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Miguel Zenon discusses "Identities are Changeable"

581 views · Published 4 November 2014 · 4:05 · Indexed 6 November 2026

Channel: New England Conservatory · 2014 · Music

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Miguel Zenon discusses his major composition "Identities are Changeable" with New England Conservatory Jazz Studies chair Ken Schaphorst, prior to a performance of the complete work in NEC's Jordan Hall in February 2013.

About "Identities Are Changeable": (It was) inspired by the idea of national identity as experienced by the Puerto Rican community in the United States, specifically in the New York area. All the music on the album is written around a series of interviews with several individuals, all of them New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent. The narrative created by these conversations gave birth to all the compositions on the record, with audio excerpts from the interviews weaving in and out each piece. The album, which is also complemented by a video installment by David Dempewolf, features Zenón’s longstanding quartet (with Luis Perdomo, Hans Glawischnig and Henry Cole) plus a twelve-piece large ensemble comprised of some of the best musicians in jazz today. Identities are Changeable was Nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award for best Latin Jazz Album and was chosen as one of the best jazz recordings of 2014 by NBC News, NPR, The Boston Globe and Rhapsody, All About Jazz and Jazz News Magazine, among others. 

ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY
A cultural icon that will mark its 150th anniversary in 2017, New England Conservatory (NEC) is recognized worldwide as a leader among music schools. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, NEC offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. NEC alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. Half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC-trained musicians and faculty.

The only conservatory in the United States designated a National Historic Landmark, NEC presents more than 1000 free concerts each year. Many of these take place in Jordan Hall (which shares National Historic Landmark status with the school), world-renowned for its superb acoustics and beautifully restored interior.

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