Honors Ensembles Selected

NEC Announces 2012-13 Honors Ensembles in Classical, Jazz, and Contemporary Improvisation Categories

Seven Groups Chosen by Audition Will Give Jordan Hall Recitals, Receive Special Mentoring by Faculty Coaches

New England Conservatory has announced the 2012-13 Honors Ensembles in Classical, Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation categories. Chosen by audition,
groups that exhibit both extraordinary accomplishment and a commitment to work together are selected annually for this special program. An outside panel of jurors reviews the classical chamber music groups. NEC faculty select jazz and "wild card" groups. The chosen ensembles receive special mentoring and the guarantee of a Jordan Hall recital.

Judges this year for the classical ensembles were Lynn Chang, Terry Everson, and Michael Reynolds; for jazz, Dominique Eade and Ken Schaphorst; and for the Wild Card ensemble, Anthony Coleman, Eden MacAdam-Somer, and Hankus Netsky. The ensembles are listed below with their faculty coaches and recital dates.

Bright House Quartet (Wild Card Honors Ensemble)
Dominique Eade, faculty coach
Abby Swidler, violin
Jacob Means, mandolin
Daniel Pencer, saxophone/clarinet
Simon Willson, bass
2013-04-15 Jordan Hall concert shared with Full Salon ensemble

Full Salon (Jazz Honors Ensemble)
Frank Carlberg, faculty coach
Wyatt Palmer, saxophone
Evan Allen, piano
Henry Fraser, bass
Connor Baker, drums
2013-04-15 Jordan Hall concert shared with Bright House Quartet

Gioviale String Quartet
Paul Biss, faculty coach
Jeremias Sergiani-Velasquez, violin
Li-Mei Liang, violin
Ting-Ru Lai, viola
Kenny Lee, cello
2013-05-01 Jordan Hall Concert

Philharmonic Five
Jean Rife, faculty coach
Adrian Sanborn, flute
Timothy Feil, oboe
Hunter Bennett, clarinet
Brittney Walker, bassoon
Paige McGrath, horn
2013-05-12 Jordan Hall Concert

Spruce Quartet
Roger Tapping, faculty coach, Tapping will join the quartet as a guest artist on their Jordan Hall concert.
Alexi Kenney, violin
Caroline Goulding, violin
Ji Hee Han, viola
Tony Rymer, cello
2013-05-07 Jordan Hall Concert

Trio Auloi
Richard Svoboda, faculty coach
Paul Lueders, oboe
Michelle Keem, bassoon
Theresa Leung, piano
2013-05-14 Jordan Hall Concert

Veridis Quartet
Roger Tapping, faculty coach. Tapping will joion the quartet as a guest artist on their Jordan Hall concert.
Yoonhee Lee, violin
Laura Liu, violin
Steven Laraia, viola
Daniel Mitnitsky, cello
2013-05-13 Jordan Hall Concert

For further information, check the NEC Website   

ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY

Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory in Boston, MA 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 Programs and Partnerships Program, 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, jazz, and contemporary improvisation.

NEC presents more than 900 free concerts each year, many of them in Jordan Hall, its world- renowned, century-old, beautifully restored concert hall.  These programs range from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to jazz, contemporary improvisation, and opera scenes.  Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre or Paramount 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
Senior Communications Specialist
New England Conservatory
290 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
617-585-1143
Ellen.pfeifer@necmusic.edu