News

Since completing his studies in Piano Performance at New England Conservatory, Yang Bao ’15, ’17 MM has built a thriving creative career as an installation artist, filmmaker, pianist, and composer whose art is having a worldwide impact. Bao’s exceptional interdisciplinary creative projects, notably his sound installations, have earned him accolades and collaborations with massive brands, including commissions from Dior, Louis XIII, and Opus One Winery. On May 11, the Long Museum in Shanghai, China, will open MADLANDS, an exhibition created by Bao and his partner Wa Liu, featuring a new body of multimedia works.

Eighteen-year-old violinist Keila Wakao ’29, a current NEC Preparatory School student enrolling at the college this fall, will make her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut during the BSO's Opening Night Gala concert in September 2024 under music director Andris Nelsons. The BSO’s invitation follows her Grand Prize in the 2023 Boston Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition.

Israeli-Mexican-American cellist, educator, and NEC alumna Michal Shein ’08 MM teaches Foundations of Teaching Artistry, which lays the groundwork for NEC's popular new Teaching Artistry and Music Education concentration. Shein has built a flourishing career as both a sought-after performer and a master pedagogue in music programs across Boston and beyond.  She shares her expertise with the next generation of teaching artists in this new role at NEC. 

Alumnus Josh Baker ’14 has been appointed the new associate principal bassoon of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal bassoon of the Boston Pops, beginning in the 2024-25 season. 

World-renowned violinist and three-time Grammy Award winner Hilary Hahn hosted a master class to a packed house in New England Conservatory's Williams Hall featuring violin students Yirou Ronnie Zhang ’26, David Carreon ’25 MM, and Emma Boyd ’25.

Meet Haoyu Zheng ’24, a Composition and CMA double major, a Teaching Fellow through NEC's CPP office, and a mentee of Grammy-winner Stephanie Economou ’12 through the EM Mentorship Program. After graduation next month, Zheng will travel to Los Angeles to work as a composer assistant in Nathan Wang's studio before moving to Baltimore in the fall to start his Master's in film scoring at the Peabody Institute, where he earned a full scholarship. 

NOX Quartet, comprising NEC students violinists Ava Kenney ’27 and Eleanor Markey ’27, violist Yu-Heng Wang ’27, and cellist Ari Freed ’24, won second prize at the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition on April 20, 2024.

In faculty member Jill Gatlin's course Climate Change Culture and Performance Practicum, part of NEC's Integrative Curriculum, students gained an understanding of climate science, the sociology and geography of climate injustice, representations of climate change in art, and methods of engaging audiences across the arts — and this was just one-half of their coursework. They also acquired invaluable professional skills through the project-based Performance Practicum, in which they used their new knowledge to design, produce, market, and execute a live concert in collaboration with their peers titled What Washes Over: Sounds of Climate Grief and Action.

Tenor Josaphat Contreras ’22 MM has won a 2024-25 Fulbright-García Robles grant to study mariachi at the National Mariachi Conservatory in Mexico City. Contreras graduated from New England Conservatory with a Master of Music in Vocal Pedagogy, where he was chosen as the commencement speaker for his graduating class of 2022. 

Through an EM Grant and collaboration with Northeastern’s MIND Lab, Arun Asthagiri ’24 analyzed the brainwaves of 21 participants during live and recorded performances at NEC to understand how live music moves and connects us. He presented his groundbreaking findings in April at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society’s Annual Meeting.