New England Conservatory of Music
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The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) in Boston, Massachusetts is the oldest independent conservatory in the United States. It is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with hundreds more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of Continuing Education. The conservatory offers 5 year joint double degree programs with Harvard University and Tufts University as well as cross registration with Tufts, Northeastern University, and Simmons College.
Today, NEC is one of America's big-name conservatories, known widely for both its string department and Jordan Hall, NEC's hundred-year-old central performance space. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma once said, "I love Jordan Hall for its unbelievable accoustics. And for its warmth and intimacy. But most of all for the sense of event when you go there." ["Jordan Hall History"] — Handel and Haydn Society (retrieved 06 June 2006) The hall is home to some 600+ student performances each academic year, and is also frequently used by outside organizations, touring artists and guests.
History
NEC was founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee, who modelled it in the same vein as European conservatories. Initially located in downtown Boston, in 1902 it was moved a few miles west to the present building on Huntington Avenue. In 1881, when Henry Lee Higginson established the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he drew heavily on school's faculty to serve as section leaders. Today, the school and the orchestra continue to share a close association - nearly half of the BSO is composed of conservatory faculty and alumni, a remarkable statistic. Not surprisingly, the BSO string section is also considered the orchestra's strongest asset, representative of the strings department at NEC. When Boston established its first full-scale opera company in 1908, the manager, conductors, soloists, orchestra, chorus, library, and rehearsal rooms were all provided by the conservatory. After the demise, Boris Goldovsky's Opera Theater gave local audiences their first fully-staged performances in more than a decade. In 1958, Goldovsky's protégé Sarah Caldwell founded the Opera Company of Boston, which gained international acclaim for its innovative programming.
Campus
The NEC campus is consisted of three buildings occupying the block on Gainsborough Street between St. Botolph Street and Huntington Avenue, one block from the corner of Huntington and Massachusetts Avenue where the world renowned Boston Symphony Hall is situated. The Jordan Hall Building whose main entrance is located at 30 Gainsborough Street with a side door at 290 Huntington Avenue is NEC's main building, home to Jordan Hall, Williams Hall, Brown Hall, the Keller Room, the Idabelle Firestone Audio Library, the Performance Library, professor studios/offices, and practice rooms. The second building, at 33 Gainsborough street, is the Residence Hall, a coed dormitary which also houses the Harriet M. Spaulding Library and the "Bistro 33" dining center. The 3rd building, entitled the "St. Botolph Building", at 241 St. Botolph street, contains the St. Botolph Hall, a computer laboratory, the office of admissions, additional studios and practice rooms.
Preparatory School
New England Conservatory's Preparatory School is an open enrollment institution for pre-college students that offers music classes and private instruction for young musicians, and fosters over 20 small and large ensembles. Students enrolled in New England Conservatory's Preparatory School may participate in the Certificate Program, allowing students to achieve their optimum performance skills, competence in music theory, and a knowledge of the literature that includes choral, orchestral, and chamber, as well as solo repertoire. New England Conservatory's Preparatory is home to one of the world's leading youth orchestras, the highly selective Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (YPO), headed by Benjamin Zander. Recent YPO tours have included trips to Brazil, Venezuela, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico City, Havana and Cuba. The Preparatory School also houses the Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble (MYWE), a touring wind ensemble open to advanced high school woodwind, brass, and percussion players. The Preparatory School routinely sends students to the finest conservatories and universities in the world.
School of Continuing Education
New England Conservatory's School of Continuing Education allows members of the surrounding community to experience the benefits of New England Conservatory's world class instruction, offering classes, lessons, and ensemble opportunities to musicians of any background. At NEC's School of Continuing Education members can participate in chamber, jazz, and vocal ensembles, an opera studio, an adult chorale, a Klezmer Band, and a Community Gospel Choir. In addition, NEC's School of Continuing Education offers classes in several fields including music history, music theory, and Alexander technique, many of which are instructed by members of the New England Conservatory college faculty.
Also of note
NEC is co-founder and educational partner of From the Top, a weekly radio program that celebrates outstanding young classical musicians from the entire country. With its broadcast home in Jordan Hall, the show is now carried by National Public Radio and is heard on 250 stations throughout the United States.The official mascot of NEC is the Fighting Penguin.
Notable alumni
- Ted Atkatz, percussionist
- Herbert Blomstedt, Conductor Laureate, San Francisco Symphony
- Sarah Caldwell, conductor
- Colin Carr, cellist
- Regina Carter, violinist
- Phyllis Curtin, soprano
- Marty Ehrlich, saxophonist
- Frank Epstein, percussionist
- David Franco, music producer
- Christopher O'Riley, pianist (From the Top host)
- Roberto Diaz, violist, (Curtis Institute president, Philadelphia Orchestra principal)
- Dave Douglas, jazz trumpet
- Everett "Vic" Firth, percussionist
- Michael Gandolfi, composer
- Denyce Graves, mezzo-soprano, Metropolitan Opera's "Carmen of Choice"
- Bud Herseth, trumpet, Chicago Symphony
- Stefan Jackiw, violinist
- Louis Krasner, violinist
- Max Levinson, pianist
- John Medeski, jazz pianist
- Eleanor Steber, soprano
- Coretta Scott King, voice (civil rights leader)
- Marylou Speaker-Churchill, violinist
- Jupiter String Quartet,
- Biava String Quartet, 2003 Naumburg Chamber Music Award
- Fred Hersch, jazz pianist
- Stephen Ferrera, music producer
- Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Kennedy Family matriarch
- Lara St. John, violinist
- Benjamín Gutiérrez Sáenz, composer, conductor and pianist
- Cecil Taylor, jazz pianist
- Bernie Worrell, pianist/rock musician
- Rachel Z, jazz performer
Notable faculty
- Jeanne Baxtresser
- Natasha Brofsky
- Bob Brookmeyer
- James Buswell
- Wha-Kyung Byun
- Vinson Cole
- Francis Judd Cooke
- John Ferrillo
- Eliot Fisk
- Miriam Fried
- Michael Gandolfi
- Billy Hart
- Lee Hyla
- Veronica Jochum
- Kim Kashkashian
- Martha Katz
- Paul Katz
- Nicholas Kitchen
- Laurence Lesser
- Ann Hobson Pilot
- Quincy Porter
- Paula Robison
- Carol Rodland
- Charlie Schlueter
- Joseph Silverstein
- Lucy Stoltzman
- George Russell
- Russell Sherman
- Richard Stoltzman
- Lawrence Wolfe
- Alisa Weilerstein
- Donald Weilerstein
- Edward Zambara
- Benjamin Zander
Notes
External links
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