Spring 2022 Magazine Feature: A Revolution in Music Education - Contemporary Improvisation at NEC

A REVOLUTION IN MUSIC EDUCATION CONTEMPORARY IMPROVISATION AT NEC

18 New England Conservatory Magazine / Spring 2022

BY ANN BRAITHWAITE & MILVA MCDONALD

F

IVE DECADES AGO, New England Conservatory established its pioneering Contemporary Improvisation department, sparking a revolution in music education that has nurtured scores of artists and, as JAZZIZ Magazine put it, “attracted some of the world’s finest faculty and students.” Since its inception, the department has welcomed close to a thousand students, including Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz ’13, jazz keyboardist and composer John Medeski ’88, Guggenheim Fellow and genre-bending clarinetist Don Byron ’84, songwriter and vocalist Aoife O’Donovan ’03, percussionist Tupac Mantilla ’07 MM, innovative gayageum virtuoso DoYeon Kim ’16 MM, ’18 GD, songwriter and guitarist Wendy Eisenberg ’16 MM, vocalist Farayi Malek ’17, and fiddler extraordinaire Lissa Schneckenburger ’01, among many others.

Hailed by The Boston Globe as “a thriving hub of musical exploration” and by JAZZed Magazine as “one of the most versatile [programs] in all of music education,” the CI department is home to a diverse group of forward-thinking artists and gifted teachers, from internationally acclaimed vocalist Dominique Eade ’82, ’89 AD and balafon master Balla Kouyaté to innovative composers Anthony Coleman ’77 and Carla Kihlstedt.

Legendary pianist and educator Ran Blake ’06 Hon. DM, now in his fiftieth year on the NEC faculty, co-founded the department with fellow musical visionary Gunther Schuller ’78 Hon. DM. Together, they conceived of a program that would encourage creative artists to expand their musical vocabularies and develop singular, powerful voices as composers, performers, and improvisers. Says Blake, “The department has served well musicians who do

not fit existing cookie-cutter genre definitions.

Many of our students have built careers on their own unique styles.”

That foundational vision is as pertinent today as it was then. Says CI department Co-Chair Hankus Netsky ’76, ’78 MM, “We have entered an era when musical labels mean less and less and each individual musician draws on multiple influences to define who they are.” Netsky and fellow Co-Chair Eden MacAdam-Somer ’13 DMA oversee CI’s unparalleled approach to aural skills, singing, harmony, aesthetic integrity, collaboration, improvisation, and stylistic openness.

Eschewing narrow categories and embracing a broad musical ethos, the department welcomes musicians seeking to go beyond their comfort zones, encouraging them to delve into areas including composition, improvisation, oral musical traditions from Africa, Asia, and the Americas — and beyond.

The evolution of the Contemporary Improvisation department as one of the most innovative and sought-after music programs in the world began with Schuller’s extraordinary philosophies around what it means to be a musician. In the 1950s he coined “Third Stream,” the term that would become the department’s name for several years. Drawing from existing styles, genres, and sounds to create something entirely new was at the core of Schuller’s idea, with improvisation serving as one of the key building blocks. He later articulated his ideas around the complete musician, and the vital role of the complete conservatory, “a conservatory where the many subsidiary disciplines, whether applied or theoretical, whether vocal or instrumental, whether individual or collective, are all integrated, aware of each other, enlightened by each other.”

During Schuller’s ten years as NEC president he endorsed the department’s work and, shortly

New England Conservatory Magazine / Spring 2022 19

1972

MID- TO LATE-1970s

Gunther Schuller hires Ran Blake to establish the “Third Stream” department, establishing the first program that uses diverse oral traditions of music as their primary source for teaching composers and improvisers.

Department begins to present three concerts each year in Jordan Hall under Blake’s direction.

Expansion of department’s student enrollment and faculty to include Peter Row (world music), Geraldine Martin (vocal traditions), Mick Goodrick (guitar), and Hankus Netsky (aural skills, improvisation). Gunther Schuller moves music education forward by establishing a Duke Ellington Repertory Ensemble, a Contemporary Music Ensemble that moves fluidly between genres, and other school-wide groups that focus on various kinds of American non-classical traditions.

EARLY 1980s NEC becomes a major player in the world of contemporary improvisation.

The first “Third Stream Festival” includes a solo percussion recital by Max Roach, collaborations with other faculty including Jaki Byard, Joseph Maneri, and George Russell. Hankus Netsky forms the “Klezmer Conservatory Band” featuring students from the department and begins teaching Eastern European Jewish Music. Ran Blake leads student and faculty groups at the Rome Jazz Festival and Smithsonian Institute.

20 New England Conservatory Magazine / Spring 2022

1992

2002

NEC changes the name of the department to “Contemporary Improvisation.” Undergraduate program is combined with NEC’s Jazz Studies Program under the “Improvisation” umbrella.

Allen Chase takes over as department chair, hires Joe Morris to teach “Free Improvisation,” and brings in Roscoe Mitchell for a residency.

Ran Blake begins his series of annual Film Noir concerts, which are hailed in 2020 by The Boston Globe as “the most exciting filmgoing experience in Boston.”

1988 Ran Blake receives MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grant.” Primacy of The Ear, a philosophy (and later, music book of the same name) that places paramount importance on listening and promotes individual expression and innovation, continues to inform Blake’s work as pianist, composer, performer and teacher. “I believe in the aural tradition,” says Blake. “Placing the onus on sheet music and scores does not develop a student’s style unless it is really remembered and emotionally conveyed in a performance.”

New England Conservatory Magazine / Spring 2022 21

“

NEC IS MORE THAN A SCHOOL – IT IS AN EPIPHANY”

22 New England Conservatory Magazine / Spring 2022

Pg. 18 & 23: Andrew Hurlbut / New England Conservatory | Pg. 20: NEC Archives & Wendell Davis | Pg. 21: NEC Archives | Jeff Thiebauth | Joan Rogers

before his passing in 2015, told current Co-Chair Netsky, “I feel that my vision for what music training can be has now been realized.”

With a focus on holistic musicianship and artistry that includes but goes far beyond technique, the CI program endows its graduates with knowledge, skills, and profound experiences that they carry forward into their careers.

Says guitarist, vocalist, and bandleader Chris Calloway Brooks ’80, “NEC is more than a school — it is an epiphany.

For me, a day does not pass without a memory of my Third Stream days.”

For artists like one-of-a-kind Japanese pianist and composer Satoko Fujii ’96 GD, the CI department provides the kind of openness and encouragement required to realize their art. “I believe finding and expressing one’s musical voice is the most important thing for a musician,” says Fujii. “Without my NEC experience I don’t believe I’d be doing so.”

Another important aspect of the CI program is the creation of a close-knit community of faculty and students, and the trust and support that offers.

Saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and “Jazz Rabbi” Greg Wall ’82 says the NEC community helped students gain the confidence to take themselves seriously as artists, take risks, and transcend labels: “I cannot imagine myself being me without it.” Flamenco guitarist and composer Juanito Pascual ’97 echoes Wall’s sentiments: “The devotion to quality and expansive creativity, the emphasis put on each student’s exploration and development of a uniquely personal musical vision, the participation in a thriving and diverse musical community — these are

just some of the things that mark my time at NEC as extraordinary.”

As the Contemporary Improvisation department carries its vision well into the 21st century, the core values of its foundation — artistic curiosity, relentless creativity, dissolving boundaries, and unwavering excellence — continue to be guiding principles. Singer-songwriter Jarosz, who graduated in 2013, expresses gratitude for the way her studies pushed her out of her musical comfort zone: “I have had the opportunity to study and play countless styles of music right alongside some of the most talented and creative musicians around today. It is the kind of environment where you feel like there are no musical lines or boundaries that can’t be crossed, and it is that adventurous nature and spirit that makes this program so unique and exciting to be a part of.”

Like Fujii and many others before them, CI grad and current faculty member Nima Janmohammadi ’13 MM, ’14 GD, ’19 DMA found a place where he could foster his unique and unusual talents: “My background is in Persian music, so when I decided to continue my education, I only had two options: ethnomusicology or Western classical music. Contemporary Improvisation is the only program in the world where I could come and play my music, work on my weak spots, listen and learn about so many different languages in music.”

In addition to enriching the lives and music of its students, the department provides a profound artistic home for teachers. “I believe very much in the Third Stream/Contemporary Improvisation department and have devoted more than 55 years of my life to New England Conservatory,” says Blake. “To inspire younger musicians, and to gain an appreciation of musical memory and how it affects one’s personal style and career, has been the most defining thing in my life.”

With a faculty filled with brilliant artists, dedicated teachers, and some of the most talented students in the world, the future of the CI department is bright.

2014

2008 Hankus Netsky takes over as Chair. With support from President Tony Woodcock’s administration, Netsky expands the department’s faculty, ensemble program, and curriculum, adding several electives including Songwriting, African Roots, Contemporary Rock, and World Music ensembles; with groups to play student compositions. He begins annual residency program which over the years features luminaries including Elliott Sharp, Fred Frith, John Zorn, Matana Roberts, Carla Kihlstedt, Marty Ehrlich, Mat Maneri, Mary Halvorson, and Tyshawn Sorey.

2012 CI department celebrates 40 th anniversary with concerts featuring Randy Weston, Gunther Schuller, Sarah Jarosz, Marty Ehrlich, Carla Kihlstedt, Anthony Coleman, Peter Row, Judy Bressler, Linda Chase, Juanito Pascual, Dominique Eade, Lissa Schneckenburger, David Fiuczynski, Ken Schaphorst, Hankus Netsky, Ran Blake, and many others. NYC events include CI Showcase concert; allday Contemporary Improvisation Festival in Brooklyn; and discussion/performance highlighting NEC’s pivotal role in the revitalization of Jewish music.

Netsky hires violinist, vocalist, composer, and percussive dancer Eden MacAdam-Somer as Assistant Chair and, later, Co-Chair. Department adds American Roots, Contemporary Rock, Irish Music, Mandé West African Music, Interdisciplinary Arts, Korean Music ensembles.

In 2017, Anthony Coleman composes multi-movement work featuring CI students, commissioned for NEC’s 150 th anniversary. In 2021, Ran Blake’s 85th Birthday Celebration features concert of his music and interviews by historian Robin Kelley and Netsky.

2022-2023 CI department to celebrate 50 th anniversary with an array of programming featuring CI luminaries.