Highlighted Eastman Concerts & Events: April & May 2026
As the weather warms and the academic year comes to an end, the Eastman School of Music is excited for a number of featured performances here on Gibbs Street. Whether it’s reinventing a classic opera, celebrating musicians from one of the world’s most famous orchestras, or experiencing the multitude of daily student performances, we are confident there is something for any music lover to enjoy at Eastman. The following are just a few of these events, many of which are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. For information about purchasing tickets to our Eastman Presents series concerts, visit our online Box Office or call (585)-274-3000.
Eastman Jazz Orchestra and Eastman New Jazz Orchestra
Thursday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall
Hear twice as many of the talented students in Eastman’s Jazz and Contemporary Media department on this double-bill performance, the final in the Ray Conniff Jazz Ensemble Series for the 2025-2026 academic year. The ENJO will welcome Inés Velasco—a composer, arranger, and producer living in Brooklyn, NY—to join them on this program.
Eastman Opera Theatre Presents: “Die Fledermaus” + disco after-party (Ticketed)
Opera: April 9-11 at 7:30 p.m. | April 12 at 2:30 PM | Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
Disco: April 10 at 10:30 p.m. | Sproull Atrium
Closing the season in the gorgeous Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, EOT’s lively take on Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus brings the charm, wit, and champagne-fueled shenanigans of this timeless operetta into the spotlight. “This Die Fledermaus spins beneath the glitter ball of Studio 54, where Strauss meets sequins, and misperception dances to a disco beat,” exclaims director Octavio Cardenas. From mistaken identities and elaborate disguises to revenge schemes and late-night revelry, this joyful tale of Vienna’s elite is not to be missed. Immediately following the performance on Friday, April 10, EOT is hosting a disco in Sproull Atrium from 10:30 PM to 1:00 AM. Come get groovy with guest DJ Brian Buttlett!
Holocaust Remembrance Concert
Sunday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall
This annual event featuring Eastman students, faculty, and alumni is organized by Wegman Family Professor of Violin Renée Jolles in tribute to her father, Jerome Jolles, who was a virtuoso accordion player, piano teacher, and composer and a Holocaust survivor. “This special concert gives us a moment to reflect as a community not only on the tragedies that stem from intolerance and hatred, but also on the incredible resilience of the human spirit,” says Jolles.
Chamber Music Extravaganza
Friday, April 17 – Monday, April 27 | Various locations and times
Over the course of a few days, nine concerts take place in Eastman’s Hatch Recital Hall and Ciminelli Formal Lounge, showcasing the culmination of a semester’s worth of work by our chamber music students.
Eastman Presents: Gamelan
Monday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall
Gamelan at Eastman, as in Bali, is a communal effort. Members include Eastman students, faculty, and staff, as well as many members of the Rochester community. The music is learned through the oral/aural tradition without the use of notation, and therefore requires the players to work together closely for long periods of time. The result is a sense of group unity and pride as the audience hears the music and witnesses the collective efforts of the ensemble.
Eastman Wind Ensemble
Wednesday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m. | Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
The Eastman Wind Ensemble performs the music of Steven Stucky, Roberto Sierra, and the world premiere of a piano concerto by Jesse Jones with soloist Xak Bjerken.
Kilburn Concert Series: Camerata RCO (Ticketed)
Thursday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall
Formed by members of Amsterdam’s famed Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO), Camerata RCO performs chamber music in multiple formations from duet to small chamber orchestra, with a special focus on the Classical and Romantic repertoire for winds and strings, and active relationships with living composers.
Eastman Philharmonia and Eastman-Rochester Chorus
Friday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. | Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
William Weinert conducts the combined forces of the Eastman Philharmonia and Eastman-Rochester Chorus in Mendelssohn’s Elijah for his final performance at the Eastman School of Music. The featured soloist is Assistant Professor of Voice Joshua Conyers.
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 comprising 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 1,000 concerts to the Rochester community. Additionally, over 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.