Venezuelan pianist Elena Abend has performed and toured throughout her native country. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Ms. Abend has performed at Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, Merkin Concert Hall, the Corcoran Gallery, Chicago Cultural Center, the Pabst Theater, Atlanta Historical Society and the Academy of Music with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Performances in Europe include London’s Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Toulouse Conservatoire, Theatre Luxembourg, University of Glasgow and “Musicales de Montsoreau” in France.
An active chamber musician, she has collaborated at the Marlboro and Ravinia Music Festivals, Frankly Music, Present Music, Milwaukee Musaik, Chamber Music Milwaukee, Rembrandt Chamber Players in Chicago, “Classical Progressions” at the Wilson Center, “Four Seasons” in Berkley, California, Music Institute of Chicago, Washington Island Music Festival and with the Philomusica, Mendelsohn, and Fine Arts Quartets.
Recordings include soloist with the Filarmonica Nacional in Venezuela, INNOVA recording, Albany Records and Avie label. Her latest recording “Fierce Lyricism” in collaboration with flutist Caen Thomason-Redus is now available on Spotify, Amazon and other digital music platforms. Pedagogically Ms. Abend has worked on numerous recording and editing projects for the Hal Leonard Corporation. She is chair of piano studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she teaches piano performance, collaborative piano and chamber music, as well as faculty at the Collaborative Piano Institute at Louisiana State University.
Dr. Nicole Wright is an award-winning violinist, violist, arranger, and music educator who has worked with renowned artists such as Rick Ross, Miley Cyrus, Mark Ronson, Jon Batiste, Metro Boomin, Yebba Smith, and Madonna. She has performed at the White House Correspondents Dinner Pre-party, hosted by Google and the Atlantic, under the Obama administration,
appeared as an on-stage musician at the Metropolitan Opera; and, in a series of television shows such as the David Letterman show, Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and in the Netflix’s limited series, the High and the Hog.
As a world traveling artist she has performed in Guadeloupe, France with Ensemble du Monde, in Panama City Panama with the Funsincopa organization, and the Tri-state area with the Wordless Orchestra. Passionate about performing, arranging, and teaching, Dr. Wright was reached out to by the Bronxnet Television station to be their spotlight artist. There, she shared
her teaching philosophy and performed her arrangement of Michael Jackson’s ‘Heal the World’. The Bronxnet Television station also shared her arrangement of Lean on Me, in honor of Black History Month.
Ms. Wright holds a Master of Music Degree from Mannes College of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Rutgers University. Along with performing Dr. Wright is a passionate educator. Currently, she is the teaching master at Opus 118, Harlem School of Music. There, she leads the violin program at a public school in Harlem and trains aspiring violin teachers.
Dr. Wright resides in New York City and enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, and fashion.
Nevena Bojovic, Serbian native, is a violin teacher, conductor and a performer from Summit, NJ. Mrs. Bojovic holds a B. Mus. in violin performance from the University of Musical Arts in Belgrade, Serbia. After moving to the US, Mrs. Bojovic continued her studies with the renowned teacher, Mr. Kawasaki, and obtained a M. Mus. Degree from
Brooklyn College, NY.
Mrs. Bojovic has had a pleasure to perform throughout the Tri-state area as a freelance musician with numerous ensembles. Mrs. Bojovic’s orchestral experience includes performances throughout Europe with Serbian Chamber Orchestra and St. George Strings ensembles.
Mrs. Bojovic received Suzuki teacher training and certification from School for Strings, NYC. She has been a faculty member of SCMC (New Providence, NJ), String Project (Brooklyn College, NY), United Nations International School (New York, NY), Far Brook School (Short Hills, NJ), Bridgewater-Raritan School District, NJ, and is currently an
Orchestra Director at the Summit High School, NJ. Mrs. Bojovic is a conductor with the New Jersey Youth Orchestra (NJYS), where she conducts the Sinfonia string ensemble, and is a string session director for the NJYS Orchestral Summer Camp.
NEMC Land Acknowledement
New England Music Camp is located in Sidney, Maine, which was settled on the traditional land of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Wabanaki Confederacy is composed of the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Mi'kmaq peoples. We respect the values and traditions of these Tribes and affirm their inherent and deeply rooted sovereignty of this land of which they have been caretakers for almost 15,000 years.
We pause in remembering the lives of peoples of the Wabanaki Confederacy that were lost through genocidal colonization.
As individuals and as an organization, NEMC is committed to taking action in undoing systematic oppression and racism as well as supporting Wabanaki people in their continued stewardship of their land. We encourage you to join us in this work. The resources listed below are a great place to start as you begin to think about your personal relationship with the land on which you reside.
Native Land Map - this resource allows you to see what Native land you are on.
Wabanaki REACH - a Maine-based organization dedicated to education, truth-telling, and restorative justice.
Music Program
Instrumentalists and vocalists at New England Music Camp spend their mornings in four one-hour periods of music taught by a prestigious faculty of professional performers and educators from universities, colleges, and highly recognized public and private school music programs. A 4:1 faculty to student ratio provides an environment rich in sharing and learning. Students and their teachers at home often remark that “one summer of music at NEMC is like a year at home”!
Campers at New England Music Camp design their own schedules, choosing from a wide range of classes. The weekly schedule includes two one half-hour private lessons, with the option to add additional lesson time, and participation in one or more of the major performing groups. Public performances take place on Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm at our outdoor amphitheater, the Bowl-in-the-Pines.
NEMC Employment
Snow Pond Center for the Arts is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.
This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. Snow Pond Center for the Arts makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.
Faculty
Faculty members at New England Music Camp are carefully chosen for both their achievements as professional performers and their recognition for excellence in teaching. We live in a close knit community where we dine family style and many of our faculty enjoy joining the campers on the recreation fields.
Click on the appropriate department below to read faculty bios.
Music Lessons