Music’s Next Generation – A College Showcase

Pop music jam session for all-cello ensemble. Founded in 2024, Crimson Cellos performs a diverse range of popular pieces arranged for cellos, from movie soundtracks to hip hop, in an effort to connect classical instruments with modern music. Past repertoire includes songs from Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Vivaldi, The Beatles, and much more. Crimson Cellos aims to spread musical diffusion by challenging cello misconceptions, which include its limited ability to play only classical music and its role as a relatively less prominent instrument in the orchestra. By illustrating how the cello can carry the main melody or express nuanced emotion, Crimson Cellos hopes to demonstrate to why they love this instrument so much.

Naad literally means “sound”, but in philosophical terms it is the primordial sound that echoes through the universe, the vibration that is believed to have originated with its creation and has been reverberating through our very being ever since. Therefore, it is considered as the eternal Sound or Melody.

NAAD which is our acronym for Northeastern A Cappella Association for Desi Music will be focused on bringing music lovers of South Asian music together. There are different types of music that originated in South Asia like hindustani classical, ghazal, qawali, carnatic music and so on. This will also bring South Asian music to the A Cappella sphere in Northeastern University.
The club will consist of musicians from different south asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) which will be reflected in our music and in our performances.

Established in 2001, Mariachi Véritas de Harvard is Harvard's one and only mariachi. The group is completely student run, with newer members learning the craft from returning members. Throughout the year, we perform at a variety of concerts and gigs, culminating in a year-end trip every spring. Members come from a variety of backgrounds ranging from mariachi to classical to folk, but all share a love of mariachi music.

The NEC Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1998, was a pioneer among major conservatories in creating a conductorless ensemble. Under the artistic direction of Donald Palma, a founding member of the acclaimed Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the ensemble offers students the opportunity to apply the principles of chamber music in a small orchestral setting.

Seventeen members, chosen by audition each fall, remain together for the academic year. Leadership rotates for every work performed, giving students the chance to develop communication skills, take responsibility for musical decisions, and deepen both their aural and score-reading abilities.

Participation in the ensemble allows students to explore the rich chamber orchestra repertoire and experience the collaborative artistry of unconducted performance. The Boston-based ensemble A Far Cry traces its roots to the NEC Chamber Orchestra, a testament to its legacy of innovation and excellence.

Violinist Joshua Brown has been praised by audiences and critics worldwide. Recipient of a 2025 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Joshua gained international attention after winning the 2nd Prize and both Audience Awards at the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Other international competition successes include the 1st Prize at the inaugural 2023 Global Music Education International Violin Competition in Beijing, China, as well as the 1st Prize and Audience Award at the 2019 International Violin Competition of Leopold Mozart in Augsburg, Germany. 

Joshua was first recognized for his debut performance with the Cleveland Orchestra and has gone on to perform regularly with orchestras around the world, including the Munich Radio Orchestra, MDR Sinfonieorchester, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Civic Orchestra, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege, among others, continually garnering praise from critics. After his performance of Brahms’ Violin Concerto in Beijing with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Strad wrote, “Brown spun out silky, weightless phrases that seemed suspended in time;” in Belgium, Le Soir described him as “a real musician, of great sensitivity…with a real sense of nuance;” and the Indianapolis Star described his sound after a performance of Mozart’s 5th Violin Concerto as “addictive and shimmering, with emotions like dynamic colors that shifted beneath a clear, glassy surface.” 

A passionate recitalist and chamber musician, Joshua has also appeared regularly in series such as Chicago's Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Festival Musiq3 in Brussels, the Tchaikovsky Festival in Moscow, the ProMusica series in Mexico, the Matinée Musicale series in Cincinnati, the Jupiter Chamber Players series in New York City, and the North Shore Chamber Music Festival in Chicago. Joshua received the Kronberg Academy’s 2023 Manfred Grommek Prize, and has been named a Pirastro Artist, Yamaha Young Performing Artist, and Luminarts Fellow, among other awards. 

Joshua is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music under Donald Weilerstein after also earning his Bachelor and Master of Music there. Before his time at NEC, Joshua studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago. Joshua is grateful to be playing an outstanding Nicolo Amati violin from Cremona, circa 1635-1640, on extended loan through the generosity of the Mary B. Galvin Foundation and the efforts of the Stradivari Society, a division of Bein & Fushi, Inc. The Mary B. Galvin Foundation, Inc. and the Stradivari Society support the very highest level of string playing by loaning precious antique Italian instruments to artists of exceptional talent and ability.

The Jackson Jills, founded in 1963, were named after Cornelia Maria Jackson, who bequeathed funds to Tufts to help “remove the disabilities of women.”

In her name, Jackson College was founded in 1910 as a coordinate college to Tufts. An alternative to both womens’ colleges and fully coeducational schools, coordinate colleges provided women with a separate, and in theory equal, education at a womens’ college that existed in conjunction with a mens’ school.

Our history is extremely important to us because it reminds us of the strength we as women possess and of the great accomplishments we can achieve. This truth is deeply embedded in our “Jill mindset” and has set the tone for everything we do– from our audition week selection process to our onstage performances. Jills are strong-willed and hardworking women, and this is something we are enormously proud of.

Although our central purpose is to arrange, sing, and perform music we love, we also find purpose in the strong friendships and lifelong bonds we form during our four years singing together at Tufts; these are relationships that have sustained our group for over fifty years. Our sisterhood and strong alumni ties have created (and continue to create) a network of passionate, warm, and intelligent women who are not only talented performers, but loving friends.

Boston University Symphonic Chorus

Daniel Parsley, Director of Choral Activities & Chair for Graduate Conducting
Kevin Lackie, Graduate Associate Conductor 
D.J. Cleavinger, Collaborative Pianist 

Abby Bancroft
Alex Segreti
Alexandros Balaouras
Alayna Pabon
Allison Zeoli
Amanda Cohen
Amanda Forde
Andrew Mak
Anna Beeken
Alyssa Bauman
Alyssa Carlson
Audrey Hyers
Bethany He
Bianca Lucas
Bianca Rahme
Bobby Chen
Braden Willenbrock
Bridget Kearney
Bridgette Curran
Cameron Edgar
Caroline Ahn
Charlotte Ma
Cindy Yao
Cooper Hassman
Corinne Davidson
Dakota Winslow
Daniella Parkinson
Daniella Spencer-Laitt
David Fried
Devin Barry
Delainey Bostley
Defne Akkan
Ethan Huey
Edith Mora Hernandez
Emmalynn Craft
Emmanuel Aguirre Gutierrez
Eushin Vitale
George King
Grace Lesselroth
Gulce Kureli
Hannah Dubroff
Ilyena Metzger
Jack Vincent
Jacqueline Shaw
Jailyn Thompson
Jaida Hawkins
Jessica Bickerton
Jessica Laman
Jerome Boxer
Jinho Cho
Jinny Lee
John Kwon
Joseph Hall
Joshua Sultanik
Julia Rojkov
Junmin Wang
Katelyn Tobey
Kaydence Meikle
Keller Wegter-McNelly
Kevin Lackie
Kyle Capogna
Lance Laird
Lara Hibbert
Laura Long
Laura Morgan
Lauren Mahoney
Libby Herrenkohl
Lucas Rie
Madison Jorgensen
Mackenzie Briggs
Marco Marchant
Mariko Henstock
Marshall Joos
Matthew Sperling
Max Romoff
Mengyue (Lydia) Yi
Michael Blackwell
Michael Bradley
Monica Ultmann
Morgan Snoap
Nicoleta Cutitaru
Niklas Rietsch
Owen Shultz
Peter Balluffi-Fry
Reina Radnor
Renee Dvorske
River Peterson
Robert Baron
Roshan Sivaraman
Ruby Perriello
Ruby Voge
Sam Rekulak
Samuel Soric
Shawn Smaldon
Sherra Ng
Sinead O'Mahoney
Sophie Duda
Tessa Hayashida
Ten Harder
Theo Sheldon
Travis Benoit
Tyler Borges
Veer Sawhney
Wanda Sullivan
Xilei Zhang
Xunuo (Nora) Zhang
Ysobel Leonard
Yuki Frampton
Yuqing Bai
Zachary Held
Zara Oytan
Zijun (Claire) Zhu

Boston University Chamber Choir

Daniel Parsley, Director of Choral Activities & Chair for Graduate Conducting
Karen Frank, Graduate Associate Conductor 
D.J. Cleavinger, Collaborative Pianist 

Gabriel Alper
Abby Bancroft
Travis Benoit
Michael Bradley
Jerome Boxer
Jinho Cho
Marie Davis
Yuki Frampton
Karen Frank
Audrey Hyers
Kevin Lackie
Ysobel Leonard
Bianca Lucas
Morgan Lucero
Andrew Mak
Marco Marchant
Lauren Mahoney
Ilyena Metzger
Edith Mora Hernandez
Laura Morgan
Justin Moy
Sinead O'Mahoney
Janae Peterson
River Peterson
Hannah Prince
Bianca Rahme
Olivia Rhein
Max Romoff
Sergio Savala
Veer Sawhney
Alex Segreti
Roshan Sivaraman
Shawn Smaldon
Samuel Soric
Matthew Sperling
Owen Shultz
Dennis Veidelis
Braden Willenbrock
Hsin-Chieh Wu
Mengyue Yi

Last Words of David
Randall Thompson

He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth,
even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth
by clear shining after rain.

Come to Me, My Love
Norman Dello Joio

Come to me in the silence of the night;
Come in the speaking silence of a dream;
Come with soft rounded cheeks and eyes as bright
As sunlight on a stream;
Come back in tears
O memory, hope, love of finished years

Oh dream how sweet, too sweet, too bitter sweet
Whose wakening should have been in Paradise
Where souls brimfull of love abide and meet;
Where thirsting longing eyes
Watch the slow door
That opening, letting in, lets out no more

Yet come to me in dreams, that I may live
My very life again though cold in death:
Come back to me in dreams, that I may give
Pulse for pulse, breath for breath:
Speak low, lean low
As long ago, my love, how long ago!

Praise the Lord
Florence Price

O Praise the LORD, all ye nations:
praise him, all ye people.
For his merciful kindness is great toward us: 
and the truth of the LORD endureth forever. 
Praise ye the LORD

Make Our Garden Grow, from Candide
Leonard Bernstein

Candide
You’ve been a fool
And so have I,
But come and be my wife.
And let us try,
Before we die,
To make some sense of life.
We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good
We’ll do the best we know.
We’ll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow.

Cunegonde
I thought the world
Was sugar cake
For so our master said.
But, now I’ll teach
My hands to bake
Our loaf of daily bread.

Candide and Cunegonde
We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good
We’ll do the best we know.
We’ll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow.

Ensemble
Let dreamers dream
What worlds they please
Those Edens can’t be found.
The sweetest flowers,
The fairest trees
Are grown in solid ground.

We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good
We’ll do the best we know.
We’ll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow!