News & Spotlights

Neuroscientist, musician, and technologist Arun Asthagiri '20 Prep, '24 has participated in a study on how the brain reacts to live music as a collaboratory project between NEC and Northeastern University.Arun is an interdisciplinary scientist and musician who has played the violin for nearly two decades, earning a Bachelor of Music from NEC before pursuing a PhD at Northeastern University’s Music

Dr. J  LanYe’ '68 MM, DMA, explores the powerful role of music in mapping escape routes to freedom from chattel slavery. She will return to Lakeside Chautauqua this Juneteenth to share groundbreaking research on the African American spiritual. She will introduce newly uncovered decoding methods that reveal how these songs functioned as sophisticated strategic tools in the resistance to and dismant

Thirteen years after founding Castle of our Skins, NEC alumni Ashleigh Gordon ’08 MM and Anthony Green ’08 MM have prepared the organization to reclaim a vital artistic space in Boston and further empower Black artists far beyond.In mid-May, the nonprofit organization, which “centers Black arts, culture, and history,” presented a concert at the Goethe Institut called The Castle We Built, featuring

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,