October 1, 2009
Dear Trustees and Overseers,
The school year is off to a brilliant start! In just a month's time, there's been so much good news that I wanted to share it with you.
Russell ShermanGreat Concerts: Our concert season has taken off. Russell Sherman's magnificent recital of Chopin and Debussy was the perfect celebratory event to inaugurate our new Steinway piano—an instrument the Boston Globe called a "magnificent investment." Hugh Wolff and the Philharmonia's stunning performance of the Brahms Third and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring thrilled another packed house just a week later. It was wonderful to see so many faculty and students in the audience cheering for their colleagues. Indeed, the hall was so full that I didn't have seat! If you couldn't make that concert, don't miss the Oct. 14 Chamber Orchestra program and Hugh Wolff's next appearance with the Philharmonia on Nov. 4. This is just about the most exhilarating orchestral playing to be heard in Boston.
And just about the most exhilarating chamber music in Boston takes place at First Monday at Jordan Hall, which is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. The next concert on Nov. 2 will present an eastern European perspective with music of Bacewicz, our own Kati Agócs, and Dvorak (everybody's favorite Piano Quintet).I love hearing concerts like these; they are a powerful reminder of why we're all here at NEC.
Jazz40 Media: As we approach our October celebration of Jazz40, you will be delighted at the media attention NEC is receiving. For example, you should check out Eric in the Evening, the nightly jazz show on WGBH-FM 89.7. On Oct. 12, Eric Jackson will host Ken Schaphorst and Hankus Netsky for the entire evening (8 p.m.—midnight) for conversation, performances by NEC players, and recordings all highlighting the week of events Oct. 18—24.
Student Honors: Pianist Charlie Albright, one of our Harvard/NEC students, has been named a 2010 Gilmore Young Artist. Only two Young Artists are chosen in alternating years, but they not selected through a competition. Rather, they are evaluated discreetly over a period of time and through numerous performances for their musicianship and performing abilities. Charlie receives a $15,000 grant to further his music education and/or career development, as well as a commission for a new solo piano work worth up to $10,000. Charlie is a student of Wha Kyun Byun.
Singer/songwriter Sarah Jarosz, a first year Contemporary Improvisation student, has already received some formidable press and media coverage for her own personal brand of Bluegrass music. She appeared last week on the season opening program of Prairie Home Companion and has been featured in NPR interviews and an O, the Oprah Magazine story. She also has a new CD out. Check out her terrific website at: www.sarahjarosz.com. Sarah is studying with Hankus Netsky and Dominique Eade.
George Li, extraordinary 14-year old pianist from our Preparatory School and NEC at Walnut Hill program, had a fabulous concert tour in Sweden this summer. Performing with the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, he was the subject of a profile on Swedish television and glowing reviews. Conductor Christian Lindberg was clearly blown away by George's performances. He wrote in his blog: “I have just opened the season of the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, and thanks to the pianist George Li from Boston, an accompanying experience (Saint-Saens G-Minor Concerto) became one of my musical high points this year. George is not only an incredibly young and talented pianist, he is a musician, an artist like few. His power, his poetry, his humor, rhythm and bounce makes one realize that music is divine!"
Rachel Roberts, inaugural director of Entrepreneurial Musicianship, has joined us from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, where she was Alison Vulgamore's right hand and the director of the grand opening events at the ASO's Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park. She is charged with turning our Entrepreneurship vision into reality.
Finally, our Abreu Fellows program will launch October 13. We have 10 fabulous young musicians who will spend a year at NEC—with a two-month residency in Venezuela—developing and honing the skills they will need to lead El Sistema-like nucleos in the United States and beyond. You will have an opportunity to meet one or two of the Fellows at the board meeting on Oct. 23. Bravo to Artistic Director and Dean Mark Churchill, Managing Director Stephanie Scherpf, the national El Sistema USA advisory board, and the Abreu Fellows faculty for putting this program on the fast track.
Our Campus Master Plan is coming into focus and I look forward to involving all of you in discussions and presentations over the next several months.
I look forward to sharing with you all the great things happening at NEC in the coming weeks and months.
Very warm regards,
Tony Woodcock
DUKE ELLINGTON