Eastman Alumni Highlighted in Summer 2025 Music Festival Lineups

Each summer, graduates of the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music perform on stages around the world — participating in renowned music festivals as performers, faculty, and artistic leaders. Their involvement spans a range of musical genres and settings, from contemporary music festivals and orchestral fellowships to jazz camps and chamber music retreats. In the May 2025 issue of EastmanMAIL, Eastman’s alumni newsletter, we asked recipients to let us know whether they are playing in or hosting a festival this summer. Listed below are the responses we received, giving a glimpse into some of the engagements planned for our exceptional alums in the coming weeks and months.

Aliceyn Covington ’25E, French horn, is serving as a Horn Fellow at the prestigious Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, while Leila Fanien ’24E, violin, has been named a fellow with the National Repertory Orchestra. The Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra and the Pacific Music Festival include flutist Alex Lehmann ’25E and violinist Lucy Gelber ’23E respectively. Bill Kalinkos ’03E will perform as Principal Clarinet at the New Hampshire Music Festival.

A number of alumni are involved in the Mizzou International Composers Festival, including members of the acclaimed ensemble Alarm Will Sound — Alan Pierson ’06E (DMA), Artistic Director and conductor; Gavin Chuck ’96E (MA), ’04E (PhD), Executive Director; Peter Ferry ’13E, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning; Michael Clayville ’00E, trombone; Elisabeth Stimpert ’99E (MM), clarinet; Courtney Orlando ’03E, violin; Christa Robinson ’00E, oboe; Michael Harley ’11E (DMA), bassoon; John Orfe ’99E, ’99, piano; Stefan Freund ’99E (MM), ’02E (DMA), cello; and Miles Brown ’00E, ’12E (DMA), bass — all performing as this year’s artists in residence at the festival. Clayville will also serve as a faculty member at the 2025 Lawrence Chamber Music Festival, where fellow alums Tim Albright ’98E, trombone and Caitlin Sullivan ’03E, cello, will perform.

Violinist David Brickman ’83E will perform with the Boccherini Guitar Quintet at Chamberfest Canandaigua, and the Music on the Hill Festival will feature Peter Ferry ’13E, percussion, performing Vivaldi concerti on solo marimba. Baritone Chad Somers ’18E (DMA) will step into the role of Andres in Alban Berg’s Wozzeck (1925) with West Edge Opera.

Soprano Helen Pridmore ’96E (DMA) is touring “Out Loud,” an immersive opera for voice, electronics, and video, across Canada. Stops include the Strata Festival in Saskatoon, the Now Hear This Festival in Edmonton, and The Artesian in Regina. Pridmore will also perform at Sappyfest as part of the voice/electronics duo Sbot N Wo.

Una O’Riordan ’98E, cello, will perform with the Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra and serve as principal cellist at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. The principal harp position at the Grant Park Music Festival will be held by Marguerite Lynn Williams ’01E.

Many recent alums have been chosen to partake in the highly competitive Tanglewood Music Center Fellowship Program in Boston this summer: Angela Rubin ’22E (MM), viola; Peter Ecklund ’22E (MM), bassoon; Haniel Anugerah, ’23E, piano; and Danielle Romano ’20E, voice. Fellows are given the opportunity to work closely with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus (both of which include Eastman graduates).

In 2023, Off The Dock Chamber Festival began in Skaneateles, NY as a grassroots initiative created by Joe Hagen ’19E, ’21E (MM); Collin Holloway ’19E; Natalie Pang ’20E, ’23E (MA), ’23E (MM); and former Eastman student Luke Benedict. The festival has blossomed into an annual series of classical and jazz concerts, and this year’s edition spotlights more Eastman musicians and ensembles than ever! Featured acts include Hats + Heels Duo (Blaire Koerner ’15E (MM), ’19E (DMA), bassoon and Rosanna Moore ’14E (MM), ’19E (DMA), harp); The Muse Duo (founders Benedict, piano and Holloway, guitar); and the Composers’ Concert: Metamorphosis (Brian Gadbow ’21E, cello; Holden Turner ’25E, baritone; and founders Pang, piano and Hagen, viola/composer).

Eastman alumni are also helping to shape the next generation of musicians through teaching roles at summer programs. Antonio García ’85E (MM), trombone/bass trombone, returns as Jazz Band Director for Jazz at the Summit (JATS) in Breckenridge, CO — an inclusive adult band camp that welcomes participants of all ages and backgrounds. Pianist Nathanael May ’01E contributes to the international music community as the founder and director of soundSCAPE Composition and Performance Exchange, now in its 20th season (featured in the above header image). Hosted by the Hindemith Foundation in Blonay, Switzerland, soundSCAPE gathers composers and performers for ten days of new music creation, culminating this year with faculty performances at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, Germany. Finally, Eastman’s own Professor of Horn Peter Kurau ’74E will serve on the faculty of the Kendall Betts Horn Camp and also coordinates the Eastman Summer Horn Intensive, teaching alongside many other Eastman alums here on campus.

Whether as performers, educators, or artistic leaders, Eastman alumni are making an impact on the summer music scene. Click into the links above for details about each festival — and for anyone looking ahead to summer 2026, many of those links describe ways to get involved next year!

 

ALUMNI NEWS SUBMISSIONS
If you are an Eastman graduate, we want to hear from you! Please submit all alumni news to alumninews@esm.rochester.edu. This will ensure that your news is considered for inclusion in EastmanMAIL, Eastman NOTES, and Eastman’s social media pages. Please note that we receive news from many alums each month, so are not able to feature every submission.