NEC Update Vol. 2, No. 6, November 28, 2005

Dine with music leaders

"Little Women": hear the opera

Masterclass with the Met's Greer Grimsley

Django Bates jazz residency at NEC

NEC composers to work with orchestras

Harvard learns from Don Byron

Give the gift of music

Dine with music leaders

The NEC Preparatory School's first annual "Kids in Harmony" fundraising gala honors leaders in pre-college music education. Celebrate the power of music to enrich children's lives with the evening's featured honorees: Hubie Jones, founder of the Boston Children's Chorus (right in photo, with NEC President Daniel Steiner); Louise Behrend, founder of New York's School for Strings and a pioneer of the Suzuki method in the United States; Christopher O'Riley '81 A.D., acclaimed pianist and "From the Top" radio host. A special concert performed by the NEC Preparatory School's flagship student ensembles follows the awards dinner, with tickets available to the general public.

Reserve "Kids in Harmony" tickets online.

"Little Women": hear the opera

photo by Andrew Hurlbut

Everyone's read the book, especially book lovers here in New England where it takes place. But until now, Mark Adamo's 1998 opera based on Louisa May Alcott's Little Women has been awaiting its first full New England production.

December 9-11, NEC gives New Englanders an early Christmas present: a fully staged production of this modern classic at the Cutler Majestic Theater. You can peel back the wrapping paper on the present with a teaser from Little Women--this month's streaming audio clip, a scene from the opera.

In photo: Little Women cast members at the Alcott homestead in Concord, Mass.

Listen to a scene from Adamo's Little Women.

Django Bates jazz residency at NEC

Composer/bandleader/multi-instrumentalist Django Bates comes to NEC the week of December 5-8 for a residency with NEC jazz students. The visit includes a public masterclass on December 7 and a concert on December 8 with the NEC jazz orchestra.

Explore NEC's concerts and programs day by day.

NEC composers to work with orchestras

from Lee Hyla's We Speak Etruscan

Earlier this month, the American Symphony Orchestra League announced the awarding of "Music Alive" composer residencies with American orchestras. Among the awardees are Lee Hyla, chair of NEC's composition program, and Michael Gandolfi, also of the NEC composition faculty.

The "Music Alive" residencies are designed to allow the public to "meet the person behind the music" and promote ongoing partnerships between composers and orchestras. During a three-year residency with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Hyla will write a Concerto for Orchestra and will work closely with the orchestra players, audiences, and local community. Gandolfi is paired with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for a three-week residency.

Both composers have also been in demand for academic residencies around the country. This month, Gandolfi was in residence at Cleveland State University and Hyla visited Duke University, where the Ciompi Quartet performed his Fourth Quartet. The previous month, Malcolm Peyton of the NEC faculty was at Duke for a Ciompi performance of his Second Quartet.

Explore NEC's faculty, beginning with Lee Hyla.

Harvard learns from Don Byron

photo by Cori Wells Braun

NEC alumnus Don Byron '84 visits Harvard University for their "Learning from Performers" series next month. Byron's residency will include two public events: a "conversation with music" on December 9, and a performance with the Harvard Jazz Bands on December 10.

Composer/clarinetist/bandleader Don Byron is a graduate of NEC's Contemporary Improvisation program, and is one of the most successful jazz artists of his generation.

Find details of Byron's Harvard appearance.

Give the gift of music

photo of NEC concert audience by Miro Vintoniv

Each year more than 3,000 alumni, parents, and friends make a critical difference for NEC students with their gifts of all sizes to the NEC Annual Fund. Your gift will be put to immediate use, helping to pay for student scholarships, faculty salaries, public programs, piano upkeep--plus everything else that makes an NEC education outstanding and keeps the Conservatory a vital part of Boston's cultural life. Every gift, including yours, makes a difference. Give now and your gift will help:

--cover costs for costume rentals for 3 fully staged opera productions in December

--fund 16 free concerts in January

--bring 2 renowned artists to lead masterclasses in February

--support 3 career strategy workshops in March

--pay for 8 Keller Jazz Series performances in April and May

Make your gift online or pay for your pledge.