HONORS ENSEMBLE INFORMATION

PLEASE NOTE!
THIS CONTRACT IS AN EXAMPLE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED
THE OFFICIAL CONTRACT FOR 2025.2026.
THIS IS INFORMATIONAL ONLY

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New England Conservatory of Music 2024-2025 Honors Ensemble Performer Contract  

1. This contract is valid November 4th, 2024 to May 16th, 2025.  

2. Each Honors Ensemble will perform two community performances during this school year, to be arranged by the Community Performances and Partnerships Department. These must be completed before the last day of final exams for the Spring Semester. These may include performances in schools, senior centers, libraries and other community venues. Each Honors  Ensemble will likely be asked to perform for NEC constituencies. These performances may include, but are not limited to: Board and Development meetings, Board dinners and special events, NEC’s annual fundraiser Feast of  Music, Board house concerts, and Commencement. Such performances will be based on the needs of the event, specific requests of repertoire or genre, and scheduling, and are considered part of the first semester stipend payment. Each ensemble will  also play an Honors recital in Jordan Hall, on a date scheduled by the Chamber Music Office.  

3. All Honors Ensemble members are required to attend one mandatory community engagement  training workshop with the CPP Department. This meeting will be scheduled at the November 17th Boost Retreat with  each ensemble. Generally, an ensemble will create a program that is suitable for a particular  audience and will perform that program in numerous appropriate settings. These may include  performances in schools, senior centers, libraries and other community venues; the interests of the  ensemble can help to shape the type of program performed.  Each ensemble is responsible for meeting with the CPP Department as needed to discuss the  ensemble’s upcoming community performances, confirm ensemble availability and repertoire for  performances, and coordinate performance details with sites and/or presenters.  

4. All Honors Ensemble members are required to attend the Honors Boost Retreat, taking place  November 17th, 2024, 12pm-9pm. This retreat will serve to develop community engagement skills and unify the  Honors Ensembles in terms of presenting themselves in differing venues and environments, for a  diversity of audiences.  

5. Upon successful completion of all program requirements, each ensemble member will receive a stipend based on  the fulfillment of requirements. Additional paid performance opportunities may be offered to the  Honors Ensembles based upon availability and interest throughout the year. The Student Employment Manager from the Human Resources office will be in touch with participants to confirm work authorization and collect any onboarding paperwork. All Payment paperwork and work authorization must be confirmed by Human Resources prior to starting work as an Honors Ensemble musician. Students must be legally permitted to work on campus; international students must be cleared by Human Resources prior to auditioning to ensure that stipend payments are successful. A group may not be permitted to audition if all members are not legally able to work on campus.

Payments will be distributed based on the following requirements:

• following participation at Honors Boost Retreat, and in recognition of Honors Ensemble Program placement. 

• attendance at Community Engagement Workshop in Spring 2025 (various times offered)

• per Community Engagement Performance

• Jordan Hall Recital

6. Each Honors Ensemble will have group photographs taken at a shoot organized at the Honors Boost Retreat. Digital copies of two separate images will be provided to each member of  the ensemble. As necessary, NEC will use these photos as publicity for performance venues and  presenters. Additional images from the photo shoot will be made available to ensemble  members at a price determined by the photographer. Each ensemble must select one photo to  represent the group no later than one month after the photo shoot. The NEC public relations staff  therefore reserves the right to choose whichever photos they feel will be most effective for  inclusion in their promotional materials. Photoshoots will take place with an NEC-approved photographer on a  date coordinated by Elizabeth Van Voorhis.  

7. For publicity purposes, each ensemble must supply the CPP Department with individual performer  biographies and an ensemble biography no later than December 13th, 2024. All biographies  should be no more than one paragraph and must be submitted in an electronic format. Contact  the Entrepreneurial Musicianship Department for assistance in writing biographies. Faculty  coaches must approve Jordan Hall recital programs. Changes in repertoire must be made prior  to any print deadline and approved by the coach.  

8. Given the responsibilities that each Honors Ensemble assumes, no member of an Honors Ensemble may have prolonged absences from NEC (no more than 8 days per absence and no more than 20 days total per semester).* *Please reference NEC Temporary Leave Policy 2024-25

9. NEC Honors Ensemble performances or rehearsals will not be considered excused absences from  regularly scheduled classes, lessons, large ensemble rehearsals, or other performance and NEC  obligations. Honors Ensemble performers are solely responsible for avoiding any conflicts. 

10. The NEC Honors Ensembles may consist only of the performers judged and selected during the  Honors Ensemble Auditions. Therefore, NEC Honors Ensembles personnel may not be altered in any way without the written approval of  appropriate department chair: Ara Gregorian & Christopher Elchico, Chairs of the Chamber Music  Department; Ken Schaphorst & Anna Webber, Chairs of Jazz Studies; Hankus Netsky & Eden MacAdam-Somer,  Co-Chairs of the Contemporary Musical Arts Department. Unapproved substitutions will result in  suspension of payment for the entire ensemble. In extreme cases (i.e., illness or injury) a member  may request a substitution for a CPP performance (no substitutes are acceptable for the Jordan Hall recital). All such cases must be cleared by CPP and  the Chamber Music/Jazz/CMA office before the event. Honors Ensemble members are individually  responsible for paying substitutes at a rate of $100 per performance. The Chamber Music Office  will not pay substitutes directly.  

11. All NEC Honors Ensemble members must be enrolled as full-time students for both the Fall and Spring semesters in the school year during which they are a member of an official Honors Ensemble. Tuition will not be waived to ensure this status.

11 The Honors Ensembles will each be assigned a student composition to  premiere. These compositions are chosen through a competition within the NEC Composition Department and in conversation with Honors Ensemble personnel. The NEC honors ensembles have had a long history of partnering with NEC composition students via a composition competition in which NEC student-works are selected (one per honors ensemble) by the composition department for performance in the honors ensembles’ second semester recitals. The works are chosen at the start of the second semester, which allows composers time to compose new works specifically for the honors ensembles. This year, each honors ensemble (or a representative from an ensemble) will participate in the adjudication process, enabling them to consider issues of programming, etc., when deciding which piece will be declared a winning work. 

12. While each group is encouraged to select an ensemble name, concerts and recital  performances arranged by NEC (CPP, Board events, gigs, etc.) must carry the NEC Honors  Ensemble designation during events. When playing paid/unpaid “gigs” not coordinated by NEC,  groups should list their NEC Honors Ensemble status within any printed biographies; during  performances of this type, groups are not required to use the NEC Honors Ensemble designation  within their name, or announce this status during their performance. When performing as  “background music,” ensembles should not use the “Honors” designation. Groups should only use  their NEC Honors Ensemble designation when performing as the full ensemble.  

13. NEC Honors Ensembles are among the most important ambassadors for NEC and must always  represent its best interests in any environment. To maintain the integrity and reputation of the  program, ensemble members must conduct themselves appropriately and professionally in all  NEC Honors events and dealings. Failure to do so by any member(s) will result in suspension of  payment for the entire ensemble, and can result in the ensemble’s suspension from the program.  

I understand and accept all of the conditions of this agreement. 

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NEC Honors Ensembles are chosen by group audition from various departments within the Conservatory. They are paid a stipend for a number of off-campus performances during the year and receive special promotional support. Like regular small ensembles, Honors Ensembles are coached by a faculty member and rehearse on a regular basis.

The CMA Honors Ensemble must be led by a CMA Major but may include students from other departments. Groups may perform any genre of music, including music that is beyond genre or music that is deeply seated in tradition, and should have a collective goal or vision with clear ideas about repertoire. Repertoire may be learned/developed aurally, on the page, or both, but ensembles must show a clear commitment to a deep exploration of sound worlds and to the performer/composer/improviser ethos of our department.

All ensemble members must be enrolled in a BM, MM, DMA, GD, or UG Diploma COLLEGE degree or diploma program at NEC - no SCE Certificate or Prep students can be in Honors Ensembles.

Instrumentation:

Ensembles are normally made up of between 3 and 6 students. When there are more than five members in an honors group, each member will earn proportionally less than the usual amount per stipend. While we are open to all kinds of ensembles, groups must be able to get to and perform in a variety of outreach locations without a large amount of time for set-up. If you have questions about this, please ask. No individual may participate in more than two NEC Honors group in each academic year.

Responsibilities of Honors Ensembles:

• All Honors Ensembles must attend an orientation and informational online meeting on November 23, 2025, from 12:00-2:00p.

• Perform 2-3 community performances arranged by the Community Performances and Partnerships Department and completed by the end of the promotional period for the Spring Semester.

• Honors Ensembles may also be asked to perform at events for NEC constituencies.

CMA Honors Ensemble will perform a concert in Jordan Hall on either Monday, March 30, 2026 at 7:30pm, or, Thursday, April 2, 2026 at 7:30pm. These dates cannot be changed, and availability on these dates is a prerequisite to auditioning for these ensembles.

BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR INTENT, WE RECOMMEND READING THE NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC 2024-2025 VERSION OF THE HONORS ENSEMBLE PERFORMER CONTRACT. 

To Audition for a CMA Honors Ensemble:

Submit a brief written proposal/statement of vision in word or pdf format saved as “Ensemble Name CMA 2026” including the following information:

• Personnel, instrumentation, contact info for each group member
  Ensemble goal, or vision, and why you have chosen this personnel, instrumentation, repertoire, etc.

• How will the music be learned? Is it composed? Notated? Learned by ear? Improvised?
  Who will serve as organizational and business contact person or leader? (Please choose one person.)

• Give three suggestions of appropriate faculty coaches you would like to work with. You may split your coachings between two faculty members.
  What is the proposed rehearsal schedule? Are there any special room or instrument availability considerations?

• List some repertoire ideas.

• What kind(s) of outreach audience(s) is this ensemble best suited for? (For example, school audiences, and if so, what ages? Nursing homes? Shelters? Hospitals?) 

• Submit 2 recordings by shared file or website link.

• One piece should be based on a known composition or melody (not an original). The other piece may be another piece based on a melody, an original composition, or an improvisation. Recordings do not need to be studio quality – you may record in a live performance, practice room, etc, but make sure the quality is good enough to really give us a sense of what you want to do. You must include all members of the ensemble in the recording.

ALL INFORMATION MUS BE SUBMITTED TO EDEN.MACADAM-SOMER@NECMUSIC.EDU BY 6:00 PM on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17.

At the beginning of each year two small ensembles of up to five members are selected as our Jazz and CMA Honors Ensembles. These ensembles each receive a stipend for performing throughout the school year at special functions and present a Jordan Hall concert in the Spring. All members must be full-time NEC students in a degree or diploma program for the entire school year (no SCE Certificate, Prep or Artist Diploma) and no individual may be selected for more than one group (Jazz and CMA).

NEC Honors Ensembles are chosen by group audition from various departments within the Conservatory. They are paid a stipend for a number of off-campus performances during the year and receive special promotional support. Like regular small ensembles, Honors Ensembles are coached by a faculty member and rehearse on a regular basis.

All ensemble members must be enrolled in a BM, MM, DMA, GD, or UG Diploma COLLEGE degree or diploma program at NEC - no SCE Certificate or Prep students can be in Honors Ensembles.

No individual may participate in more than two NEC Honors group in each academic year.

Responsibilities of Honors Ensembles:

• All Honors Ensembles must attend an orientation and informational online meeting on November 23, 2025, from 12:00-2:00p.

• Perform 2-3 community performances arranged by the Community Performances and Partnerships Department and completed by the end of the promotional period for the Spring Semester.

• Honors Ensembles may also be asked to perform at events for NEC constituencies.

Honors Ensembles will perform a concert in Jordan Hall on either Monday, March 30, 2026 at 7:30pm, or, Thursday, April 2, 2026 at 7:30pm. These dates cannot be changed, and availability on these dates is a prerequisite to auditioning for these ensembles.

BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR INTENT, WE RECOMMEND READING THE NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC 2024-2025 VERSION OF THE HONORS ENSEMBLE PERFORMER CONTRACT. 

To Audition for a Jazz Honors Ensemble:

• Submit a brief written proposal/statement of vision in word or pdf format saved as “Ensemble Name Jazz 2026."

  1. • Include 3 different requests for ensemble coach.

     • Include ideas on repertoire and goals.

• Submit a recording with two pieces (about ten minutes of music) performed by the group by 6:00 PM on Friday, October 17, 2026.

  1. • Label the recordings clearly with personnel, titles, and composers. One of the pieces should be based on a known melody or composition (not an original). The other piece is your choice — it may be another piece based on a melody, an original composition, or an improvisation. Both pieces should involve improvisation to a significant degree.

ALL INFORMATION MUST BE SUBMITTED TO JAZZ@NECMUSIC.EDU BY 6:00 PM on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17.