News & Spotlights

Pianist Charles Berofsky ’24 MM and violinist Joshua Brown ’22, ’24 MM, ’26 AD were chosen for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s highly selective Bowers Program and will each participate in a three-year residency.This year’s participants in The Bowers Program were chosen from an international pool of 192 individual candidates and 17 ensemble candidates through competitive auditions. Th

Dr. Rhoda Bernard is the Founding Managing Director of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education and the Assistant Chair of the Music Education Department at Berklee College of Music. She holds a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in government from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Music with academic honors in jazz voice from New England Conservatory. She earned both her Master of Education

Riley Barker ’26 MMDegree: Master of MusicMajor: Collaborative Piano"This fall, I will be pursuing more collaborative piano projects, specifically taking part in the McGill Schulich School of Music x Université de Montréal piano vocal arts residency program where I will expand my skills in opera, vocal coaching, and art song interpretation. I intend to use moving to Montreal as a springboard for a

Cellist and alumnus Leland Ko '24 AD has placed third in the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Competition. This competition is one of the world's most prestigious and demanding international music competitions for young, classically trained virtuosos. Held annually in Brussels, Belgium, the event serves as a major springboard launching the careers of top-tier musicians. Established in 1937, the competition ro

Delirium Musicum, which is made up of several NEC alumni, will be touring the East Coast beginning in early July. Their upcoming performances include the Rockport Chamber Music Festival on July 1, the opening of Newport Classical on July 2, and the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts in NYC’s Central Park on July 7. Alumni members include Etienne Gara '12 MM (artistic director), Evan Hjort '22 MM (violin

Composer Andrew Rindfleisch ’90 MM has been named a finalist for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in music for his composition American Descent, a five-movement work for 13 players that premiered in October 2025.Commissioned and premiered by the NO EXIT New Music Ensemble, American Descent explores the decline of a once prosperous society into chaos, division, and violence. The work’s five movements

Alumna DoYeon Kim ’16 MM, ’18 GD has been featured in The New York Times, which described her as “an in-demand collaborator for some of the biggest innovators in improvised music.”A virtuoso of the gayageum, Kim is known for blending Korean traditional music with contemporary improvisation and jazz. Her studies at NEC’s Contemporary Improvisation program helped shape her distinctive artistic voice

In November, the Houston Grand Opera named NEC alumnus James Gaffigan ’01 its next music director. Gaffigan, who’s conducted opera and orchestral performances with major ensembles and companies in the United States and abroad, will serve as music director designate at the HGO during the 2026–2027 season and begin his tenure as music director at the start of the 2027–2028 season. We recently spoke

Meet our 2026 Commencement Alumni Speaker and Marshals!Alumni hold a meaningful place in NEC’s Commencement celebrations. Each year, graduates from reunion classes are invited to take part by serving as alumni marshals and speakers, representing the broader alumni community.At this year’s Commencement, Matthew Shifrin '21, '23 MM (center) will address the graduating class as the Alumni Speaker, of

NEC has recognized a diverse group of alumni with its Entrepreneurial Musicianship (EM) Department Alumni Awards, highlighting projects that expand the boundaries of performance, education, and artistic collaboration.Among the honorees is Jenna Stokes ’23, whose work with the OUT Ensemble culminated in the debut album Seasons of Change. The project centers on themes of identity and transformation,

Saehyun Kim ’19 Prep, ’24 NEC/Harvard has signed an exclusive recording agreement with Warner Classics, positioning him among an internationally recognized roster of artists that includes Beatrice Rana, Piotr Anderszewski, Fazıl Say, and Mariam Batsashvili. His debut album with the label is scheduled for release in September 2026.The upcoming recording is structured around a Paris-inspired concept

Award-winning harpist and educator Alix Raspé Gray ’17 MM continues to expand her impact in music education with newly announced faculty appointments at Phillips Exeter Academy and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.These roles mark the latest additions to a dynamic teaching portfolio that already includes positions at Dartmouth College and Phillips Academy Andover. Across these institution

Hyeonseon Baek ’22 MM has been named a 2026 recipient of the Support for Artists Award from the New York State Council on the Arts.Now based in New York City, Baek is a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and educator known for his expressive style and focus on storytelling and improvisation. Originally from Korea, he was inspired by artists such as Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, and Carmen McRae, and late

NEC proudly congratulates alumna Mei-Ann Chen ’95, ’98 MM on her appointment as Director of Orchestral Activities and Chair of the Conducting Program at the Manhattan School of Music, beginning in the 2026–27 academic year.A celebrated Taiwanese American conductor, Chen is recognized internationally for her dynamic artistry, versatility, and leadership on the podium. In her new role at Manhattan S

Leona Cheung '18 MM, '20 GD has been awarded the Opportunity Fund by the City of Boston in support of her upcoming recital, When Poetry Sings: Voices from the Far East. Leona will be accompanied by Angela Yam '21 GD and Zizhao Wang '18, '20 MM, '21 GD. The performance will take place on May 8 at the Pao Arts Center in Boston's Chinatown and will feature Cheung alongside two fellow NEC alumni singe

Congratulations to Leland Ko ’15 Prep, ’24 AD and Keila Wakao ’24 Prep, ’28, who have been named recipients of the 2026 Avery Fisher Career Grants.Ko and Wakao will be honored this evening during a ceremony and performance at WQXR’s Jerome L. Greene Performance Space in New York City. Each recipient receives a $25,000 award to support career advancement, along with unrestricted use of the recordin

The daughter of a European composer and a Great American Songbook singer, native New Yorker Roberta Piket is a pianist and organist who loves to swing while exploring the more adventurous harmonic possibilities of jazz and improvised music.Roberta’s wide ranging abilities and interests are reflected in the roster of musicians with whom she has appeared professionally as a sidewoman: David Liebman,

Robert Couture '76 Prep, '80 is a graduate of NEC and is retired principal trombone at Boston Ballet Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra, and 2nd trombone with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. He has toured with the Handel and Haydn Society, Alea III, and the Boston Pops. He performed extensively in the various New England regio

Tenor and voice pedagogue Josaphat Contreras ’22 MM has been honored with the 2026 Emerging Leaders Award from the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), recognizing his exceptional contributions as a performer, researcher, and educator.Contreras, hailed for his “flexible” ringing tenor notes and his ease with diverse repertoire, completed his Master of Music in Voice Pedagogy at NEC,

Alumni continue to make their mark on the world of professional music, achieving notable positions in leading orchestras and ensembles.Jensen Bocco ’20 has been named Second Bassoon with the San Francisco Ballet, earning a coveted spot in one of the nation’s premier ballet orchestras. Bocco’s appointment reflects both his exceptional musicianship and the rigorous training he received during his ti