Pioneering New England Conservatory Jazz Studies Department Announces 2022-23 Season
The New England Conservatory’s internationally acclaimed Jazz Studies Department announces its 2022-2023 season with a concert series featuring NEC students performing with faculty and guest artists.
Highlights include NEC Guest Artist in Residence, NEA bassist/composer and jazz master Dave Holland performing with students; a concert in residence of the singer Michael Mayo featuring a live vocal loop; and other residencies to come.
The NEC Jazz Orchestra will present four concerts: one with guest clarinetist Don Byron, one focused on music for voice, one focused on jazz and the struggle for freedom and equality, and another with special guest Jim McNeely featuring music by Thad Jones. There will also be dozens of Jazz Ensemble concerts featuring rising star students.
The concerts are free and open to the public. Please check the NEC website to find out which events will be livestreamed or aired at a later date. For more information, please visit https://cloud.broadwayworld.com/rec/ticketclick.cfm?fromlink=2190442®id=10&articlelink=https%3A%2F%2Fnecmusic.edu%2F?utm_source=BWW2022&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign= article&utm_content=bottombuybutton1concerts .
FALL 2022
Wednesday August 31 | Jam Session Jazz
8 p.m., Brown room.
Sunday September 18 – Thursday September 22 | Residence Dave Holland
Thursday September 22 | The music of Dave Holland
7:30 p.m., Brown Room
Master bassist Dave Holland performs with NEC Jazz Students.
Thursday October 20 | NEC Jazz Orchestra presents Crossing the Boundaries: CMA50
7:30 p.m., Jordan Room
Ken Schaphorst conducts the NEC Jazz Orchestra in repertoire ranging from his own interpretations of film noir to music inspired by various world traditions and improvisation, with Don Byron on clarinet. The program will include a tribute to NEC george russell plus arrangements and compositions by Anthony Braxton, Melba Liston, Randy Weston and others.
Monday October 31 – Thursday November 3 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Three distinct student ensembles, coached by the faculty, perform each evening at 7:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m., and 9:00 p.m.
Thursday November 3 | Michael Mayo Residence concert
7:30 p.m., Williams Room
Alum NEC Michael Mayo will share his unique approach to solo performance with live vocal loops, featuring NEC vocalists and instrumentalists.
Monday November 7 – Thursday November 10 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Monday, November 14 | Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Wednesday November 16 – Thursday November 17 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Monday November 21 – Tuesday November 22 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Monday, November 28 – Thursday, December 1 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Monday December 5 – Wednesday December 7 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Thursday, December 8 | NEC Jazz Orchestra presents If You Could See Me Now: Music for Voice
7:30 p.m., Jordan Room
This concert will feature music composed and arranged for voice and jazz orchestra, from traditional jazz to more contemporary styles. Selections will include music from Calloway CabinTadd Dameron, Gil Evans, John Hollenbeck, Marie-Schneider and Wanderhorn Billy.
Monday December 12 – Thursday December 15 | Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Tuesday, December 13 | Jazz Composers Workshop Orchestra
7:30 p.m., Brown Room
SPRING 2023
Tuesday, February 7 | Spotlight on Jazz and CMA Teachers
7:30 p.m., Jordan Room
Tuesday, February 28 | Jazz Composers’ Workshop Orchestra Residency
7:30 p.m., Jordan Room
Thursday March 2 | NEC Jazz Orchestra presents Jazz and the struggle for freedom and equality
7:30 p.m., Jordan Room
The NEC Jazz Orchestra will perform landmark compositions and arrangements created to combat racism and bigotry. Selections will include “Haitian Fight Song” by Charles Mingus and selections from Duke Ellington‘s “Black, Brown and Beige.” NEC alumnus Omar Thomas will conduct his own composition, “We Will Know: an LGBT Civil Rights Piece in Four Movements.”
Monday March 27 – Wednesday March 29 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Thursday March 30 | Concert by the Jazz Ensemble and CMA Honors
8 p.m., Jordan Room
Monday April 3 – Thursday April 6 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Monday April 10 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Wednesday April 12 – Thursday April 13 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Monday April 17 – Wednesday April 19 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Thursday April 20 | NEC Jazz Orchestra presents Groove Merchant: The Music of Thad Jones
7:30 p.m., Jordan Room
Pianist and composer Jim McNeely will join the NEC Jazz Orchestra to celebrate the music of legendary composer and arranger Thad Jones, born 100 years ago on March 28, 1923.
Thursday April 20 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Tuesday April 25 | Jazz Composers Workshop Orchestra Concert
7:30 p.m., Jordan Room
Thursday April 27 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
Monday May 1 – Thursday May 4 | Jazz ensemble concerts
7-10 p.m., Salle Eben Jordan Ensemble
The first fully accredited jazz studies program at a music conservatory, the NEC Jazz Studies Department was established by Gunther Schullerwho quickly incorporated jazz into the curriculum when he became president of the Conservatory in 1967. Schuller hired Carl Atkins to head the department, along with george russell, Jaki Byard and Ran Blake. Among the “world’s most acclaimed and successful” (JazzTimes), the program has spawned many Grammy-winning composers and performers and has an alumni list that reads like a who’s who of jazz, while the faculty included six MacArthur “genius” scholarships. recipients (three are currently teaching) and four NEA Jazz Masters. The basis of his teaching and his success begins with the mentoring relationship developed in the courses between the students and the eminent artists of the faculty. In addition to its two jazz orchestras, the small ensembles led by NEC faculty reflect the Conservatory’s inclusive approach to music-making, with groups focusing on free jazz, early jazz, gospel music, Brazilian music and songwriting, as well as more traditional approaches to jazz. performance. Each jazz student is encouraged to find their own musical voice while connecting and collaborating with a vibrant community of creative musicians, and ultimately transforming the world through the power of music.
Founded by Eben Tourjée in Boston, Massachusetts in 1867, the New England Conservatory (NEC) represents a model school of music that combines the best of European tradition with American innovation. This independent conservatory sits at the center of Boston’s rich cultural history and musical life, presenting concerts at the famous Jordan Room on Huntington Avenue, known as Boston’s Avenue of the Arts. As a nonprofit institution that educates and trains musicians of all ages, NEC cultivates a diverse and vibrant community, providing music students from more than 40 countries with performance opportunities and high-caliber training from 225 internationally renowned artist-teachers and scholars. . Powered by deep artistry, bold creativity, and deep compassion, NEC seeks to amplify the impact of musicians in advancing our common humanity, and empowers students to face today’s changing world, equipped with the tools and confidence to forge multidimensional lives of artistic depth and relevance.
NEC pushes the boundaries of music making and teaching through college-level training in classical, jazz, and contemporary improvisation. Through unique interdisciplinary programs such as Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Community Performances & Partnerships, NEC empowers students to create their own musical opportunities. As part of NEC’s mission to make lifelong music education accessible to all, the Preparatory School and Continuing Education School provide training and performance opportunities for children, pre-school students -academics and adults.
