We would like to thank all A Feast of Music 2013 supporters for making it one of NEC's most successful events to date. Financially, we were able to exceed our goal and raise more than $740,000 - enough to provide scholarships for 37 NEC students! 99% of our students depend on some sort of financial aid. The funds raised this night will help make NEC's world-class music education a realizable dream for many.
A Feast of Music has been acknowledged in the media as one of Boston’s top parties each year. It also celebrates a great cause: the education of musicians. This gala event brings together 450 of the city’s most prominent business leaders, music lovers, and cultural philanthropists to benefit New England Conservatory’s General Scholarship Fund.
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Here's what you missed:
February 23, 2013
Grand Ballroom
Fairmont Copley Plaza
Boston
6pm
The evening features a unique format of alternating courses of spectacular cuisine and fine wines, followed by virtuoso musical performances by our wonderful NEC students.
For 2013, A Feast of Music celebrated the excitement and diversity of American music of such composers as Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, and Duke Ellington. In keeping with the American music theme, this year's menu also focused on Americana.
Celebrity Chef: Boston's Own Lydia Shire of Scampo and Towne Stove & Spirits
With her newest Boston restaurant, Towne Stove & Spirits, Lydia Shire's passion for excellence and culinary talent is evident in all that she does. Scampo, also based in Boston, was recognized by Esquire magazine as one of the “Best New Restaurants” in America in 2008, as was Towne in 2011. James Beard Award-winning Scampo defies tradition with its Italian-inspired cuisine, unrestrained by borders and inspired by flavors of the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Born in Brookline, and raised by artist parents, Lydia grew up learning the importance of bringing quality to everything you do in life. At age four, Shire peeled garlic alongside her father as he cut out recipes from The New York Times. Her first professional position was slicing paté and opening oysters as the “salad girl” at Boston’s revered Maison Robert. In 1971, Shire attended London's Cordon Bleu Cooking School, which set her on a path of success throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including the opening of James Beard Award-winner BIBA (Back in Boston Again).
In 2001, Shire sent a shock through Boston’s culinary scene as she took over Locke-Ober. In 2003, Shire impressed Bostonians once more with her reincarnation of BIBA (Back in Boston Again), transforming it into Excelsior. Four years later, in 2007, Shire opened Blue Sky in the beloved York Beach, Maine. Here, a true Maine setting and New England menu allows Shire to showcase her obsession with lobster, with nine unique dishes on the dinner menu featuring the crustacean. Shire lives in Weston, with her husband.
Event Chairs
Joseph F. Bower (Life Trustee) and Elizabeth F. Potter
Nancy Bern (Overseer) and Murray Bern
Committee Members
Hope Lincoln Baker (Visitor)
Lisa A. and Thomas W. Blumenthal (Trustee)
Willa Bodman
Suki de Bragança (Trustee)
Peggy Dray (Fairmont Copley Plaza)
Tom Erickson (Overseer)
Corinne Ferguson (Trustee)
Barbara Glauber (Overseer)
Deborah R. Hanley (Visitor)
Setsuko Hori (Overseer)
Amy Hunter
Harold I. Pratt (Life Trustee)
Sandy Righter (Visitor)
Margarita Rudyak (Overseer)
Katie Schuller-Bleakie (Life Overseer)
Deborah Smith (Overseer)
Susan Thonis
Christina Tiemann (Visitor)
Frank Wisneski (Trustee)
Joan H. Yogg (Trustee)
Lane D. Young (Trustee)
Our Sponsors
New England Conservatory thanks these organizations for their generous support of A Feast of Music 2013. Watch this space as we add new sponsors.
AAA Southern New England
Aramark Higher Education
Atlantic Power and Light
Bellingham Metal Works LLC
Boston Private Bank & Trust Company
Boston Steel & Mfg. Co.
Cabot Corporation
Cambridge Trust Company
Capone Iron Corporation
Cavalieri Construction Co., Inc.
The Charles Hotel
Chubb Personal Insurance
Coca-Cola Refreshments USA
Cox Engineering Company
EMR Drywall, Inc.
E.M. Duggan
Fairmont Copley Plaza
Firestone & Parsons
Francis R. Doran Insurance Agency
Goodwin Proctor
Granite City Electric
Guardian Security and Protection
Loews Corporation
Mt. Auburn Hospital
The Mentor Network
NER Construction Management, Inc.
Office Solutions
One Step Forward Foundation
Ropes & Gray
Shawmut Design & Construction
Sullivan & McLaughlin
NFP Thorbahn
Tishman Construction
Titan Roofing
Welch & Forbes
West Mechanical, Inc.
Willis Insurance
2013-04-16
SARAH VAUGHAN