Hersch ’77 a Three-Time Grammy Nominee and Guggenheim Fellow
Zenon a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant Recipient at 32
As it looks forward to celebrating 40 Years of Jazz at NEC in 2009/10, New England Conservatory has announced the appointment of two outstanding musicians to its jazz studies faculty: pianist–composer Fred Hersch, an alumnus of the Class of 1977; and saxophonist Miguel Zenon, a 2008 MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant recipient. They will both teach on a part-time basis beginning in fall 2009.
Hersch, who has previously served on the NEC faculty, has been called “one of the small handful of brilliant musicians of his generation" by Downbeat and has earned a place among the foremost jazz artists in the world today. Working from the late 1970's onward as a sideman to jazz legends including Joe Henderson, Art Farmer, Stan Getz, Toots Theilemans, he has solidified a reputation as a versatile master of jazz piano, as well as a relentlessly probing composer and conceptualist. He is widely recognized for his ability to create a unique body of original works while reinventing the standard jazz repertoire –with keen insight, fresh ideas and extraordinary technique. Whether unaccompanied, in duo, working with trios and quintets, Hersch has explored the jazz tradition to its fullest even as he opens new doors. Hersch's numerous accomplishments include a 2003 Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship for composition, two Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance and a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Composition. He has appeared on over one hundred recordings, including more than two-dozen albums as bandleader/solo pianist.
His career as a performer has been greatly enhanced by his composing activities, a vital part of nearly all of his live concerts and recordings. In 2003, Hersch created Leaves of Grass (Palmetto Records), a large-scale setting of Walt Whitman's poetry for two voices (Kurt Elling and Kate McGarry) and an instrumental octet. Other classically inspired works include 24 Variations on a Bach Chorale based on music from the St. Matthew Passion; Lyric Piece with influences of Faure, Ravel and Brahms; and 13 Ways of Looking at the Goldberg, commissioned by the Irving S. Gilmore International Piano Festival for pianist Gilbert Kalish.
Miguel Zenon, is a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico where he began classical study of the saxophone at the Escuela Libre de Musica. He began studying jazz at the Berklee College of Music and then received his M.M. in Saxophone Performance at the Manhattan School of Music. He has performed with a diverse array of artists including David Sanchez, Charlie Haden, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Bob Moses and Mozamba, The Either/Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, Steve Coleman and many more.
In 2004, he was asked to become one of the founding members of the SF Jazz Collective, an octet whose members have included Joshua Redman, Bobby Hutcherson, Nicholas Payton, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas and Brian Blade.
Zenon has made four recordings as Leader. His first, Looking Forward (2002), was named number one independent jazz record of 2002 by the New York Times. The others include the critically acclaimed Ceremonial, Jibaro, and Awake. The saxophonist has been regularly honored by jazz critics and listeners as among the most gifted performers of his generation, with Jazz Times Magazine readers voting him Best New Artist of the Year in 2006.
Committed to teaching along with concertizing, Zenon was selected for the Kennedy Center’s Jazz Ambassador’s Program in 2003 and with his band he taught and performed throughout West Africa. He has done master classes, clinics and residencies at the Banff Centre, Brubeck Institute, Paris Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music and the Diaz Institute.
In 2008, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship to work on his next project, which focuses on Plena Music from Puerto Rico. Named one of 25 MacArthur Grant recipients that same year, he was praised for “at once reestablishing the artistic, cultural, and social tradition of jazz while creating an entirely new jazz language for the 21st Century.”
For further information, check the NEC Website or call the NEC Concert Line at 617-585-1122. NEC’s Jordan Hall, Brown Hall, Williams Hall and the Keller Room are located at 30 Gainsborough St., corner of Huntington Ave. St. Botolph Hall is located at 241 St. Botolph St. between Gainsborough and Mass Ave.
ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY
Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 750 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC trained musicians and faculty.
The oldest independent school of music in the United States, NEC was founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee. Its curriculum is remarkable for its wide range of styles and traditions. On the college level, it features training in classical, jazz, Contemporary Improvisation, world and early music. Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing Education, and Community Collaboration Programs, it provides training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, adults, and seniors. Through its outreach projects, it allows young musicians to engage with non-traditional audiences in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—thereby bringing pleasure to new listeners and enlarging the universe for classical music and jazz.
NEC presents more than 600 free concerts each year, many of them in Jordan Hall, its world- renowned, 100-year old, beautifully restored concert hall. These programs range from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to jazz and opera scenes. Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston.
NEC is co-founder and educational partner of “From the Top,” a weekly radio program that celebrates outstanding young classical musicians from the entire country. With its broadcast home in Jordan Hall, the show is now carried by National Public Radio and is heard on 250 stations throughout the United States.
Zenon a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant Recipient at 32
As it looks forward to celebrating 40 Years of Jazz at NEC in 2009/10, New England Conservatory has announced the appointment of two outstanding musicians to its jazz studies faculty: pianist–composer Fred Hersch, an alumnus of the Class of 1977; and saxophonist Miguel Zenon, a 2008 MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant recipient. They will both teach on a part-time basis beginning in fall 2009.
Hersch, who has previously served on the NEC faculty, has been called “one of the small handful of brilliant musicians of his generation" by Downbeat and has earned a place among the foremost jazz artists in the world today. Working from the late 1970's onward as a sideman to jazz legends including Joe Henderson, Art Farmer, Stan Getz, Toots Theilemans, he has solidified a reputation as a versatile master of jazz piano, as well as a relentlessly probing composer and conceptualist. He is widely recognized for his ability to create a unique body of original works while reinventing the standard jazz repertoire –with keen insight, fresh ideas and extraordinary technique. Whether unaccompanied, in duo, working with trios and quintets, Hersch has explored the jazz tradition to its fullest even as he opens new doors. Hersch's numerous accomplishments include a 2003 Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship for composition, two Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance and a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Composition. He has appeared on over one hundred recordings, including more than two-dozen albums as bandleader/solo pianist.
His career as a performer has been greatly enhanced by his composing activities, a vital part of nearly all of his live concerts and recordings. In 2003, Hersch created Leaves of Grass (Palmetto Records), a large-scale setting of Walt Whitman's poetry for two voices (Kurt Elling and Kate McGarry) and an instrumental octet. Other classically inspired works include 24 Variations on a Bach Chorale based on music from the St. Matthew Passion; Lyric Piece with influences of Faure, Ravel and Brahms; and 13 Ways of Looking at the Goldberg, commissioned by the Irving S. Gilmore International Piano Festival for pianist Gilbert Kalish.
Miguel Zenon, is a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico where he began classical study of the saxophone at the Escuela Libre de Musica. He began studying jazz at the Berklee College of Music and then received his M.M. in Saxophone Performance at the Manhattan School of Music. He has performed with a diverse array of artists including David Sanchez, Charlie Haden, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Bob Moses and Mozamba, The Either/Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, Steve Coleman and many more.
In 2004, he was asked to become one of the founding members of the SF Jazz Collective, an octet whose members have included Joshua Redman, Bobby Hutcherson, Nicholas Payton, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas and Brian Blade.
Zenon has made four recordings as Leader. His first, Looking Forward (2002), was named number one independent jazz record of 2002 by the New York Times. The others include the critically acclaimed Ceremonial, Jibaro, and Awake. The saxophonist has been regularly honored by jazz critics and listeners as among the most gifted performers of his generation, with Jazz Times Magazine readers voting him Best New Artist of the Year in 2006.
Committed to teaching along with concertizing, Zenon was selected for the Kennedy Center’s Jazz Ambassador’s Program in 2003 and with his band he taught and performed throughout West Africa. He has done master classes, clinics and residencies at the Banff Centre, Brubeck Institute, Paris Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music and the Diaz Institute.
In 2008, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship to work on his next project, which focuses on Plena Music from Puerto Rico. Named one of 25 MacArthur Grant recipients that same year, he was praised for “at once reestablishing the artistic, cultural, and social tradition of jazz while creating an entirely new jazz language for the 21st Century.”
For further information, check the NEC Website or call the NEC Concert Line at 617-585-1122. NEC’s Jordan Hall, Brown Hall, Williams Hall and the Keller Room are located at 30 Gainsborough St., corner of Huntington Ave. St. Botolph Hall is located at 241 St. Botolph St. between Gainsborough and Mass Ave.
ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY
Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 750 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC trained musicians and faculty.
The oldest independent school of music in the United States, NEC was founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee. Its curriculum is remarkable for its wide range of styles and traditions. On the college level, it features training in classical, jazz, Contemporary Improvisation, world and early music. Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing Education, and Community Collaboration Programs, it provides training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, adults, and seniors. Through its outreach projects, it allows young musicians to engage with non-traditional audiences in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—thereby bringing pleasure to new listeners and enlarging the universe for classical music and jazz.
NEC presents more than 600 free concerts each year, many of them in Jordan Hall, its world- renowned, 100-year old, beautifully restored concert hall. These programs range from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to jazz and opera scenes. Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston.
NEC is co-founder and educational partner of “From the Top,” a weekly radio program that celebrates outstanding young classical musicians from the entire country. With its broadcast home in Jordan Hall, the show is now carried by National Public Radio and is heard on 250 stations throughout the United States.
For more information contact Braithwaite & Katz Communications.
