imprisonment in a ring of fire is one of the few opera plot points known by non-fans.

Both singers have previously appeared at Bayreuth, but this is their first Bayreuth appearance in these roles or in the same production.

For those who take delight in being present at the creation of new music, NEC offers frequent opportunities to hear world premiere performances this year, starting with one of the first concerts of the season.

At flutist Fenwick Smith's September 17 faculty recital, The Small Rain by Scott Wheeler '78 M.M. will receive its first performance. Also on the horizon: a work by Robert Xavier Rodriguez will be performed by the NEC Percussion Ensemble on December 3, in an ongoing series of premieres commissioned from various composers by Bradford and Dorothea Endicott '00 M.M.