New England Conservatory’s Jazz Studies & Contemporary Improvisation Departments Present
Nearly 100 Free Performances for 2016-2017 Season
September 2016 — May 2017
Highlights include: How to Say Goodbye: Music of Ken Schaphorst and Donny McCaslin, the music of Argentinean big band composer Guillermo Klein, the music of country superstar George Jones, annual Film Noir concert featuring Hitchcock’s Vertigo, NEC Jazz Orchestra in Music of Tadd Dameron,
Cardew’s The Great Learning directed by Anthony Coleman
New England Conservatory’s internationally renowned Jazz Studies and Contemporary Improvisation Departments announce nearly 100 free concerts for the 2016-2017 season. Highlights include a tribute to country songwriter George Jones, a musical reimagining of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, a concert of music by Tadd Dameron, Cardew’s The Great Learning; and In the Mix, 81 one-hour concerts featuring exceptional student ensembles from the Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation departments.
All concerts are free and open to the public. For more information, log on to necmusic.edu or call 617-585-1122.
FALL 2016
Tuesday, September 6 – CI Opening Night Concert – Brown Hall
Directed by CI Co-Chair Eden MacAdam-Somer. NEC's groundbreaking Contemporary Improvisation Department kicks off the academic year with a concert featuring CI faculty.
Thursday, September 15 – Music of Dave Holland – Brown Hall
An evening of music by the composer, bandleader, and bassist.
Thursday, October 20 – NEC Jazz Orchestra performs Music of Guillermo Klein – Jordan Hall
Guillermo Klein became associated with Smalls in New York City, where he established a weekly engagement with his influential 17-piece ensemble that incorporated elements of jazz combined with musical traditions from his native Argentina. Klein later scaled the band down to a more streamlined 11-piece unit that began to be known as Los Guachos. The band continued to develop with the help of residencies at Smalls and, later, the Jazz Standard. The NEC Jazz Orchestra will draw on music from Klein’s large and small ensembles.
November 8-10, 16-17, 21-22, 28-30 & December 1, 5, 7, 12
CI Salon Series & Jazz In the Mix – Pierce/Brown Halls
7, 8 and 9 p.m.
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with the CI Salon Series and In the Mix – one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student jazz ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC's renowned faculty.
Monday, November 14 – You Done Me Wrong: The Music of George Jones – Jordan Hall
Under the direction of Assistant Chair Eden MacAdam-Somer, the Contemporary Improvisation Department presents an evening celebrating the life and music of legendary country singer George Jones. Known as "one of the finest interpretive singers who ever lifted a microphone," Jones was inspired by Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers, and collaborated with such greats as Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, and Merle Haggard. CI faculty, students, and special guests will share their interpretations of music by these artists, so expect a whole lot more than country music on the program!
Tuesday, November 15 – NEC Gospel Ensemble; Jazz Composers Ensemble – Brown Hall
This concert showcases two of NEC’s exceptional student ensembles. The NEC Gospel Ensemble, coached by Nedelka Prescod, explores contemporary gospel music as it is currently being created and performed. This ensemble works with repertoire composed within the last 20 years of contemporary gospel music and highlights key composers and choir leaders.
The NEC Jazz Composers Ensemble, coached by Jorrit Dijsktra, gives student composers the opportunity to develop their work for small jazz ensemble through rehearsal and performance.
Thursday, December 8 – How to Say Goodbye: Music of Ken Schaphorst and Donny McCaslin – Jordan Hall
The NEC Jazz Orchestra will help celebrate the release of Ken Schaphorst Big Band: How to Say Goodbye with the help of NEC faculty member Donny McCaslin. The concert will draw on compositions from Schaphorst’s most recent recording, along with his arrangements of the music of Donny McCaslin.
Tuesday, December 13 – Jazz Composers’ Workshop Orchestra – Brown Hall
The Jazz Composers’ Workshop Orchestra is devoted to rehearsing and performing works by NEC Jazz Composition students. Coached by pianist/composer and NEC jazz faculty member Frank Carlberg, the ensemble gives its composers the opportunity to learn how to rehearse and conduct a band, as well as have their works heard.
SPRING 2016
Monday, January 30 – Jazz & CI Faculty Spotlight – Jordan Hall
Directed by Greta DiGiorgio. Featuring NEC Jazz and CI faculty.
Tuesday, February 21 – Film Noir: Vertigo – Jordan Hall
Co-producers Aaron Hartley and Ran Blake present their 12th Annual Film Noir project, featuring students and faculty of NEC's groundbreaking Contemporary Improvisation department. This year's performance explores Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, heightened by new music created by NEC musicians and special guests.
Thursday, March 2 – If You Could See Me Now: The Music of Tadd Dameron featuring the NEC Jazz Orchestra – Jordan Hall
Tadd Dameron was the most influential composer of the bebop era. He also wrote for the big bands of Count Basie, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, and Jimmy Lunceford. This concert, performed by the NEC Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Ken Schaphorst, will include the performance of many of Dameron’s most well-known compositions, including “Good Bait,” “Hot House,” “If You Could See Me Now,” “Our Delight” and “Lady Bird.”
Monday, March 27 – Jazz/Wildcard Concert – Jordan Hall
Each year, an audition committee selects a few exceptional students to represent NEC in the Honors Jazz and Wild Card ensembles.
April 3-5, 10-13, 18-19, 26-27 & May 1, 3-4 – CI Salon Series & Jazz In the Mix – Pierce/Brown Halls
7, 8 and 9 p.m.
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with the CI Salon Series and In the Mix – one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student jazz ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC's renowned faculty.
Thursday, April 6 – NEC Gospel Ensemble; NEC Jazz Composers Ensemble – Brown Hall
This concert showcases two of NEC’s exceptional student ensembles. The NEC Gospel Ensemble, coached by Nedelka Prescod, explores contemporary gospel music as it is currently being created and performed. This ensemble works with repertoire composed within the last 20 years of contemporary gospel music and highlights key composers and choir leaders.
The NEC Jazz Composers Ensemble, coached by Jorrit Dijsktra, gives student composers the opportunity to develop their work for small jazz ensemble through rehearsal and performance.
Monday, April 17 – The Shooting Gallery: Faculty Recital by Eden MacAdam-Somer – Jordan Hall
Performed by MacAdam-Somer and members of the Hartford based chamber music non-profit, Cuatro Puntos, this concert gives voice to the struggles of children confronted with violence in all parts of the world. The program centers around The Shooting Gallery, a new work by MacAdam-Somer, inspired by Czech surrealist Toyen's lithograph series of the same name, featuring twelve
images of war through the eyes of a child. The concert will also showcase a new work by British composer Sadie Harrison, based on the experiences of Syrian refugees.
Thursday, April 20 – Child’s Play: The Music of Eddie Sauter and Bill Finegan performed by the NEC Jazz Orchestra – Jordan Hall
The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra was one of the most creative large jazz ensembles in the history of jazz. Both writers were active during the 1940’s, writing for the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Glen Miller. When they formed the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra in 1952, they expanded the typical big band instrumentation to include instruments like harp, timpani, and marimba. This concert will include “Doodletown Fifers” and “Child’s Play.”
Tuesday, April 25 – NEC Jazz Composers Workshop – Jordan Hall
Sunday, April 30 – International Jazz Day – Brown Hall
UNESCO has designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. NEC joins the celebration with a performance featuring NEC faculty and students playing music embodying the ongoing dialogue between jazz and musical cultures from throughout the world.
Tuesday, May 2 – The Great Learning directed by Anthony Coleman – Jordan Hall
The Great Learning is Cornelius Cardew’s magnum opus. Composed between 1968 and 1971, this work has been called "the summation of British experimental music techniques, and, to a great extent, all experimental music techniques of the classic experimental era." The Great Learning is based on the first seven paragraphs of the Dà Xué (or the Ta Hseüh), written by Confucius and his pupils and translated by the poet Ezra Pound. Cardew dedicated the work to the Scratch Orchestra, whose members included professional and student musicians, visual artists, actors, dancers, and people with no previous experience of the arts. The Great Learning, therefore, is designed with the Scratch Orchestra's variety of experience in mind: there are solos of great technical difficulty written in common-practice music notation, text pieces or pieces using prose instructions and music in graphic notation.
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. The program has spawned numerous Grammy winning composers and performers and has an alumni list that reads like a who's who of jazz. 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 105 students; 55 undergraduate and 50 graduate students from 16 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). 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 inspired guidance for its first thirty-three years, the program grew considerably and has expanded its offerings under current chair Hankus Netsky and assistant chair Eden MacAdam-Somer. Alumni include Don Byron, John Medeski, Jacqueline Schwab, Aoife O'Donovan and Sarah Jarosz; faculty include Carla Kihlstedt, Blake, Dominique Eade, and Anthony Coleman. “A thriving hub of musical exploration,” (Jeremy Goodwin, Boston Globe), the program currently has over 50 undergrad and graduate students from 17 countries.
