Adam Ayan

This event, which is free and open to the public, will explore the mechanics of music mastering from a leader in the field. Music mastering is the final creative step in transforming a recording into a record.

Ayan, who grew-up in Malden and Windham, NH, graduated from Pinkerton Academy (Derry, NH). He is also a graduate of UMass Lowell’s Sound Recording Technology (SRT) Program. He works as a mastering engineer at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, Maine, where he has collected more than 90 gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums.

“Mastering is all about bringing my clients’ music to its fullest sonic potential, and always respecting their artistic vision,” Ayan says. “I have been in the fortunate position of mastering recordings across many musical genres, maintaining the same philosophy of crafting my clients’ recordings to best serve their musical message. Be it rock, pop, metal, country or jazz, the concept is always the same: master to best convey my clients’ recordings to the listener.”

“Ayan is one of the most celebrated music professionals who most people have never heard of,” according to Lecuyer. “Rock legends and country crooners alike trust him to make the final adjustments to their recordings when cutting an album.”

For additional information on this event contact NECC music instructor Michael Lecuyer at mlecuyer@necc.mass.edu Northern Essex offers a certificate in music technology and an associate’s in general studies: music.

For additional information on the music certificate or degree programs visit www.necc.mass.edu

John Hoyt

When John Hoyt was in high school, his guidance counselor told him he “wasn’t cut out for college.” Fifteen years later, John is proving that counselor wrong.

Last spring, he graduated with high honors and an associate degree in human services
from Northern Essex. He is now enrolled at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) with plans to earn a doctorate in psychology.

This 34-year-old father of two worked full time as a residential counselor at a group home for youths with behavioral issues while attending NECC. He participated in the college’s rigorous honors experience, an enrichment program for highly motivated students. Enrolling in college 10 years after graduating from high school wasn’t easy, admits John. “My initial challenge was managing my time. The second challenge was how to handle the concept of going back to school after being out for so long.”

John credits his “invested” professors with helping him to succeed. “Professors in my program answered questions about academics as well as the human service field. I found everyone to be helpful and passionate about their work.”

A career-changer who previously worked in the banking industry, John has found his niche in human services, a field which he discovered after taking a psychology course.

With the support of his girlfriend—who is now his wife—he found the courage to make the change, leave his job in banking and become a residential counselor.

John says transferring from Northern Essex to UNH was “just about seamless.” Once he completes a degree in psychology, he plans to continue on for his master’s and his doctorate.

“As far as my career, I will continue on in human services, possibly on the clinical side
or in case management.”

NECC student Steve Brown, one of 10 students who spend 10-weeks in the program

What does Northern Essex Community College have in common with a
highly-competitive undergraduate research program at Tufts University?
A couple of things, as a matter of fact.

First, NECC graduate Phil Starks of North Andover, a biology professor at Tufts, is the director of the
10-week summer program which is administered by the Tufts biology department
with the help of a National Science Foundation Grant (NSF) that funds summer
research programs for undergraduates.

Second, in its nine years of existence, seven NECC students have been chosen to participate in the program, which brings in 10 undergraduates from across the country each summer and places them in faculty labs.

“We had over 350 applicants last year and narrowing that list down to 10 participants was a challenge,” says Starks.

NECC student Steve Brown of Andover, who graduated in 2012 with high honors and a liberal arts degree, made the cut, and, as a result, he spent last summer with Starks researching the European wool-carder bee and its interaction with local plants.

Brown’s team looked specifically at how plants can emit toxic chemicals when attacked by insects, studying how this particular bee responds to those chemical emissions.

After continuing his education in biology at a four-year college, Brown plans to work as an environmental research scientist.

Starks, who graduated from Harvard and Cornell after earning an associate degree from NECC, has championed the hiring of Northern Essex students, believing that community college students are ideally suited for the program.

Fifteen percent of students in the research program are currently community college students, and Starks hopes to increase those numbers. He has met with NECC President Lane Glenn to discuss his goals and Glenn has “enthusiastically supported the program,” according to Starks.

“As an NECC graduate, I am happy to see NECC students excel,” says Starks.

Over the years, six NECC students in addition to Brown have participated in the program, and all have gone on to further education and/or careers in science. Two of the six transferred from NECC to Tufts.

NECC offers an associate degree in lab science and an associate degree in liberal arts with a biology or physical science focus.

To learn more about science options at the college, contact enrollment services, admissions@necc.mass.edu or 978 556-3700 or visit the website, necc.mass.edu.

Keith Lockhart

Lockhart will present a talk on composer Igor Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale,” illustrated by periodic interludes of music performed by a group of seven musicians. The 1918 theatrical Russian parable meant to be “read, played, and danced” tells the tale of a soldier who trades his fiddle to the devil for a book that predicts the future of the economy.

Lockhart became the 20th conductor of the Boston Pops in 1995, adding his artistic vision to the Pops tradition established by his predecessors John Williams and Arthur Fiedler.

This is a return visit to the Merrimack Valley for the 53-year-old New York native.
Purchase tickets early at $35 each before they sellout.

Call the NECC Institutional Advancement events line at 978-556-3870 or visit www.mvarts.info.

For more information or to request communication access, visit www.necc.mass.edu/signature-event. Discounts are available for students and groups.

Jason DeCosta

Northern Essex helped Jason DeCosta grow from an unemployed pipe fitter to a soon-to-be computer information sciences graduate.

Jason, of Haverhill, grew up in Merrimac and attended Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School. Anxious to be finished with high school, he completed his GED before his class graduated and embarked on a career in plumbing and heating. He became a licensed plumber’s apprentice in Massachusetts, but he was laid off during the recession.

The 29-year-old embraced his unemployment as an opportunity to reinvent himself. Jason enrolled in the computer information sciences program after researching emerging and growing careers. His interest in computers dovetailed with U.S. labor statistics that show computer science is projected to continue to grow over the next 10 years.

“I have always liked computers and decided I wanted to learn how they work,” he says.

After enrolling in Introduction to Information Technology and Introduction to Computer Science he knew he had found his future.

“I thought I knew a lot about computers until I took those classes,” he says. “It was both intimidating and exciting. It’s been a great experience. It’s been challenging but fulfilling as well.”

Jason says, for now, going to school is his full-time job.

“I’m dedicated to it and take it very seriously,” he says. “I wanted to find a career that I am totally engaged in and if you are a computer person then computer forensics and computer security is a must.”

After graduating with an associate degree in Computer Information Sciences: Information Technology in May, Jason intends to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer security or forensics.

“No matter what I end up doing,” he says. “I know the more education you have the better off you are in the long run.”