EROI Festival 2011
November 10 - 13, 2011
Eastman School of Music
"Improvisation and Organ Pedagogy"
Presented in conjunction with the American Guild of Organists' 16th Biennial Conference on Organ Pedagogy.
Made possible with support from the Westfield Center.
The Eastman School of Music announces the tenth annual Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI) Festival presented in conjunction with the 16th annual AGO Conference on Organ Pedagogy
This year’s Festival will present the topic of organ improvisation through a variety of compositional techniques and styles. The conference will alternate master classes featuring students at a variety of levels, panel discussions addressing the teaching of improvisation, and sessions that will provide attendees with resource material in the pedagogy of improvisation.
Full event passes are available for $275. Single-day Festival and transportation are also available.
Highlights
Presentations, concerts, and workshops by:
- William Porter, keynote speaker: Eastman School of Music
Jeffrey Brillhart: Yale University - Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin: Royal College of Music, London
- Hans Davidsson: Eastman School of Music
- Michael Dodds: University of North Carolina School of the Arts
- Gerre Hancock: Cancelled
- David Higgs: Eastman School of Music
- Denise Lanning: Denver Chapter, American Guild of Organists
- Rudolf Lutz: Schola Cantorum Basiliensis
- William Marvin: Eastman School of Music
- Bruce Neswick: Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City
- David Peckham: Horseheads United Methodist Church, Horseheads, NY
- David Arcus: Duke University
- Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra: Author of Bach and the Art of Improvisation
- John R. Shannon: Sweet Briar College
- Tony Caramia, Eastman School of Music
- Daniel Zager, Eastman School of Music
- Christ Church Schola Cantorum, Stephen Kennedy, director
Conference Schedule
Program and venues subject to change, please check this site for updates.
Thursday, November 10
Eastman School of Music
3:00-5:00 Registration
5:00 p.m. William Porter, keynote address: Why Is Improvisation So Difficult?
Rochester Club Ballroom
6:00 p.m. Light dinner reception
Christ Church
8:00 p.m. Concert: Hans Davidsson, David Higgs, William PorterFriday, November 11
Eastman School of Music
Special Bonus Event
9:00 a.m.
Michael Dodds: Contexts and Strategies for Organ
Improvisation in 17th-Century Roman Catholic Liturgy
William Marvin: Storms and Sonatas: Improvisation in 19th-Century France.
Christ Church
10:45 a.m.
Rudolf Lutz: Improvisation in 18th-Century Germany
Gerre Hancock: CANCELLED
Rochester Club Ballroom
Noon Lunch
Christ Church
1:00 p.m. Concert: Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra, Rudolf Lutz, William Porter
Third Presbyterian Church
2:30 p.m. Panel discussion: What do we mean by Improvisation? In What Ways Has the Term Changed Over Time?
Rudolf Lutz, Michael Dodds, Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin, David Peckham, David Arcus.
3:30 p.m. Workshop: Jeffrey Brillhart and Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin
4:30 p.m. Concert: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
Auditorium Theater
8:00 p.m. Concert: David Peckham, William Porter
On-stage reception and open console
Saturday, November 12
Sacred Heart Cathedral
9:00 a.m. Workshop: Jeffrey Brillhart and Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin
10:45 a.m. Concert: William Porter, Jeffrey Brillhart, Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin
Eastman School of Music
1:45 p.m. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra: Resources for Teaching Improvisation
2:30 p.m. Panel discussion: Developing an Improvisation Curriculum
Rudolf Lutz, Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin, Jeffrey Brillhart, Denise Lanning, Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra, John Shannon
4:00 p.m. Daniel Zager: Improvisation Resources: Theory and Practice
Hyatt Regency Hotel
5:30 p.m. Banquet
Third Presbyterian Church
8:00 p.m David Arcus, Jeffrey Brillhart, Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin
Sunday, November 13
Morning: Option to attend worship services featuring improvisation
Sacred Heart Cathedral
2:00 p.m. Rochester Celebrity Organ Recital Series: Bruce Neswick
Memorial Art Gallery
5:30 p.m. Jazz piano reception with Tony Caramia and Italian Baroque Organ Demonstrations.
Christ Church
9:00 p.m. Compline with the Christ Church Schola Cantorum
Stephen Kennedy, director
Monday, November 14
Sacred Heart Cathedral
9:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
Masterclass with Bruce Neswick
Registration Fees & Information
You may register online and pay with a credit card, or download the registration form here if you wish to pay with a check and mail in your registration. Early registration discounts are available through August 15, 2011. Ten percent of the total registration fee will be deducted for both student and teacher identifying as part of a pair or group. For inquiries, please contact Annie Laver, EROI Festival coordinator: anne.laver@rochester.edu, 585-274-1564.
Workshops
Registered Participants are invited to play in the Friday and Saturday workshops. To apply, send a CV and short letter of reference to Annie Laver: anne.laver@rochester.edu.
Hotel Information
A block of rooms has been reserved at a conference
rate of $117 per night for single/double until October 20, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Rochester, 125 East Main Street, Rochester,NY 14604 (about 5 blocks from Eastman and Christ Church). Reservations should be made through the Hotel's Reservation Department by calling 585-546-1234, 800-233-1234, or visit the Hyatt Regency Rochester's website.
Transportation
Bus transportation will be provided throughout the festival for a small fee. This transport option is highly recommended for those who will not have access to a car in Rochester. Parking is available for free or at reasonable rates at all venues. Transportation is included in the One-Day Pass.
Public Concerts & Events
Thursday, November 10
Hans Davidsson, David Higgs, William Porter
The Eastman organ faculty performing on the New York Times-recognized Craighead-Saunders Organ
8 p.m.
Christ Church, 141 East Avenue
Craighead-Saunders Organ
Tickets ($15, discounts with University of Rochester ID) available through the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main Street, 585-454-2100
Friday, November 11
Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra, Rudolf Lutz, William Porter
The Craighead-Saunders organ provides inspiration for improvisations based on familiar German chorales
1 p.m.
Christ Church
Tickets ($15, discounts with University of Rochester ID) available through the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main Street, 585-454-2100
Gerre Hancock
One of America’s greatest advocates for improvisation demonstrates his craft in a special solo concert
4:30 p.m. THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
David Peckham, William Porter
An entertaining evening of music for the theater organ, followed by an on-stage reception
8 p.m.
Auditorium Theater, 885 East Main Street (Wurlitzer organ)
Tickets ($15, discounts for RTOS and University of Rochester ID holders) available at the door, only.
Saturday, November 12
William Porter, Jeffrey Brillhart, Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin
A beautiful cathedral space and towering organ invite the creative spirit of three great improvisers
10:45 a.m.
Sacred Heart Cathedral, 296 Flower City Park (Fritts Organ)
Tickets ($15, discounts with University of Rochester ID) available through the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main Street, 585-454-2100
David Arcus, Jeffrey Brillhart, Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin
The newly renovated sanctuary provides the perfect backdrop for a program of improvisations on the mighty Austin organ.
8 p.m.
Third Presbyterian Church
Tickets ($15, discounts with University of Rochester ID) available through the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main Street, 585-454-2100
Sunday, November 13
Bruce Neswick
A presentation of the Rochester Celebrity Organ Recital Series
Prize-winning improviser and former Music Director at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City in a full-length program of improvisations and repertoire on the magnificent Halloran-All Saints Organ
2 p.m.
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Tickets ($10/$5 students) available through the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main Street, 585-454-2100
Tony Caramia presents No Harm in Harmonizing! - A Jazzy Approach to the Harmonization of Spirituals.
5:30 p.m., repeated at 6:30 p.m.
Ballroom, Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Avenue
Annie Laver presents Italian Baroque Organ Demonstration
5:30 p.m., repeated at 6:30 p.m.
Fountain Court, Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Avenue
Light Dinner Reception
7:30 p.m.
Ballroom, Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Avenue
Compline with Christ Church Schola Cantorum, Stephen Kennedy, director
Renaissance motets, chants, and choral improvisations by candlelight
9 p.m.
Christ Church
FREE
Unles otherwise noted, tickets available through the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main Street, 585-454-2100.
2011 Sponsors
American Guild of Organists Committee on Professional Education • Westfield Center • Christ Church • Memorial Art Gallery • Sacred Heart Cathedral • Third Presbyterian Church • Rochester Chapter of the American Guild of Organists • WXXI Public Broadcasting • Rochester Theater Organ Society • Eastman School of Music • EROI Working Committee • Encore Music Creations
From the A.G.O. Committee on Professional Education
The 2011 EROI Festival is a joint collaboration between the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative and the American Guild of Organists (AGO) Committee on Professional Education. The goal of the AGO's pedagogy conferences is to address various topics and issues pertaining to organ instruction in North America. The City of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music, with its multiplicity of instruments and performing venues, will provide a superb setting in which to address the topic of improvisation from many different angles, providing information and resources that will be useful to all instructors of the organ at all levels of instruction.
David Heller, Director of COPE
Janette Fishell
Kimberly Marshall
Charles Tompkins
About EROI
When the Eastman School of Music opened its doors in 1921, it housed the largest and most lavish organ collection in the nation, opulent facilities, and a stellar faculty, creating an expansive vision for organ art and education, and one of the most distinguished organ programs in the world. In keeping with this tradition of excellence, we have embarked the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI), a collection of new and historic organs of diverse styles and traditions unparalleled in North America. EROI’s initial phase has produced the installations of two historic instruments: an Italian Baroque organ in the University of Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery, and the Craighead-Saunders Organ in Christ Church. Future goals are the renovation of the Eastman School’s historic E.M. Skinner organ, and the restoration and replacement of the School’s 14 practice organs, will complete the initial phase of this 10-year plan.
Westfield Center
The Westfield Center is a landmark organization with a mission of promoting dialog among keyboard performers, scholars, and instrument makers. It is an advocate on behalf of the organ, harpsichord, fortepiano, and clavichord; a publisher of keyboard-related materials; a presenter of workshops, symposia, concerts, and tours; and a national organization with an international reach. For more information: www.westfield.org.