WE INTERVIEW LUCI DISANO OF THE MARINE BAND!
A NEW APP FOR THE PRACTICE ROOM: CADENZA
PG. 11 PG. 6
PG. 8
ROBERT COGAN TALKS ABOUT HIS LIFE IN MUSIC
PG. 6
THANKSGIVING, AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
TWO EASY THANKSGIVING RECIPES TO TRY! PG. 12
THE PENGUIN
ISSUE 63
NOVEMBER 7, 2014
N E C ’ S S T U D E N T- R U N N E W S PA P E R
WWW.NECPENGUIN.COM
(PHOTO COURTESY JONAS TARM PHOTOGRAPHY)
The Penguin Wants To Say “Thank You”! Is it November already? It’s hard to believe the semester is half over, and it won’t be too long before we’re off saying “Happy Holidays” and knee deep in snow! But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. For November, The Penguin has a nice spread of things to warm your heart and engage your mind. Sarah, Frankie, and Elizabeth offer up their perspectives on the Thanksgiving holiday. Nick has a few great ideas for Tony Woodcock’s successor as NEC president. Tong updates us on succesful initiatives from the Student Affairs Committee. Andrew reports on a brand new
practice app and an important food insecurity intiative, as well as an interview with alumni Luci Disano. Nesli talks to faculty Robert Cogan in this month’s spotlight. And newcomer Alex has a hilarious guide to surviving the sickness season like a singer. All this, plus more, for the lowly price of your time and a good set of hands to turn the page! Don’t forget to check our website (necpenguin.com) where all the articles featured in this issue are also uploaded online, and follow us! Happy Thanksgiving from The Penguin!
penguin CULTURE On Being Thankful
by SARAH ATWOOD First-year MM Violin
SARAH CONTEMPLATES WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE THANKFUL Being thankful can be a very relative thing. Cookie-cutter defi-
places). Be brutally honest and realistic – I assure you that
nitions of thankfulness might make the Thanksgiving holiday
you really could live without your smartphone!
easier to advertise, but I believe that true thankfulness comes
in many forms. It can be determined by where you live, what you do, and your family situation. It can be based on your perception of life and what is important. It can just be little things that make you smile. But
Next, think about the smaller things in life that make you truly happy, be it hot chocolate from Oakleaf or sleeping in on a cold morning (or yes, your smartphone!). All of these things–big and small, serious and silly–are valid things to acknowledge and be thank-
above all else, it’s personal.
ful for. Taking this moment to slow
down is the most important step:
Your perception of thank-
fulness can also change. For
it’s hard to be thankful if you never
example, I broke my foot during
actually give yourself time to think!
my freshman year, and for the
whole following year I was simply
soon enough, when the semester is
grateful to be able to walk to class.
at that tipping point of tiredness and
That experience has worn off though, and now I’m thankful for the few minutes a day when I can sit down and get OFF my feet!
busy schedules. But feeling thankful doesn’t have to relegated to this holiday. Every so often, remember to breathe and recognize all that is good in your life. All the
So try this thankfulness exercise: think carefully about
your life and what you cannot live without (people, activities,
Singers And Sickness: A Study
EVER WONDERED WHY YOU NEVER SEE A SICK VOCALIST? What do classical vocalists have in common with unicorns, gnomes, and elves? Correct: They are mythical beasts. Tea-slurping, scone-snarfing, vitamin-enriched creatures that prowl the second floor of Jordan Hall, humming constantly and incanting rhythmically in foreign tongues. I
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Thanksgiving barely arrives
NOVEMBER 7, 2014
dreary November days full of sniffly colds and 8am rehearsals are balanced out with good things. Promise!
by ALEXANDRA GILLIAM Fourth-year BM Voice have spent four years among this odd and beautiful race, and I have observed a number of interesting trends amongst their populace. For one, while the rest of the NEC community slogs through a rotating cast of afflictions from allergies to viruses to the common cold, the vocalist tribe remains
mysteriously unaffected. This is your lucky day, my dear Penguin reader, for I am about to divulge the highlights of
the opera clan’s secret health regimen–and it doesn’t involve acai berries or acupuncture.
HOT BEVERAGES While the average singer is known to consume nearly a quarter of his or her body weight in heated concoctions daily, this level of consumption may be hazardous to a normal individual who is unaccustomed to such things. Rather, one should start off small with just a cup of a mysterious potion called Throat Coat, produced by a brand called Traditional Medicinals. Although it is customary for most sopranos and tenors to boil water by simply letting the steam escape from their ears, the effectiveness of this time-honored homeopathic remedy will not be stunted by the use of a kettle or microwave.
SCARVES In the vocalist community, scarves serve a number of equally important purposes. Although they are occasionally used as an identification system to delineate the singers from their prey while hunting for a practice room, their primary function is to provide a fashionable face guard when illness has been detected. My beloved roommate is a prime example: As a mezzo, her favorite accessories include her scarf and her hatred for all notes above the staff. Arm yourself, dear reader!
HAND WASHING Wash your hands.
DRUGS Every singer you meet is on some cocktail of Airborne, Emergen-C, vitamins A-Z and 1-12, Singulair, Zyrtec, Claritin, Flonase, Mucinex, Delsym, Robitussin, Rhinocort, Nasonex, Nasocort, fish oil (for flavor), Dayquil, Nyquil, Zzzquil, Benadril, Flintstone gummies, Tums, Pepto-bismol, Omeprazole, antihistamines, antioxidants, expectorants, fluticasone, both fuorate and propionate, guaifenisen, cetirizine, loratadine, fexofenadine, levocetirizine, desloratadine, chlorpheniramine, and/or diphenhydramine. But NEVER Advil or ibuprofen. Blood thinners can strain the voice.
EATING RIGHT Most singers subsist on a healthy diet of ego, self-loathing, and high notes. Those who are of legal age augment this with copious amounts of wine and sushi. The sporting non-singer can observe this behavior in action on any given day at Ginger Exchange, a local watering hole whose lunch special is an irresistible attraction for vocalists on the move. Singer sightings are at an all-time high this month, so be sure to bring your binoculars! You might just spy a wild baritone biting into a Bao-Bao.
With Ebola and enterovirus scares continuing to make headlines and with the impending doom of allergy, cold, and flu seasons on the horizon, it can be tough to stay healthy. However, The Penguin has got your back! Stay vigilant, dear reader, for now that you are armed with the intimate
secrets of singerkind, you can overcome any illness that comes your way and will be warbling like a songbird come December. (With help from Meghan Jolliffe and Zachary Crowle)
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Make Your Own Thanksgiving
by ELIZABETH WENDT Third-year BM Voice
AWAY FROM HOME FOR BREAK? WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED! We all know it and we’re all thankful for it: NEC is a diverse
subjective. I always think of it as a time to reflect on my life and
school. We have students from all over the US and from all
recognize the things I have to be thankful for. If turkey and cran-
over the world! How cool is that?! For many of us Penguins,
berry sauce aren’t your thing, find your own way to celebrate
the Thanksgiving holiday means travelling home to be with our
and give thanks. If you are thankful for being in the awesome
families, but that’s not the case for all of us. Some students from
city of Boston, take a stroll through the Common and along
overseas and from around the US don’t get to go home and
the Charles. If you are thankful that cupcakes exist (and really,
they stick around Boston for their holiday. When you’re a new
who isn’t?!), head down to Georgetown Cupcake on Newbury
student, this may seem like a lonely time of year, but have no
Street and enjoy a tasty treat … or two. Who’s counting?
fear–The Penguin is here to help you create your own awesome
Thanksgiving celebration!
your first semester here at NEC is proving to be a little intense
or you’re feeling a little homesick, there is no one who can help
If you plan on staying in the Res Hall during your
Most importantly though, call or Skype your family. If
holiday, you’re most likely not going to be the only student left
you through it better than a family member. It is because of
on your floor. Contact your RA and try to organize a floor-wide
our families that we are here and we should thank them every
Thanksgiving potluck! When I was a freshman, the 7th floor
day for allowing us to and supporting us while we chase our
had their own mini-Thanksgiving and it was such a wonderful
dreams.
experience. It’s a great way to bond with your floormates and
it is always interesting to hear what your friends are thankful
have fun. Yes, of course you should probably squeeze in some
for (aside from you, of course!). Wholefoods Market has an
practice time, and no doubt there is going to be some teacher
entire section that’s dedicated to traditional Thanksgiving food:
who assigned holiday homework (boo!), but you really should
rotisserie turkeys, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry
take it easy and just enjoy yourself. No one wants to spend
sauce, stuffing, everything. You could treat yourself to a Whole-
the holiday uptight and stressed out, but everyone does want
Feast if you felt so inclined!
to spend their holiday in a food coma, so remember to wear
stretchy pants! No matter how or where you celebrate, Happy
Although there are those historical reasons for celebrat-
Take advantage of your holiday break to unwind and
ing Thanksgiving, I find the meaning of this holiday to be very
Thanksgiving everyone!
SO IT PROBABLY DIDN’T HAPPEN LIKE THIS ...
... BUT WE CAN STILL CELEBRATE LIKE THIS!
Dreams For The Next President NICK SPECULATES ON NEC’S PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS
By now you have surely heard the news that Tony Woodcock will be stepping down as president at the end of the school year. Here at The Penguin we will miss Tony dearly,
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NOVEMBER 7, 2014
by NICK TISHERMAN Third-year BM Oboe but that won’t stop us from compiling a (warmheartedly satirical) list of possible replacements for our beloved President Woodcock.
James A. Klein
Sox player in history to hit forty or more home runs in three
Professor James A. Klein has long been a cornerstone of an
consecutive seasons. The nine-time MLB All-Star would make a
NEC education. His intellect and eloquence make his classes
great addition to the team. Even if he were only to pinch-hit un-
at the conservatory as challenging as they are thought-pro-
til the administration could find an even better replacement for
voking. Dr. Klein’s knowledge spans the shelves of the library,
Tony Woodcock, it would be a home run for the school. This
from United States electoral politics to the history of China and
article has really turned into a wish list, but I hope NEC swings
Japan to English literature, and all subjects in between. He
for the fences to make David Ortiz our captain.
has served as an assistant dean at Harvard and twice has served as dean of students at NEC. Co-author of a book on
The Lamb Stew from Moby Dick
the history of our storied institution, now it may be time for Dr.
If we have to say good-bye to Tony, maybe we can still have
Klein to write the future of the New England Conservatory.
a meal from his favorite restaurant. The Stew is tender, warm, and savory–a perfect meal over a bed of rice. This Lamb Stew
Special Elvis
would add a little spice to the presidents’ office. All NEC
A staple of the NEC experience, everyone’s favorite karaoke
events would have the best catering in town, and the Bistro
singer has been watching over our school from his sixth-story
would be the best college dining establishment in the coun-
Huntington apartment for as long as anyone can remember.
try. This food has fueled our current president for years, so it
He is a beloved public figure around the NEC community,
makes sense to appoint the Lamb Stew to a higher position on
and a beacon of all that is good and righteous. His wailing
the food chain at NEC.
can be heard on most weekends, especially when the weather is nice. It is time that this pillar of fortitude emerges from the
Gunther Schuller
background noise of Gainsborough Street and lets his voice
After a long absence, it may just be time for Gunther to
be heard. He is already the voice of NEC–it’s high time we put
reclaim his post as the President of NEC. No one is more
him in charge. Check out his SoundCloud page here: https://
experienced or decorated than Mr. Schuller, who founded
soundcloud.com/special-elvis
NEC’s Contemporary Improvisation department and hired faculty who continue to make a great impact on the school
David Ortiz
today. A candidate can never be too qualified, but the Pulitzer
If the committee were able to get their hands on “Big Papi,” it
prize-winning composer and former President just might be.
would be a grand slam for the conservatory. Here are some
If you listen closely to the buzz on Gainsborough, you can
stats: Batting Avg: .287, HR: 431, RBI: 1,429, Hits: 2,023.
practically hear people chanting emphatically, “Bring back
He is a three-time World Series Champion, and the first Red
Gunther!”
Some Anonymous Suggestions...
by PERSON X
An Actual Penguin
And we would be just dripping in PR and reality TV coverage.
The new President should be a Penguin. Not only are they
Recruitment would go through the roof and fundraising would
hardy robust creatures, which I imagine you have to be as a
be simple. Go for it, I say!
President, but they do amazing things like walking 70 miles in minus 50 in the Antarctic just to stand around and hatch an
Daniel Craig
egg for a few months. Just imagine that type of determination
An absolute must, and I hope that the Board will have him as
and focus in the President’s office.
a serious shortlisted candidate. Just imagine what the parking lot would look like. No more silly little yellow Fiat but an Aston
Kim Kardashian
Martin DB6 with machine guns. The rats wouldn’t have a
To my way of thinking, she would be the next best President for
chance, although the gunfire might interrupt classes. But that’s
NEC. After all, NEC needs its first woman President and just
just a minor inconvenience.
think of all the confusion it would create with Kim Kashkashian.
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An International Thanksgiving
by FRANKIE YU Second-year MM Trombone
FRANKIE GIVES US A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE HOLIDAY The Thanksgiving buzz is going around school. Most people
with my own family.
are booking flights, trains, buses, car rides, or whatever it
takes to go home and spend time with the family and see old
the US to attend college–were in the same boat as I was. We
friends. For a lot of students this is a familiar time of year, a
figured out a plan every Thanksgiving for the next four years
time of year to spend with family and lots of good food. But
where we would meet up in a different city where one of us
Fortunately, my high school friends–who all came to
for other students it is an unfamiliar
went to college. It was always fun to
holiday, or even a totally new holiday.
see a new city, and seeing my old
And for many people, traveling home
friends so far away from home always
isn’t an option for the holiday–whether
felt settling, like seeing family after a
you are from far away or even close
busy year. We would talk about our
by.
similar experiences and struggles with
When I came to the US for
our new lives in a new country, and
school five years ago, I too was a
I would return to school feeling like I
little unfamiliar with the holiday. I’m
was returning from home.
guessing due to my accent it comes
as a surprise to many when I tell them
past experiences with Thanksgiving
that I am not from here, I grew up and
here with my friends while away from
attended school overseas, and that
my family is that home can be any-
neither of my parents are American.
where you want it to be. I learned that
Thanksgiving was always something I
it doesn’t have to be a holiday that ex-
What I’ve learned from my
saw on TV shows or heard about from friends. I always knew it
clusively means time with your family and eating a huge meal,
was there, but I had never celebrated it before and was unsure
but if it does that’s great, too! For me, Thanksgiving means
of what people did during it ( ...other than eat turkey and
being with people you want to be with, who make you feel like
pumpkin pie... ). So when I first went to college, it was inter-
you are home; people who enable you to forget and let go of
esting to see how excited people were about this new holiday
the stresses of school or work and let you feel safe and happy.
and to hear how they each celebrate it even if I could not be
Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels!
The Future Of Practice
NEW APP–NEW POSSIBILITIES
At a time when the debate over whether the barrier of technology in the hands of audience members should be broken, a new app has surfaced that can bridge the gap between the concert hall and the practice room for musicians. Cadenza, by music technology company Sonation, is an iPad app that can provide full orchestral accompaniment for instrumentalists. The app listens to the instrumental line being played, and actively plays along. It has the ability to speed up, slow down, or wait for the solo part being practiced, providing a steady ground for the learning artist. Recently, the EM department hosted an event to demonstrate the capabilities of Cadenza. Assisted by a handful of ac-
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NOVEMBER 7, 2014
by ANDREW NISSEN Second-year GD Trombone complished NEC students, the creators Ann Chao and Paul Smith showed a captive audience the subtleties of Cadenza’s abilities in following clarinet, cello, flute, horn, and violin playing. Following the student demonstrations, Borromeo String Quartet first violinist and NEC faculty Nicholas Kitchen talked about the application of Cadenza in the teaching studio. Mr. Kitchen used an example of two similar-looking phrases in the solo violin part which, upon further examination of the score, reveal the need for a more nuanced approach to each phrase separately. Mr. Kitchen has consulted in the development of Cadenza, and uses the app in his teaching studio now. Afterward, we had time to have a hands-on look at the
app and try it out. The disappointment at the moment is the absence of lower brass instruments, double bass, and percussion. Coupled with a relatively small collection of repertoire and an as yet almost non-existent symphonic repertoire to aid in orchestral excerpt practice, these downfalls will hopefully be rectified in the near future with added popularity and sales. Sonation has entered into a partnership with NEC to develop further technologies and will have an office in the Jordan Hall building. Keep an eye out for further developments on this promising technology! UNFORTUNATELY CADENZA DOESN’T HAVE A UKULELE FEATURE YET!
A Letter From The CSA
by TONG WANG Fourth-year BM Piano
TONG FROM THE CSA UPDATES US ON CURRENT HAPPENINGS
Dear all freshmen–and returning students who are still unfamiliar with the faces of the CSA: Check us out! We are the lucky people who get to bring all your concerns, issues, and problems regarding anything and everything on our school campus to be addressed at a platform that could actually make the changes you want to see happen.
Twice every semester, we as your student senators meet with a committee comprised of the President, the Board, the
Deans, and many other administrative figures, to not only discuss the problems that we see at NEC, but to also find solutions and take immediatel action.
This past year our team has compiled a number of noteworthy accomplishments. Due to the high number of complaints we
received from students about the difficulties of working with the Concert Halls office, we repeatedly voiced this issue at the meetings. Ultimately, we saw action and change from the administration. As a direct result, students now have a much more accessible and friendly staff member to speak to when scheduling their recitals and concerts. Similarly, the CSA Committee heard our concerns about the chaotic and frustrating process for locker assignments last fall, and as returning students have noticed, procedures this year have been much improved. The good news? Students can now hold on to their lockers throughout the summer and until their graduation!
Regarding practice room space – a regular on our CSA agenda – we were also able to extend the St. Botolph hours on
weeknights from 10pm to 12pm. This is a great win for students who are struggling to find space in the Jordan Hall building late in the evening. Of course, there were still many issues brought to the table that remained unresolved, but we continue to search for solutions to better the experience for NEC students from all different perspectives.
We would like to thank Raley and Konrad for all their enthusiasm and commitment the past year (we will miss you greatly!)
and would also like to welcome Kyle Bejnerowicz to join us for another exciting, productive year with the NEC CSA.
Most of all, we really encourage you to share your ideas with us, and don’t be afraid to rant about your problems at any
time! You can reach us at studentaffairs@necmusic.edu or reach out to Elizabeth, Kyle, Kate, Mark, or me individually! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Kate Miller
Tong Wang
Kyle Bejnerowicz
Elizabeth Wendt
Mark Tse
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n a g o C t r e b o R
penguin SPOTLIGHT by Nesligül Kaya
I am delighted to have interviewed world-renowned composer Professor Robert Cogan on matters of his philosophy and the concert at Jordan Hall on October 30th where a selection of his pieces were performed. A pupil of Nadia Boulanger, Peter Sessions and Milton Babbitt, Cogan teaches composition and music theory at New England Conservatory at the graduate level.
This had changed and happily in both of these ways changes have come. But only half way, maybe even less than half way … The jazz musicians somehow think that their job is to run jazz theory and classical musicians think that their job is to learn classical music … It’s not clear what is going to happen to music or to anything else.
You are a world-renowned composer. Has music always been there for you? My active musical life began as a jazz musician. I think of all of my music as jazz. I spent a very long time studying all over the world with many different people; and the question of jazz almost never came up. But at a certain point in my life I decided that there were parts of jazz that were just part of me. Certainly improvisation was one aspect, certain rhythms and tone colors and so on. I could not be a whole musician without preserving those aspects. So, I very consciously and intentionally brought them back into my music … When I decided to be a composer I enrolled in a composition program at University of Michigan where I began my studies. No one there was interested in the fact that I was a jazz musician. Nowadays, there is a certain academic activity, teaching and respectability about jazz that did not exist when I started. I, in a way, put it out of my life, but I found that I had to bring it back. I have been teaching here for a very long time–this is my fifty-first year. One of the great things about NEC is that we were perhaps the very first musical institution that had a very active jazz program and that continued and made it a part of our normal activity.
Where do you find inspiration? Everywhere. In my long study, I had some really great teachers. Nadia Boulanger was one of them. I was among her last group of students. She asked me once what I thought that the most beautiful piece of music was, and I couldn’t give her an answer. There were so many different pieces and so many different directions that I thought were good and beautiful. I disappointed her, I suppose–I was not able to give a single answer. Now, I wouldn’t even want to try to give a single answer. Ideas not only come from everywhere but also I think ideas must come from everywhere otherwise it is too narrow … I think Ligeti was a good model. A composer who was many things and had inspirations from everywhere; from Africa, from his original Hungary, from America and also from Bartok. He picked up not only musical ideas. One of his friends was the mathematician Mandelbrot, who was also a friend of mine. He was inspired by people and fields and that enriched his music. I hope that those things enrich my music too.
Can we say that your love for jazz encompasses everything? It led me to be aware that there was music “inside” and “outside.” There were wonderful things in the music outside. When I began studying we thought that the only classical music tradition was in Europe but there are classical music traditions in India, in China, in Africa, in Middle East in many places in the world. My wife Pozzi Escot and I wrote a book that was published in 1976 called Sonic Design. In it, we said there were certain problems facing music as it was being taught in conservatories and schools of music that were not being addressed. One of those was music technology and everything that was being developed with electronics and computers, and another of them was that there were all these global cultures and we acted as if there was only one global culture.
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NOVEMBER 7, 2014
Could you tell us about your pieces? I made a life of talking about music of other people and of other parts of the world and when I teach I am reasonably comfortable talking about all kinds of music. I am very uncomfortable talking about my own music. It’s partly because ideas come from everywhere, and also sometimes composing my own pieces takes a long time. I’m still working a piece that I began almost fifty years ago. In that time many different ideas come. Some people want to talk about a particular technique and source. My pieces have many techniques and I pity the person who tries to analyze one of my pieces. To narrow it down to one technique or one idea makes me uncomfortable. I have shared ideas with my various students but I do not teach my music or any one particular idea. Although I have written now five books I don’t teach my books either. I sometimes use parts of one or another of them. To me it’s the multiplicity and the diversity that matters. I spent this summer being interested in
Bach Allemandes, so I could talk for a long time about Bach Allemandes. So it is better for us to come to your concerts and listen to the pieces and have our own understanding? That is why I’ve given concerts of my own music since 1978. I also always try to include others’ music. For thirty some years we have been giving concerts every year. We try to do two things: We try to work with performers, and to not only to present what we hope are good performances of our music, but we give people a chance to perform who we think are good performers. That’s not as easy as it sounds because many performances of not only new music but all music are—as far as I’m concerned–not very good. Maybe skilled people are doing them, but many times something is lacking. We try to make a good program with variety—something that makes sense … There was a great pianist, Walter Gieseking, he said that a pianist should practice only as long as one maintained complete concentration. That’s not more than three hours a day. The same thing, I think, is true for concerts. You are not only a composer but also a very well know music theorist. Tell us about the classes you teach at NEC. When I began my studies and worked with different teachers, there was an active interaction between music theory and composition. There were models–Schoenberg was certainly a great model for that; Messiaen was a great model of that– although he didn’t pretend to be a theorist as such. In fact Elliot Carter had many theories about musical time and musical language that there (PHOTO COURTESY SONICDESIGN.ORG) was a very active interconnection between theory and composing for him. That was so natural, that was unthinkable to separate the two; and I notice now that in fact that the two are very separate. Most composers that I encounter do not want to have anything to do with music theory and most music theorists that I encounter do not have anything to do with composition. That feels so unnatural to me. I just can’t operate that way. Studying the ideas of music theory; not just the ideas of Europe, but music theories have existed for millennia in India, China, in a variety of places–I just can’t imagine this separation of the two. I find it very strange, but now I find that I am a little bit strange in insisting that the two belong together–but that’s the only way I can function. They feed each other in the process of composing … When it comes to sound or when it comes to rhythmic features we do not have adequate theories or adequate teaching of them. We need them. Can music, an abstract art, have an influence in concrete matters such as political dilemmas and conflicts?
This has been on my mind a lot lately. I would say that musicians are people and everything that impacts people impacts musicians, and the reverse is true! Musicians are workers. One of the terrible things that has happened lately is that people think that music is produced by some form of technology and not produced by people. As people require some means to support their existence, musicians require some means to support their existence. Freedom to obtain and to hear music and so on is a wonderful thing–but it can’t be done irresponsibly. Part of the responsibility is to those people who make music. Something terrible has happened with respect to the support of music and musicians all over the world. It has become a kind of theft. I think we have to do something about that. One of the aspects of music is musicians who make music as a kind of addiction. I think some part of the society take advantage of the musicians’ addiction to music. Because, even if they are badly paid or not paid at all, even if the working conditions are terrible–and they often are–those people who are addicted to music and who continue to be addicted to music make new music and other people take advantage of them. As far as I am concerned, it’s not right … I think we have to have a little recognition of what is happening to make world a better place for music addicts and work addicts and chocolate addicts and so on. What piece of advice would you give to music students? Be open. Even though I have had great teachers I was a little bit troublesome student because I was not comfortable being a disciple of anybody. I wanted to learn. In terms of the relation to your teachers–be respectful, but be critical. Don’t assume that what you are being told is a necessary truth. The next teacher that you encounter may have completely different necessary truths. I saw that perfectly in my work with Nadia Boulanger. Her great hero was Stravinsky and she was not an enthusiast about the work of Schoenberg. When I went work with Roger Sessions and Milton Babbitt, Schoenberg was the beginning of all of their work. They had a certain regard for Stravinsky but the primary person for them was Schoenberg. This was a very interesting experience and problem for me. Especially I am inclined more to the idea of importance of Schoenberg, although I like Stravinsky too. The primary force in my life was Schoenberg, besides my experiences with jazz. I had some trouble with Nadia Boulanger– we discussed this very openly and she understood my regard and I understood her regard. She told her why she preferred Stravinsky and I told her why I preferred Schoenberg. It was a little insolent of me. I was in my early twenties and she was world renowned in her late sixties when I was with her. I learned a great deal just from the conversations where we disagreed. She was great because she was open to discussion … There’s always the need for openness.
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On Sunday, November 2nd NEC hosted a soirée to raise awareness for the Music for Food program. If you weren’t there, you missed out, and if you were there, you’re probably an expert already! The event was geared toward generating student involvement at NEC with Music for Food, a Boston-based charity started by NEC faculty Kim Kashkashian in 2010. MFF presents a yearly concert program with the purpose of raising money to go towards hunger relief organizations in the Greater Boston area. The program involved performances by Quartet Dialogo, the Boston Young Composers Ensemble (BYCE), and Liz Tobias. In addition there were speeches from artistic director Kim Kashkashian, and a representative from the Women’s Lunch Place–one of many food pantries for which MFF raises money. Lastly, there was a raffle give-
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away with the donation of one canned food item. Taken from the MFF website: “• Currently in its fifth season, Music for Food has created over 100,000 meals through donations made at concerts on behalf of more than a dozen hunger-relief organizations. Thank you! • More than 75 international artists have performed on Music for Food concerts throughout the country. • Music for Food is incorporated in the state of Massachusetts and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization.” President Woodcock spoke about the importance of community engagement in his convocation speech at the beginning of semester, and Mike Avitabile (MM ‘14 Flute) got involved with MFF through the NEC work study program. He interviewed with them for an internship in marketing and concert production, and has been working with them for 4 months. Says Mike “It has been an eye opening experience as to how our art form can generate community and help a greater cause.” If you would like to be involved, contact Mike at michael.avitabile@necmusic.edu
Check out the website at MUSICFORFOODBOSTON.ORG and click on the ‘when’ tab for info on upcoming events.
Interview: Luci Disano
A RECENT ALUMNI TALKS ABOUT HER SUCCESS
by ANDREW NISSEN Second-year GD Trombone How is your day usually structured? Because we perform at such a variety of engagements, our schedule is very irregular. It’s definitely not like being in an orchestra where you have a set weekly rehearsal schedule. This week, we’re doing some school outreach concerts which means getting on a bus at 7:45AM, in the summer we do concerts on the capitol steps which take place at 8PM, and we also have ceremonies that we support at all times of day. The schedule is different every week, but I have more than enough free time to get all of my practicing in each day.
(PHOTO COURTESY KATE L PHOTOGRAPHY)
Continuing our conversations with inspiring alumni, I had the chance to talk to clarinetist Luci Disano who recently won a position in the United States Marine Band “The President’s Own.” Have you always had your sights on a band position? I actually wasn’t even aware of military bands as a career option until I got to college. I first experienced the range and depth of wind ensemble repertoire during my time in the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and I started auditioning for bands at the beginning of my senior year. What, if anything, at NEC helped you reach this goal? There were a number of things, but I think the most important was the support that I received from faculty when I was preparing for the audition. I did a number of mock auditions for both Tom Martin and Charles Peltz in the weeks leading up to the audition. We had a series of winter storms during the drive to DC and on both audition days that really threw off my usual audition routine. That includes getting locked out of my hotel room the night before the audition in PJ’s and bare feet and having to go down to the front desk (among suit-clad businessmen) to get a new key. I was able to take everything in stride because I felt so prepared. What’s it like to be in THE premium military band in the U.S? It’s really great! The level of musicianship is very high, and we do such a wide variety of events that there’s always something new to experience. This is probably kind of obvious, but I think my favorite part of the job is getting to perform at the White House. I always feel as though I’m witnessing history in the making.
What do you do in your time off? This has probably been the hardest thing for me to figure out. After almost 7 years of music school where I was either practicing or studying from 7:30-10:30 every day, I don’t know what to do with myself when I have finished practicing for the day and there’s still more day left! I read a lot, which is something I always regretted not having enough time for when I was in school. I also trained for my first half marathon, which I ran in September. It has been really great to have time to explore some of my other interests as well, and since I live right by the National Mall I’ve spent a lot of time this first year checking out the all of the monuments and museums. What is something you think current students may not know about life in a wind/military band? We have string players too! I’m not sure that many students know that we have a chamber orchestra included as part of the band. It’s a career option that I think not many string players have considered, and a great one at that! One thing that I wasn’t aware of before I joined was how much outreach this band does. The band regularly gives outreach concerts both in the DC area and around the country, and it’s really rewarding work. Do you think the approach to preparing for, and performing, band auditions is different from orchestra auditions? I really don’t think so. Obviously the repertoire is different, but I think band and orchestra committees are both looking for the most talented, inspired musicianship they can find. The one thing that I did differently to prepare for this audition that I probably wouldn’t have done for an orchestra audition was to practice sight reading because that has been a big part of every military band audition I’ve ever taken. What’s it like to play at functions involving the President? It’s always exciting. The feeling of being a part of history that I mentioned before is magnified when the president is in attendance. A few weeks ago I played an event where both President Obama and Former President Clinton gave speeches. I still can’t believe that I got to witness that.
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penguin RECIPES Do-It-Yourself Thanksgiving
FRANKIE YU SHOWS US TWO GREAT RECIPES FOR THE BREAK
Beer Can Chicken If you happen to be put in charge of Thanksgiving dinner (or any dinner for that matter) and want to wow your company, it’s a great chance to try out this super easy yet delicious chicken recipe! Couldn’t be more simple: Step 1 Set your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Step 2 Get a whole chicken, remove the insides, wash and pat dry. Step 3 Rub olive oil over the whole skin of the chicken.
Pumpkin Soup The secret ingredient in this recipe is the curry spice powder. You can find it in grocery stores if you look hard enough! Ingredients: Olive oil 1 brown onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger 2 teaspoons curry spice powder Large butternut squash (Trust me, it’s a pumpkin!) 3/4 cup red lentils 1 cup vegetable stock 3 cups water Sour cream Fresh cilantro
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by FRANKIE YU Second-year MM Trombone Step 4 Salt and pepper the outside and the inside of the chicken. You could also add any other spices you want like garlic or onion powder, paprika, oregano, pepper. You name it–just throw it on there! Step 5 Open a beer can, set it in the baking dish you are going to cook your chicken in. (Ed. note: Bonus points for not using PBR.) Step 6 Sit the chicken onto the beer can so the can goes into the opening at the bottom of the chicken. Step 7 Let it sit in the oven for around an hour. It may need a few more minutes depending on your oven. Voilà! Step 1 Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add some olive oil. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder and cook until it “smells” right. Step 2 Add the pumpkin, lentils, and stock. Add the water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer partially covered for 15 minutes or until the pumpkin and lentils are soft. Set aside to cool. Step 3 Ladle half the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a clean saucepan then repeat with the remaining mixture. Step 4 Place the soup over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes or until heated through. Season with pepper. Ladle among serving bowls. Top with the sour cream and cilantro and it’s done!
penguin CONCERTS Laurence Lesser
SUNDAY, N OVEMBER 16, 8 P.M., JORDAN HALL NEC cello faculty Laurence Lesser plays music by “Three Good Friends,” composers who all knew and admired one another, in this solo recital. Along with pianist Bernadene Blaha, Lesser will play Schumann’s Five Pieces in Folk Style, Op. 102, the Mendelssohn Sonata for Cello and Piano no 2 in D major, Op. 58, and the Brahms: Sonata for Cello and Piano no 1 in E minor, Op. 38. A stalwart of the cello at NEC plays stalwart repertoire for the cello. It’s a must see!
Xochiquetzal
SUNDAY, N OVEMBER 23, 8 P.M., JORDAN HALL Frank Epstein conducts the NEC Percussion Ensemble in this varied pre-Thanksgiving program. Robert Xavier Rodriguez’ “Xochiquetzal” will be heard in its world premiere, Joan Huang’s “Orphan San Mao” will be a premiere of its original version for Erhu and Percussion, and the familiar Barber “Adagio for Strings” is heard here in an arrangement for mallet ensemble.
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 8 P.M., JORDAN HALL The NEC Concert Choir and NEC Philharmonia join to perform this landmark work by Johannes Brahms. Distinct from traditional requiems where the text is taken from the latin mass, Brahms’ work features libretto assembled from various books of the bible into something Brahms himself found pleasing and liberating. Omitting the prayers for the dead, this requiem becomes a comfort for those living–a menschliches requiem (human requiem).
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PENGUIN PENMEN
Andrew Nissen, editor Suzanne Hegland, faculty editor Sophia (Sophie) Adickes, writer Natalie Alper-Leroux, creative Sarah Atwood, writer Isabella Dawis, writer Alexandra Gilliam, writer Nesligül Kaya, writer Jonas Tarm, photographer Nick Tisherman, writer Liz Tobias, writer Tong Wang, illustrator/writer Elizabeth Wendt, writer Frankie Yu, writer
SEX EDUCATION IN THE SAC!
SUBMIT SOMETHING! If you'd like to contribute an article, illustration, or idea, email a 1-2 sentence proposal to: thepenguin@necmusic.edu We’d love to hear from you! Please limit articles to 650 words.
Megan Andelloux from Brookline’s Good Vibrations will host a fun and informative sexual education seminar this month. Come along and find out everything you’ve been dying to know!
SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR DECEMBER ISSUE:
For dates, check out the SAC events calendar in the near future, and take a look at Megan’s website:
WE'RE ONLINE!
www.ohmegan.com
FRIDAY
NOVEMBER 21ST
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Jonas Tarm Photography
Jonas Tarm Photography
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