NEC Chicago Alumni Chapter

Building the NEC Chapter...The Next Step:

As we develop our Midwest Alumni Chapter we are now in the process of forming our steering committee.  If you have interest in joining the leadership of this chapter please contact James Knabe (Chair, NEC Chicago/Midwest Alumni Chapter) or Cheryl Weber (NEC Alumni Relations Director).

If you just want to get connected, meet other alumni in the area, get help with career issues, find someone to join you for a concert, host a dinner or event, or learn more about what our chapter is doing please contact James Knabe.

You will all be receiving an email shortly in regards to the next steps for the chapter.  Please consider joining us in leadership or as a participator!  If the NEC Alumni office does not have your current email address please be sure to email Cheryl Weber with your new information and we will send you updates on the Chicago Chapter.

Goals of NEC Chicago Alumni Chapter:

• To foster connections among NEC alumni within your area and with the college through regional events and performances (alumni celebrations, performances, house parties/concerts, informal gatherings/dinners)
• To serve as ambassadors of NEC, enhancing its visibility nationally
• To promote NEC to potential students, bringing outstanding talent to NEC (be available to connect and assist potential students with NEC Admissions and Faculty)
• To share professional opportunities, contacts and collaborations with the NEC community, alumni and students (local alumni network, gig/job referral network)
• To welcome new NEC graduates or alumni that are relocating to your community (we've just had a couple come to Chicago in the last month!)
• To support career development for those in life transitions through networking opportunities and professional development events (job referral, resource and contact sharing)
• To participate in the NEC Annual Fund at whatever level is comfortable and encourage financial support for NEC during the Gift of Music Capital Campaign

Many of you may not be aware that NEC can be very useful to you in your current career and circumstances. Perhaps you'd like to reconnect with a faculty member, a student from your class, or a long-lost friend. Maybe you'd like to find like-minded friends in your area or perhaps you can offer help or expertise to other alumni or to current NEC students.

For those Alumni that are currently in the music field, area alumni can be a networking conduit for you. In fact one of the many networking opportunities available to you is a new website set up by one of our Chicago-area Alumnus Lisa Taylor. Her website is musician2go.com. Please visit her site and register. It's a directory of freelance musicians/artists and a great resource!

Maybe you are well-established in your artistic field and want to help newcomers to the Midwest. We can help you do that as well!

Another great blessing that NEC continues to offer to its alumni is the NEC Career Services Center and the experience of its director Angela Beeching. Angela is a pioneer in the field and is highly respected around the country. The career services office has hundreds of resources avaialbe for your use (they can send the handouts to you) and they also have an online system called Bridge. More to come about Bridge but in short it is an online resource that is much more than just a job listing service.

Even if you are in a field other than music and the arts there are ways in which NEC and specifically the NEC Alumni Chapter can impact your life. Several people have already expressed interest in holding house get-togethers/parties that center around a shared love of music. From a social point of view this is a great opportunity to connect with like-minded folks. Several others have talked about going to area concerts together. Perhaps you can assist people coming out of NEC who want to diversify outside of the arts. We all know that a background in the arts is a big plus for many other fields.

There are many more ways that NEC, NEC Alumni Department, and the NEC Chicago/Midwest Chapter can benefit you!

Please visit NEC's Alumni Website!


Please feel free to contact Cheryl Weber NEC Alumni Director at CWeber@NewEnglandConservatory.edu

You can also contact me (James Knabe) at james@trumpeter.com

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I'd like to open this post to comments. Feel free to leave one about what you'd like to see the Chicago chapter do or ways in which you'd like to re-connect or get more involved with NEC! If you would like to post a comment or idea please click on the link entitled comments at the end of this posting. A new screen will come up enabling you to leave comments.

If you would like to be involved in the continued development of the NEC Midwest/Chicago Alumni Chapter please email me here.

Welcome to New England Conservatory of Music Alumni in the greater Midwest. We have recently started up a Chicago area NEC Alumni Chapter that will serve Chicago, Chicago Suburbs, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana. The idea for this came up about a year ago and I took the opportunity on a trip to Boston to sit down with Cheryl Weber (Alumni Director) and mapped out the Chicago chapter.