April 20, 2011
NEC Students, Faculty Present Japan Benefit Concert, May 1 in Jordan Hall
New England Conservatory College and Preparatory students join forces with faculty, A Far Cry, and other NEC-affiliated musicians to present a benefit concert in support of Japan, which continues to struggle with outcomes of the devastating March earthquake and tsunami. The performance will take place May 1 at 8 p.m. in NEC’s Jordan Hall. NEC faculty members performing include Paul Biss, Lucy Chapman, Kim Kashkashian, Laurence Lesser, Lisa Saffer, and Masuko Ushioda.
NEC's relationship with Japan dates back to the first decade of the school's existence and the Meiji era opening of Japan to the West. In the 1870s, NEC faculty Luther Mason traveled to Japan at the invitation of the Japanese government, bringing his method of voice instruction to 30,000 schools. Known as "Mason-song," this was the educational grounding of Japanese students who later made the trip to Boston to enroll at NEC.
Admission to the concert is free. Donations will be collected in the lobby. We accept cash and checks. Checks should be made payable to one of the following recipients and marked "Japan Disaster Relief" in the memo line:
Consulate-General of Japan
Donation will not be tax-deductible.
Japan Society of Boston
This is tax-deductible.
Program:
J.S. Bach: from Suite for Solo Cello No. 3 in C Major, BWV1009
Joy Natsuru Yanai, cello
Keiko Abe: Wind in the Bamboo Grove
Takehiko Mochizuki, marimba
Emi Inaba Traveller
Alyssa Griggs, flute
Devin Ulibarri, guitar
Maurice Ravel: first movement from String Quartet
Yuki Beppu, Miki Nagahara, violin
Becky Kalish, viola
Keith Williams, cello
Hisatada Otaka: Midare:Capriccio for Two Pianos
Yoko Kida, Bretton Hara Brown
Osvaldo Golijov: Tenebrae for String Orchestra
A Far Cry
Robert Schumann: Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70
Asako Furuoya, oboe
Eliko Akahori, piano
Toru Takemitsu: Distance de fée
Masuko Ushioda, violin
Yoko Kida, piano
Kosaku Yamada: selected songs
Aka ton-bo (Red Dragonflies)
Hakone hachi-li (Hakone Packhorse Driver's Song)
Kono michi (This Road)
Lisa Saffer, soprano
Bretton Hara Brown, piano
Felix Mendelssohn: final movement from Octet
Mari Lee, Daniel Koo, Mariko Takashima, Lucy Chapman, violin
Kim Kashkashian, Paul Biss, viola
Laurence Lesser, Joy Natsuru Yanai, cello
For further information, check the NEC Website or call the NEC Concert Line at 617-585-1122. NEC’s Jordan Hall, Brown Hall, Williams Hall and the Keller Room are located at 30 Gainsborough St., corner of Huntington Ave. Pierce Hall is located at 241 St. Botolph St. between Gainsborough and Mass Ave.
ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY
Recognized nationally and New internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 720 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC trained musicians and faculty.
The oldest independent school of music in the United States, NEC was founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee. Its curriculum is remarkable for its wide range of styles and traditions. On the college level, it features training in classical, jazz, Contemporary Improvisation, world and early music. Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing Education, and Community Collaboration Programs, it provides training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, adults, and seniors. Through its outreach projects, it allows young musicians to engage with non-traditional audiences in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—thereby bringing pleasure to new listeners and enlarging the universe for classical music and jazz.
NEC presents more than 600 free concerts each year, many of them in Jordan Hall, its world- renowned, 106-year old, beautifully restored concert hall. These programs range from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to jazz and opera scenes. Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston.
NEC is co-founder and educational partner of From the Top, a weekly radio program that celebrates outstanding young classical musicians from the entire country. With its broadcast home in Jordan Hall, the show is now carried by National Public Radio and is heard on 250 stations throughout the United States.
Contact: Ellen Pfeifer
Public Relations Manager
New England Conservatory
290 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
617-585-1143
Ellen.Pfeifer@necmusic.edu
SARAH VAUGHAN