Roger Freitas, associate professor of musicology at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, provides a rare glimpse into the social and political contexts of 17th-century music in his book, Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani. Born in 1626 into a bourgeois family in Pistoia, Italy,…
Current and new jazz festival scholarship recipients at Eastman posed with festival producers and Eastman School faculty following the annual scholarship concert; from left, Mark Iacona, Chris Ziemba, Nick Finzer, Tim Craig, Harold Danko, Bob Sneider, Gabe Condon, Matthew Krol, Howard Potter, Jeffrey Krol, and John Nugent. (Photo by Don Ver Ploeg, provided by Xerox…
Renowned musician Mitzie Collins and a host of popular folk musicians present the 16th annual “Mitzie Collins and Friends Concert” of world music, a blockbuster favorite among Eastman audiences, presented as part of the Eastman School of Music summer concerts. At 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15, in Kilbourn Hall, the audience will be treated…
Why do so many beloved musical works—by Mozart, Puccini, Leonard Bernstein, and other composers—evoke cultures and peoples that are distant and somehow “different”? In his new book, Musical Exoticism: Images and Reflections, Ralph P. Locke, professor of musicology at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, argues that Western attitudes about foreign cultures and stereotypes…
Eastman School of Music faculty, alumni, and students will play prominently in the line-up for the upcoming Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. From faculty gigs and performances by Eastman Community Music School ensembles to a special jam session for aspiring jazz players, Eastman musicians will be appearing on various stages during the event June 12…
Again this summer, singers of all ages and abilities are invited to take part in Eastman School of Music’s “Eastman Summer Sings,” a popular series of choral music reading sessions. Held Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall beginning July 7, each program features one choral masterwork. Scores are provided at the door. Since…
Eastman School of Music alumnus Caleb Burhans, described by the New York Times as a “man of many talents” whose “name stands out on a roster,” has been awarded a Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Performing and Visual Arts. The prestigious and selective grant recognizes young artists—nominated by institutions invited to submit a candidate, in…
Jonathan Dunsby, professor and chair of the Department of Theory at the Eastman School of Music, has been elected president of the Music Theory Society of New York State. He will serve as president from 2009 to 2011. The Music Theory Society of New York State (MTSNYS) was established in 1971 to provide a forum…
A new work by award-winning composer Baljinder Singh Sekhon II, written to feature the Arabesque Winds quintet and graduating musicians from the Lyons Senior High Concert Band, will receive its premiere on Monday, June 8, at the band’s annual outdoor pops concert. Sekhon, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in composition at the Eastman School…
The Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gets underway Friday, May 22, and Eastman School of Music student Zhang Zuo will be taking the stage of Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth as one of the competitors. The preliminary rounds, in which each pianist will perform a 50-minute solo recital, are held from 1 to…