Highlights include residencies by John Zorn, Luciana Souza, Fred Hersch and Dave Holland; Sun Ra Centennial Concert; Jazz and the Struggle for Freedom and Equality; A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall featuring CI Students; Ran Blake’s annual Film Noir Concert; Faculty Recitals; and In the Mix – 75 one-hour concerts by exceptional student ensembles
New England Conservatory’s internationally renowned Jazz Studies and Contemporary Improvisation Departments announce over 100 free concerts for the 2013-2014 season. Highlights include a Sun Ra Centennial Concert; the Music of John Zorn culminating his NEC residency; the Music of Luciana Souza who performs with NEC students at the end of her 4-day residency; the Music of Dave Holland, who leads NEC students in a performance of his music; Jazz and the Struggle for Freedom and Equality featuring some of the landmark compositions created to combat racism and bigotry; Ran Blake’s annual Film Noir Concert, this year featuring music inspired by Otto Preminger’s Laura and other films; In the Mix, 75 one-hour concerts featuring exceptional student ensembles from the Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation departments, and faculty recitals by NEC luminaries including Eden MacAdam-Somer, Frank Carlberg, Tanya Kalmanovitch, David Eure, Vanessa Morris and Robert Labaree. All concerts are free and open to the public. For more information, log on to: or call 617-585-1260.
Fall 2013
All concerts at 8 p.m. except In the Mix events which take place at 7, 8 and 9 p.m., each with a different ensemble.
Tues. Sept. 3 Opening Night curated by Eden MacAdam-Somer Brown Hall
The CI department opens the academic year with a faculty
showcase, featuring performances by Ran Blake, Hankus Netsky,
Anthony Coleman, Dominique Eade, Eden MacAdam-Somer,
Jerry Leake, and many others.
Thurs. Sept. 12 Eden MacAdam-Somer Walking Between the Worlds Jordan Hall
Eden MacAdam-Somer is one of the most exciting and versatile
young musicians performing today. She’s been hailed by the New York Times as
reflecting “astonishing virtuosity and raw expression,” and her music transcends
genre through soaring violin and fiddling, vocals, and percussive dance, weaving
in and out of the many cultures that have formed her experience. In this concert, MacAdam-Somer uses her entire body as a sounding board, performing original works and re-compositions for solo performer, with guitarist and banjo player Larry Unger (her duo partner in Notorious), and students and faculty from the New England Conservatory.
Thurs. Oct. 17 Music of Vaughn Monroe + Billy Eckstine Jordan Hall
NEC Jazz Orchestra directed by Ken Schaphorst
Vaughn Monroe came to the New England Conservatory in 1935
to pursue his dream of becoming an opera singer. Five years later years he
formed his own big band in Boston and began recording a series of hits for RCA
Victor. Although he only studied at NEC for one semester, Vaughn Monroe’s
archives were donated to the school after his death. This will be the first concert
featuring that donated music. Another noted vocalist and brass player, Billy
Eckstine, led one of the most influential big bands in the history of jazz, featuring
such giants as Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Fats
Navarro, Charlie Parker and Sarah Vaughn. The NEC Jazz Orchestra will
perform Eckstine’s hits, including “I Want to Talk About You” and “Jelly, Jelly,” as
well as the early bebop classics “Cool Breeze” and “Oo Bop Sh’bam.”
Sun. Oct. 27 Pianist/Composer Frank Carlberg Faculty Recital Jordan Hall
Wed. Oct. 30 The Music of Fred Hersch Brown Hall
NEC grad and faculty member Fred Hersch will perform
with NEC students in the culmination of his 4-day residency.
Tues. Nov. 5 9th Annual Film Noir Concert — Preminger’s Laura and more Jordan Hall
Pianist/composer/improviser Ran Blake and trombonist/ filmmaker Aaron Hartley bring an extra dimension to Hallowe’en with specimens of that most haunting genre, film noir. Now an annual NEC tradition in its 9th year, this year’s concert is based on the best-known specimens of the genre: Laura, Whirlpool (Otto Preminger, 1944/1949), and Leave Her to Heaven (Stahl, 1945). Students and faculty from NEC’s Contemporary Improvisation department perform along with scenes from the film, creating a real-time original score as they respond to the drama through improvisations, recompositions, and reinterpretations of David Raksin and Alfred Newman’s original music. Members of Aaron Hartley’s Storyboard Noir Ensemble play a key role in this concert.
Mon. Nov. 11 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Tues. Nov. 12 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Wed. Nov. 13 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Thur. Nov. 14 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Mon. Nov. 18 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Tues. Nov. 19 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Wed. Nov. 20 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Thurs. Nov. 21 Music of Dave Holland Brown Hall
Visiting artist-in-residence bassist/composer Holland will lead
NEC students in a performance of his music.
Thurs. Nov. 21 David Eure NEC Prep Faculty Recital Jordan Hall
Mon. Nov. 25 NEC Jazz Composers Ensemble Brown Hall
Tues. Nov. 26 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Mon. Dec. 2 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Tues. Dec. 3 Jazz Composers Workshop Orchestra directed by Frank Carlberg Brown Hall
Wed. Dec. 4 Music of Luciana Souza Brown Hall
NEC grad and Grammy Award winning Brazilian vocalist and composer
Souza will perform with NEC students in the culmination of her 4-day residency.
Mon. Dec. 9 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Tues. Dec. 10 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Wed. Dec. 11 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Wed. Dec. 11 NEC Youth Jazz Orchestra directed by Ken Schaphorst Brown Hall
Thurs. Dec. 12 Music of Ken Schaphorst with NEC Jazz Orchestra Jordan Hall
Chair of Jazz Studies Ken Schaphorst will direct the NEC Jazz
Orchestra in the performance of his original music for big band.
Winter/Spring 2014
All concerts at 8 p.m. except In the Mix events which take place at 7, 8 and 9 p.m., each with a different ensemble.
Mon. Jan. 27 Jazz Faculty Spotlight Concert Jordan Hall
Sun. Feb. 2 Violist/Improvisor Tanya Kalmanovitch Faculty Recital Jordan Hall
Tues. Feb. 18 A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall Jordan Hall
CI students and faculty use original works and recompositions
to explore our identities as artists in relation to the struggles, challenges, and
social issues that we come up against every day. Following in the tradition of
such greats as Bob Dylan, Pete and Peggy Seeger, Abbey Lincoln,
John Coltrane, Dmitri Shostakovitch, Amkoullel, and Arya Aramnejad,
we will turn ourselves and our communities inside-out, examining
the way that music shapes and is shaped by our place in the world around us.
Thurs. Feb. 27 Jazz and the Struggle for Freedom and Equality Jordan Hall
Ken Schaphorst leads the NEC Jazz Orchestra in some of the
landmark compositions created to combat racism and bigotry. Selections
include Charles Mingus’ Haitian Fight Song, Carla Bley’s Dreamkeeper as
well as excerpts from Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown and Beige.
Thurs. March 13 Beethoven the Improviser with CI Students MFA, Boston
Wed. March 26 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Thurs. March 27 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Thurs. March 27 Robert Labaree Faculty Recital Jordan Hall
Performing with his band Dünya and special guests.
Mon. March 31 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Tues. April 1 Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation Honors Ensembles Jordan Hall
Wed. April 2 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Thurs. April 3 Jazz: The Next Generation Brown Hall
Mon. April 7 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Tues. April 8 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Wed. April 9 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Thurs. April 10 NEC Jazz Composers Ensemble Brown Hall
Mon. April 14 Music of John Zorn – Curated by Anthony Coleman Jordan Hall
This concert will feature NEC’s Contemporary Improvisation
students as the culmination of Zorn’s residency at NEC.
Tues. April 15 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Wed. April 16 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Thurs. April 17 Sun Ra Centennial Concert Jordan Hall
Ken Schaphorst leads the NEC Jazz Orchestra in a celebration
of the 100th Anniversary of Sun Ra’s arrival day with many of his classic compositions including “A Call for All Demons,” “Brainville,” “Planet Earth,” “Saturn” and “Space is the Place.”
Mon. April 21 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Tues. April 22 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Mon. April 28 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Tues. April 29 Jazz Composers Workshop Orchestra directed by Frank Carlberg Jordan Hall
Wed. April 30 In the Mix Pierce Hall
Tues. May 20 NEC Youth Jazz Orchestra directed by Ken Schaphorst Jordan Hall
Friday, May 30 Vanessa Morris NEC Prep Faculty Recital Brown Hall
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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