New England Conservatory Alumni

NEC alumna Allegra Levy ’11 won a jingle contest promoting a new, free child-care program in New York City. More than 300 New Yorkers submitted jingles celebrating the City's new 2-K program. The final five entries were selected by Bronx-born rapper Cardi B and Washington Heights native Lin-Manuel Miranda before being put to a public vote. Mayor Mamdani first announced the jingle contest alongside Cardi B in April. After nearly 13,000 New Yorkers cast their votes, Mayor Mamdani announced Allegra as the winner.

Listen to the winning jingle!

Allegra Levy '11 Wins NYC 2-K Jingle Contest | NEC Alumni Network NEC alumna Allegra Levy ’11 won a jingle contest promoting a new, free child-care program in New York City. More than 300 New Yorkers submitted jingles celebrat

Neuroscientist, musician, and technologist Arun Asthagiri '20 Prep, '24 has participated in a study on how the brain reacts to live music as a collaboratory project between NEC and Northeastern University.

Arun is an interdisciplinary scientist and musician who has played the violin for nearly two decades, earning a Bachelor of Music from NEC before pursuing a PhD at Northeastern University’s Music Image and Neural Dynamics lab. His research bridges systems neuroscience, music cognition, and affective science to investigate how the predictive brain derives meaning and pleasure from music. Specifically, his work explores how the brain uses music to predict bodily signals (interoception) and has previously examined the unique impact of live versus recorded music on the brain, as well as health-based musical applications for cognitive health. Currently, Arun utilizes biofeedback and machine learning techniques to study musical predictions and brain dynamics in naturalistic settings.

Read more about this fascinating study through the link below:

How The Brain Reacts to Live Music: Arun Asthagiri '20 Prep, '24 Participates in a Collaboratory Study with NEC and Northeastern University | NEC Alumni Network Neuroscientist, musician, and technologist Arun Asthagiri '20 Prep, '24 has participated in a study on how the brain reacts to live music as a collaboratory pro