ESM Faculty & Staff Handbook 2009-2010
The Eastman School of Music: A Brief History
Text by David Peter Coppen, August 2001, with revisions suggested by Vincent Lenti. Further revisions by David Peter Coppen, August 2007.
The Eastman School of Music, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Rochester, was brought into being due to the generosity of Rochester philanthropist and Eastman Kodak magnate George Eastman (1854-1934). A music-lover by avocation, Mr. Eastman suggested to University President Dr. Rush Rhees in 1918 that the University should have a professional school of music. To that end Mr. Eastman bought, and presented to the University, the property and corporate rights of the D.K.G. Institute of Musical Art (est. 1913), operating on Prince Street; the new school would thus be formed from an existing institution. In 1919 Mr. Eastman purchased the land bounded by Gibbs, Main, and Swan Streets and Barrett Alley, where the new school building would stand; ground was broken at the beginning of 1920. By Mr. Eastman’s design, the building would house not only the school, but also an auditorium that would benefit the greater community through providing a venue for musical performance — thereby existing for, in the words of Dr. Rhees, “the enrichment of community life.” Those same words grace the Eastman Theatre façade.
The Eastman School opened its doors to a class of 104 regular course students in September, 1921. The Eastman Theatre opened one year later, on September 2, 1922. Construction continued in the ensuing years. In 1923-24 a five-floor annex was built on Swan Street, connected by a bridge to the Eastman Theatre. In 1925 three dormitories for women students were built on University Avenue, adjacent to the University’s College for Women. In 1927 a ten-floor annex was built on Swan Street, providing additional practice rooms and classrooms, rehearsal space for the opera department, and a gymnasium. In 1937 the Sibley Music Library moved from its quarters on the first floor of the main building into its own new building on Swan Street, a two-level structure with adjoining four-level stacks area. The library collections would remain there until 1989, when they were rehoused in the new Eastman Place building, situated on Gibbs Street directly across from the School and Theatre. In 1991 a new Student Living Center was opened at the corner of Main and Gibbs Streets, replacing the University Avenue dormitories built nearly 70 years earlier.
The first few years of the new century brought a new round of expansion of the School. In 2003 the School came to acquire the Eastman Place building in its entirety, and the following year the School’s Administration was transferred from the Mezzanine of the main building to a second-floor suite within Eastman Place. Eastman Place was renamed Miller Center in September 2004 in memory of the parents of renowned ESM alumnus Mitch Miller. Meanwhile, also in 2003, the School purchased the building at 10 Gibbs Street, designated as the new home of the Community Education Division. In 2004 the CED was formally renamed the Eastman Community Music School, and in October, 2005 the building at 10 Gibbs Street was formally named Messinger Hall in memory of Anne Waltuck Messinger, the mother of Martin E. Messinger, member of the ESM Board of Managers and also a University of Rochester Trustee. Full acquisition of the two buildings bolstered the School’s physical presence as a campus, and also furthered the School’s influence and reputation as a vibrant and positive force in the cultural life and economic rejuvenation of Rochester’s downtown.
The School’s charter faculty (1921-22) numbered thirty-two instructors; today the faculty numbers 150 members (including all full-time and part-time instructors, and professors emeriti). Since 1921 the School has been directed by five men, with two Acting Directors for brief intervals, and an Interim Dean at the time of this writing. Alfred Klingenberg, who had been one of the founders of the D.K.G. Institute for Musical Art and had then served as its director (1916-21), served as the first Eastman School director (1921-23). After a one-year interim under Acting Director Raymond Wilson (a member of the School’s piano faculty), the young American composer and conductor Howard Hanson was appointed director in 1924. Dr. Hanson’s forty-year directorship was a time of tremendous expansion of the School’s reputation and mission, with a special emphasis on promoting American music. In 1925 Dr. Hanson initiated the American Composers’ Concerts, a series of concerts that, over the next ten years, provided a venue for the first performances of works by numerous American composers. Dr. Hanson’s tenure also saw the launch of the Festivals of American Music, week-long festivals that took place annually from 1931 through 1970. The Festivals not only stimulated the active performance of contemporary American music, but also engendered scholarly research in that field. Upon his retirement Dr. Hanson was succeeded by conductor Walter Hendl (Director, 1964-72), who was in turn succeeded by pianist and musicologist Robert Freeman (Director, 1972-96). Associate Director Daniel Patrylak served as Acting Director from the time of Mr. Hendl’s resignation (May 1972) until Dr. Freeman assumed full-time responsibilities (July 1973).
Dr. Freeman’s tenure was distinguished by his energetic expansion of the School through construction of the Student Living Center and also Eastman Place. He was succeeded by James Undercofler (Acting Director, 1996-97; Director, 1997-2006), the first Director to have been an Eastman graduate (BM ‘67). As Associate Director for Academic Affairs (1995-96) and then as Director (1997-2006), Mr. Undercofler initiated and promoted the Eastman Initiatives, a battery of co-curricular and extra-curricular programs designed to give students the skills and experience necessary to meeting the demands of performance and education in today’s changing musical world. In addition, Mr. Undercofler’s administration saw the launch of two successful partnership programs with the Rochester City Schools: the Pathways Program, and also the Music for All chamber music program.
Mr. Undercofler resigned from his position as Dean effective June, 2006, and was succeeded by Interim Dean Dr. Jamal Rossi. In June, 2007, the University of Rochester announced the appointment of Douglas Lowry, a composer and conductor then serving as the dean of the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, to the position of Dean of the Eastman School of Music, effective August 1, 2007.
The School’s tradition of excellence in performance is reflected in its numerous renowned ensembles. To name just a few:
- The Eastman Philharmonia was founded by Dr. Hanson during the 1958-59 academic year to offer the orchestral department’s outstanding students performance opportunities. The Philharmonia’s credits include a three-month European tour (1961-62) under the sponsorship of the U.S. State Department.
- The Eastman Wind Ensemble was organized in 1952 by Dr. Frederick Fennell (BM 1937, MM 1939) to be a virtuoso ensemble that could perform every type of music written for winds. Since 1964 the Wind Ensemble has been led by Dr. Donald Hunsberger (BM 1954, MM 1959, DMA 1963). It has undertaken numerous tours, both within the U.S. and abroad.
- Musica Nova was launched in 1966 as an ensemble dedicated to performing new music. The ensemble has performed on tour as well as locally.
- One of the newer ensembles, the Eastman School’s Balinese gamelan angklung “Lila Muni” (the name means “beautiful sound”) gave its first performance in 1991. The gamelan ensemble members have performed and demonstrated in Toronto and New Hampshire, as well as throughout New York State.
The School’s most well-known alumni have included Academy Award-winning film composer-arranger Alexander Courage (BM 1941), baritone William Warfield (BM 1942), Metropolitan Opera conductor and pianist Richard Woitach (BM 1956), jazz artist Chuck Mangione (BM 1963), and soprano Renée Fleming (MM 1983).
The School offers the degrees Bachelor of Music (BM), Bachelor of Music in the Musical Arts (BM-MUA), Master of Music (MM), Master of Arts (MA), Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), all awarded in conjunction with the University of Rochester. In addition, the Performer’s Certificate (PC) and the Artist’s Certificate (AC) both recognize outstanding performance ability. At the graduate level, the MM and DMA degrees are awarded in the field of performance; the MA and the PhD are awarded for research.
The Eastman School was the first music school in the nation to award the DMA degree. In 1951, thanks in large part to Dr. Hanson’s efforts, the National Association of Schools of Music authorized the DMA degree as a professional doctorate in music recognizing doctoral-level work in artistic attainment, with an emphasis on performance and teaching. The first DMA degree ever awarded in the United States was conferred on Eastman candidate Will Gay Bottje in 1955.