Alumni Spotlight: Ari Friedman '11 MM & Mia Friedman '12
“Strikingly beautiful, distinctive and exhilarating, with expressive vocals that will find a way into hearts and minds” (No Depression)
Chamber-folk duo Ari & Mia are award-winning songwriters, and tour globally, critically acclaimed as New England's Americana sister act. Raised on folk songs and conservatory trained, their voices, cello, fiddle, and banjo intricately combine in breathtaking harmonies and arrangements that reference the early American songbook and Northeastern fiddle tunes to create a realm where their own compositions cross paths with older traditions.
Since 2008 the sisters have toured across the U.S., Canada, and Australia and are both graduates of NEC's Contemporary Musical Arts department. They've performed alongside Sarah Jarosz '13, opened for Cheryl Wheeler and Catie Curtis, and played at venues such as Shalin Liu Performing Arts Center, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival's Mainstage Emerging Artist Showcase, Club Passim, the Parlor Room, New Bedford Folk Festival, and Jordan Hall.
“Ari & Mia are not creating new music; they are taking it to another level and exploring areas that have not been attempted in decades. Their all-acoustic, pure and honest approach has significance. Treading the edges of traditional folk in a more faithful manner, they share the lyrical wizardry of 70’s bands Steeleye Span, Tir-na-Nog, and the Incredible String Band, with searing harmony as good as The Beach Boys. The sisters sing in unison like two violins,” continues No Depression. Their 2019 album, “Sew the City” was premiered on Billboard Magazine and met with critical acclaim. Their new album, “Learning Your Name,” dropped on Mother’s Day 2026.
Why did you choose NEC?
We both wanted to explore music in and outside the boundaries of classical and jazz, so CMA was a perfect fit.
What have you been up to since graduating from NEC? What projects have you been working on? Do you have any goals you are looking to accomplish?
We are really excited about our latest project together, Learning Your Name, our first album in seven years which is all about parenting. It features six original songs, one cover, and a rewrite of one traditional song. “Little One” is a song our dad wrote for us as children and our kids sing on the final chorus. We rewrote “Foreign Lander,” a traditional love song (which Ari also re-harmonized for a class she took with Hankus in 2010!) to capture the love between a parent and a child. The album explores the day-to-day: when one child first noticed the moon, when he called the stars her “babies,” a bird that just couldn’t be controlled no matter how hard the child tried to keep it from flying away…and the possibility for meaning-making within these moments. It opens eyes a little wider, and sinks into the simultaneous joy and terror of being alive and raising children at this particular moment in history. The music explores our orientation in the earth and cosmos through the parent-child connection.
What are some of your favorite memories from your time at NEC?
Our honors ensemble concert at Jordan Hall with Sarah Jarosz '13 and Eden MacAdam-Somer '13 DMA as the Sail Away Ladies!
Share a story about one of your favorite faculty or studio instructors.
We both studied with Hankus Netsky '76, '78 MM and will never forget lessons in which he'd place a Billie Holiday record on the record player, sing along, then stop the needle after certain moments and ask us to imitate her precise articulation and phrasing.
How have your NEC experiences shaped your artistic approach?
Being exposed and introduced to so many genres, learning to transcribe jazz solos, playing in a free improv ensemble, a Klezmer ensemble, studying the music of Ligeti, Count Basie, Charles Ives—all of these elements have opened our ears enormously. We are both receptive to and excited by sounds and concepts that may not normally be a part of a more conventional "folk" duo. To put it simply, NEC made us better listeners.
Share any other stories about what has inspired you at NEC and beyond.
While we both center our duo as an important part of our creative lives, we also each have other projects. Mia has her own project, a new four-piece band about to record an album as well; and Ari freelances with orchestras like BMOP and BFO, and is also a poet.
Do you have any advice for young musicians/current NEC students?
A career as a creative professional takes many turns; allow for them, trust yourself, and don't get caught up in doing everything all at once. Things will unfold.
Learn More About Ari & Mia:
Current Job: Self-Employed (Ari); Full Time Strings Teaching, Union #38 School District (Mia)
Degree: Master of Music (Ari); Bachelor of Music (Mia)
Class Year: 2011 (Ari); 2012 (Mia)
Major: Contemporary Musical Arts
Instrument: Cello, Violin, Voice
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