Highlighted Eastman Concerts & Events: September/October 2025

The Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester is thrilled to announce a number of exciting Eastman Presents performances to kick off the fall 2025 semester. Guest artists from around the world will travel to Rochester, NY, as part of our Barbara B. Smith World Music Series, Kilbourn Concert Series, Eastman-Ranlet Series, and Fernando Laires Piano Series. October will feature the return of the Gateways Music Festival, immediately followed by the inaugural Soundtrax Film Music Festival, hosted by Eastman in collaboration with the University of Rochester’s Hajim School of Engineering.

Tickets for these events are available through the Eastman Box Office. To purchase or learn more about this year’s Eastman Presents series concerts, click here or call 585-274-3000.

 

Barbara B. Smith World Music Series: Vieux Farka Touré
Friday, September 26 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall

Often referred to as “The Hendrix of the Sahara,” Vieux Farka Touré was born in Niafunké, Mali, in 1981. He is the son of legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Touré, who died in 2006. Throughout his 24 year career playing the guitar, Vieux has released ten albums—four of which being collaborations with other artists from across the world—furthering his genre-blending style and receiving praise from the likes of NPR and Sir Elton John. 

 

Kilbourn Concert Series: Mark Padmore and Paul Lewis
Sunday, September 28 at 3:00 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall

Two of Schumann’s best-known song cycles are presented here by the lieder “dream team” (New York Times) as a continuation of years of collaboration, including a commercial recording of Schubert’s “Winterreise.”
Featured imaged: tenor Mark Padmore (L) and pianist Paul Lewis (R).

 

Kilbourn Concert Series: Terri Lyne Carrington “We Insist 2025!”
Friday, October 3 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall

One of the seminal works of jazz as protest, “We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite,” was first released in 1961 by Max Roach in collaboration with Abbey Lincoln and lyricist Oscar Brown, Jr. on Candid Records. In honor of Roach’s centennial, GRAMMY-Award Winning drummer-producer Terri Lyne Carrington has recorded the “Freedom Now Suite,” paying homage to Roach and Lincoln’s legacy by sonically reimagining the suite, while being steadfast with the still poignant social justice message, “We Insist!”

The following day, on October 4, Carrington will present the keynote speech for Eastman’s Celebration of Women in Jazz! The public is invited to join Carrington in Hatch Recital Hall at 9:00 AM, and young jazz musicians of all abilities (ages 14-25) are encouraged to register for the full day of hands-on opportunities in improvisation, interactive learning, and networking.

 

Eastman-Ranlet Series: Ying Quartet
Sunday, October 5 at 3:00 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall

The Ying Quartet occupies a position of unique prominence in the classical music world, combining communicative performances with a fearlessly imaginative view of chamber music in today’s world. As quartet-in-residence at the Eastman School of Music, the ensemble presents its first of three concerts this year in the Eastman-Ranlet Series.

 

Fernando Laires Piano Series: Stewart Goodyear
Friday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall

Proclaimed “a phenomenon” by the Los Angeles Times and “one of the best pianists of his generation” by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stewart Goodyear is an accomplished concert pianist, improviser, and composer. Goodyear has performed with, and has been commissioned by, many of the major orchestras and chamber music organizations around the world. He will perform his own works for piano alongside those of Beethoven.

 

Gateways Music Festival
October 13-16 | Various Times & Locations

From October 13-16, the Gateways Music Festival (GMF), in association with the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, presents four performances on the Eastman campus, including a solo recital by Eastman alum and acclaimed pianist David Berry ’04E. These concerts further GMF’s mission of celebrating Black artistry, culminating in Film Scores Live!—a performance of seven-time Grammy Award-winner Terence Blanchard’s film scores performed by the composer himself alongside the E-Collective and the Gateways Festival Orchestra. This concert marks the end of the 2025 Fall Festival and the beginning of the inaugural Soundtrax Film Music Festival.

 

Soundtrax Film Music Festival
October 16-18 | Various Times & Locations

The Eastman School of Music and Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences are proud to present the inaugural Soundtrax Film Music Festival from October 16-18 in Rochester, NY—the birthplace of film-music and photography. A vast number of performers, including Assistant Professor of Violin YooJin Jang, conductor Jeff Beal ’85E, and the Eastman Philharmonia, will join composers, industry professionals, thought leaders, and fans to celebrate and explore how music and sound shape visual media, from film and TV to video games and beyond.

 

Eastman Opera Theatre: A FALL PRESENTATION OF ONE ACTS
Operas alternate between evenings

“CLICK!” (2025) — World Premiere Performance
Thursday, October 30 and Saturday, November 1 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall

Eastman alum and Emmy Award-winning composer Steve Bramson ’83E (MM) teamed up with librettist Gayle Hudson to tell the story of Hungarian photographer André Kertész. Set across the cities they called home—Budapest, Paris, and New York—this story explores emigration, artistic identity, and love’s enduring force through the shifting political and socioeconomic tides of the twentieth century. CLICK! is made possible in part by the generous support of the Tulipán Foundation through its Art & Culture Award.

“In A Grove” (2021)
Friday, October 31 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 2 at 2:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall

Inspired by Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s short story and Akira Kurosawa’s acclaimed film Rashōmon, In A Grove unfolds as a haunting, nonlinear investigation into the disappearance of a young woman and the murder of her husband in a burned Oregon forest. Set in 1921, the story is told by a string of unreliable narrators—witnesses offering conflicting accounts of what happened to the girl. Due to sensitive subject matter involving violence and sexual assault, this opera is not recommended for children.

 

There are a plethora of other performances by students and faculty during the academic year, many of which are free and open to the public. We invite you to witness the artistry taking place on Gibbs Street at the following concerts.

 

SHOSTAKOVICH CELEBRATION
Eastman faculty and students will present the music of Dmitri Shostakovich in multiple performances, honoring the 50th anniversary of his death.

Eastman Philharmonia
Monday, September 22 at 7:30 p.m. | Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre

Faculty Artist Series: Alexander Kobrin (ticketed)
Tuesday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall

Eastman School Symphony Orchestra
Wednesday, September 24 at 7:30 p.m. | Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre

Faculty Artist Series: Mikhail Kopelman, violin (ticketed)
Thursday, September 25 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall

Faculty Artist Series: Eastman Virtuosi (ticketed)
Saturday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall

 

Eastman School Symphony Orchestra
Wednesday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall
Program features a world premiere viola concerto by Michael Frazier ’16E (MA), ’21E (PhD), welcoming Jordan Bak as soloist.

 

Bach Cantata Series
Sunday, October 26 at 3:30 p.m. | Hatch Recital Hall

 

Chamber Jazz Ensemble
Monday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. | Hatch Recital Hall

 

Eastman Jazz Workshop Ensemble and Eastman Jazz Lab Band
Tuesday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m. | Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre

 

For full event listings, visit Eastman’s online calendar.

 

Media only: Lauren Sageer, Associate Director of Public Relations and Digital Content,
(585) 451-8492, lsageer@esm.rochester.edu

 

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About Eastman School of Music:

The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854–1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training.

More than 900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate Division of the Eastman School of Music—about 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 23 percent are from other countries. They are taught by a faculty comprised of more than 170 highly regarded performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. They are Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, Emmy winners, Guggenheim fellows, ASCAP Award recipients, published authors, recording artists, and acclaimed musicians who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 900 concerts to the Rochester community. Additionally, more than 1,700 members of the Rochester community, from young children through senior citizens, are enrolled in the Eastman Community Music School.

 

About the University of Rochester:

The University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading private research universities, one of only 62-member institutions in the Association of American Universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives undergraduates exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery.