Bringing Voices of the Past to the Present: Michael Alan Anderson at Eastman Summer 2016

Summer@Eastman director Sylvie Beaudette asked Michael Alan Anderson, Associate Professor of Musicology at the Eastman School of Music, a few questions about himself and his brand-new Summer institute: Singing Gregorian Chant and Renaissance Polyphony. How was your interest and love for early music–especially vocal music–ignited? I believe it was ignited as an undergraduate, first hearing…

Hanging Out with Great Hornists

For about a year, four other Eastman horn players (Nikki Labonte, Chelsea Nelson, Caroline Baker, and Rennie Cotner) and I have been on the lookout for the Berlin Philharmonic ticket sale for their tour performances at Carnegie Hall this month. With a horn section as famous and important as Berlin’s, we knew we couldn’t miss…

A Day to Remember

I remember meeting the dean for the first time, in the Eastman Student Living Center. I was naught but a callow freshman, reeling from the thought of having to start school over again, when I was greeted warmly by the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music—Douglas Lowry. His wit, sincerity,…

A “Titan”-ic Eastman Concert

Eastman Philharmonia, October 2010 Come join the Eastman community in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, Saturday, September 27 at 8 p.m., for an exciting concert filled with the Grimm Brothers, titans, and poetic song cycles.  The Eastman Symphony Orchestra (ESSO) and the Eastman Philharmonia, conducted by Neil Varon, will be joined by Megan Moore for…

By the Dawn’s Early Light

Surprisingly, it has been thirteen years since the morning of the September 11th attacks. All of us remember that day in great detail and how our world has changed as a result of that terrible tragedy. This year, a young freshman student from Croatia, Marco Pranic, had an idea; to play “The Star-Spangled Banner” in…

“C” You in September

Grade schools used to talk of teaching the Three Rs: reading, (w)riting, and ‘rithmetic. For the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year at Eastman, talking about the Three Cs might be more appropriate. On this coming Tuesday, September 2, the following “C”s will be prominent: CLASSES. International, freshman, and returning students are all here and…

Puritans invade Carnegie Hall

  The vengeful Puritans of Howard Hanson’s opera Merry Mount — as embodied by the Eastman-Rochester Chorus — take the stage of Carnegie Hall tonight, along with soloists,the Nazareth Bach Children’s Chorus, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, all led by Michael Christie. (They shown here in last month’s performance in Kodak Hall.) Merry Mount is…

Spontaneous Composition

Celebrate International Jazz Day on Wednesday, April 30, with a great concert that will bring Eastman faculty members and students to perform music you’ve never heard before – and neither have they, since every note will be improvised, created on the spot. Spontaneous Duos is presented by the Eastman Community Music School and the Institute…