NEC alumni Lake Street Dive return to alma mater to
kick off NEC’s 150th birthday celebration
Thursday, February 16, 7:30 p.m. at Jordan Hall
Lake Street Dive will perform two sets, one with the band alone
and another with large student ensembles including the NEC Philharmonia, NEC Jazz Orchestra, and NEC Gospel Ensemble
“We hope it’s hard for people to stay seated; we hope it’s exultant!”
– Mike Calabrese, Lake Street Dive, about this concert
“Having an orchestra, and big band, great faculty, arrangers and conductors – that will be very special for us,” – Bridget Kearney of Lake Street Dive
Lake Street Drive © Danny Clinch
NEC alumni Lake Street Dive return to their alma mater on Thursday, February 16 to kick off NEC’s 150th birthday celebration. The performance will include a rare opportunity to hear Lake Street Dive in concert with larger ensembles, as well as a set by the band alone.
The concert takes place at 7:30 p.m. at NEC’s Jordan Hall, 290 Huntington Avenue, Boston. Tickets go on sale on November 1. Tickets $30, $40. There are also a limited number of VIP seats at $150. The VIP package includes a pre-concert reception, post-concert meet-and-greet with Lake Street Dive, and tickets to NEC's A Feast of Music after-party on February 25.
or in person and by phone at the NEC box office (617-585-1260)
For more information (click)
Lake Street Dive will perform two sets, one with the band alone and with large student ensembles including the NEC Philharmonia, NEC Jazz Orchestra, and NEC Gospel Ensemble.
“Having an orchestra, and big band, great faculty, arrangers and conductors – that will be very special for us,” says Bridget Kearney of Lake Street Dive. Mike Olson of the band continues: “We’ve seen our heroes doing this, so it’s very cool to get a chance to do it ourselves.”
NEC Jazz Studies Chair Ken Schaphorst, who also directs the NEC Jazz Orchestra, notes: “It seems only fitting that Lake Street Dive celebrates NEC’s 150th Anniversary with a program combining elements of jazz, classical and popular music.
Throughout its history, NEC has been dedicated to the development of creative music making, fostering a respect for the varied traditions of our contemporary musical world. I’m looking forward to collaborating with Lake Street Dive in the performance of their music with our students, along with “Angel Eyes” arranged by Gunther Schuller and “God Bless the Child” arranged by Jaki Byard."
Mike Olson continues, “We’ve taken our NEC jazz education, tucked it under our arm, and are running as fast as we can… We work really fast and efficiently – we have this framework in which we can work. We all speak the same language at a very high degree, and that comes from NEC.”
On February 18, 1867, Eben Tourjée opened the doors to New England Conservatory, then located in Boston's Music Hall–the building now known as the Orpheum Theatre. The school and its musicians have since played a major role in the musical life of Boston, the nation, and the world. For some fast facts about NEC, log on to necmusic.edu/fast-facts.
This concert is the first of many events celebrating the anniversary, most of which will take place during the 2017-2018 season.
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.
