New England Conservatory presents a special evening of three concerts featuring top student musicians on Tuesday, April 22. Performing, as part of the conservatory’s In the Mix series, are the Middle Eastern, Jewish Music and American Roots ensembles. Performances take place at 7, 8 and 9 p.m. at New England Conservatory’s Pierce Hall on the first floor of NEC’s St. Botolph Building, 241 St. Botolph Street, Boston. They are free and open to the public. Go to www.necmusic.edu or call 617-585-1260 for more details.

These performances are part of 35 In the Mix concerts featuring NEC’s Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation Ensembles, which take place over 12 evenings at NEC. Each ensemble meets weekly and is coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.

The concerts on Tuesday, April 22 include:

7 p.m. Middle Eastern Ensemble coached by Amir Milstein
Sofia Kriger, voice; Jinhee Jung, flute; Zoe Christiansen, clarinet; Jennifer Allen, trumpet; Lukas Pappenfusscline, voice; Ben Andrews, violin; Patrick M’Gonigle, violin;
Kirsten Lamb, bass; Utar Artun, piano, percussion.

8 p.m. American Roots Ensemble coached by Eden MacAdam-Somer
Rebecca Sullivan, voice; Patrick M’Gonigle, fiddle; Marnen Laibow-Koser, fiddle/viola;
Hyungyu Kang, accordion; Sam Fribush, piano/banjo; Alexandra Greenwald, piano/voice; Brian McAnally, bass; Alex Monti, guitar.

9 p.m. Jewish Music Ensemble coached by Hankus Netsky
Sofia Kriger, voice; Rebecca Sullivan, voice; Lukas Papenfusscline, voice; Elise Roth, voice; Deepti Navaratna, voice; Ben Andrews, violin; Gabe Gladstein, violin; Katie McShane, cello; Matt Barrett, flute; Rafiel Horowitz, oboe; Kody Glazer, trombone; Mariel Austin, trombone; Sam Fribush, piano/mandolin/steel pan; Jeremiah Klarman, piano.

NEC’s Jazz Studies Department was the first fully accredited jazz studies program at a music conservatory. The brainchild of Gunther Schuller, who moved quickly to incorporate jazz into the curriculum when he became President of the Conservatory in 1967, the Jazz Studies faculty has included six MacArthur “genius” grant recipients (three currently teaching) and four NEA Jazz Masters, and alumni that reads like a who’s who of jazz. Now in its 44th year, the program has spawned numerous Grammy winning composers and performers. As Mike West writes in JazzTimes: “NEC’s jazz studies department is among the most acclaimed and successful in the world; so says the roster of visionary artists that have comprised both its faculty and alumni.” The program currently has 114 students; 67 undergraduate and 47 graduate students from 12 countries.

Founded in 1972 by musical visionaries Gunther Schuller and Ran Blake, New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation program is “one of the most versatile in all of music education” (JazzEd). Now in its 41st year, the program trains composer/performer/ improvisers to broaden their musical palettes and develop unique voices. It is unparalleled in its structured approach to ear training and its emphasis on singing, memorization, harmonic sophistication, aesthetic integrity, and stylistic openness. Under Blake’s guidance for its first twenty-six years, the program expanded its offerings under subsequent chairs Allan Chase and Hankus Netsky. Alumni include Don Byron, John Medeski, Jacqueline Schwab, and Aoife O’Donovan; faculty include Carla Kihlstedt, Blake, Dominique Eade, and Anthony Coleman. “A thriving hub of musical exploration,” (Jeremy Goodwin, Boston Globe), the program currently has 43 undergrad and graduate students from 14 countries.

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