2024 EM Alumni Award Recipients

Published on March 21, 2024

Congratulations to this year's EM Alumni Award recipients, Lisa Linde '98 MM, Ross Wightman '18 MM, and Bree Fotheringham '23 MM. 

Lisa is the founder of Jazzhers, an organization committed to shaping the future of jazz by helping young women and non-binary musicians become connected and feel empowered by the jazz community. This award win will support a two day honor band festival happening later this year.

Ross is the inventor of his instrument, Fiddle Henge. Fiddle Henge consists of four motorized violins mounted on a 26” bass drum via customized 3D printed parts that are bowed by a central spinning acrylic disk. Funding from this award will be supporting the creation of custom cases so Ross can take Fiddle Henge worldwide.

Bree’s project will launch the Salt Lake Chamber Orchestra, Utah’s first 16 member democratically led orchestra. The Salt Lake Chamber Orchestra provides concert programming that is tailored to the 21st century audience through creative, thematic, and engaging performances in nontraditional performance settings.

The EM Alumni Award provides funding and support for the aspiring projects of NEC alumni. Sponsored by the Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Advancement & Engagement teams, the award is granted annually to NEC graduates and includes a $1,000 stipend, along with project consulting from the Entrepreneurial Musicianship team.

Congratulations, all!

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