Team Archive:

Adelin Fermin Adelin Fermin (1867-1941) was a member of the voice faculty during the earliest years of the Eastman School. Before coming to Eastman in 1921, Mr. Fermin — known to many as “Daddy Fermin” — taught at the Hague and at the Sweelwicks School in his native Holland. He had a very successful performing…

Michael Farris Michael Farris (1957-1999) was an Eastman alumnus and associate professor of organ from 1994 until his untimely death. Born in New Mexico, he received his undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University and then continued his studies at Indiana University where he earned a master of music degree and a Performer’s Certificate. At Eastman,…

Roy Ernst Roy Ernst, professor emeritus of music education, taught at Eastman for 25 years and chaired the music education department for 12 years. In 1991, Dr. Ernst started the first New Horizons Band at Eastman for the purpose of creating a model program emphasizing entry and reentry points to music making for older adults.…

Jon Engberg Jon Engberg has enjoyed a long and prosperous affiliation with the Eastman School, beginning with undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral studies, and culminating in a career as Eastman’s associate director of academic affairs and associate dean of graduate studies from 1975 to 1995. Coming to Eastman in 1950 as a freshman cellist from Los…

José Echániz Pianist José Echániz (1905-1969), a Cuban-born child prodigy, studied at the Falcon Conservatory in Havana, where he was awarded the title “professor of piano” at age 14. During the 1920s, he appeared at Carnegie Hall, toured U.S. cities, and appeared in Paris, The Hague, Amsterdam, and Madrid. During the 1930’s, he was a…

Harold Danko Harold Danko is associated with such jazz legends as Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Lee Konitz, and Woody Herman, in performances at major jazz venues throughout the world as a band leader, composer, and solo pianist. Beginning his piano studies at the age of five, Harold became serious about pursuing a…

Jan DeGaetani Known for her artistic integrity and individuality, Jan DeGaetani (1933-1989) had one of the broadest repertoires of any vocalist, ranging from the Renaissance to Cole Porter. She inspired the creation of vocal works by composers such as George Crumb (who wrote his Ancient Voices of Children for her), Elliott Carter, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, William…

Anne Theodora Cummins Anne Theodora Cummins (1888-1977), who became the Eastman School’s first dean of women in 1922, was born in England and studied at the University of London, the Sorbonne, the University of Perugia, Harvard University, and Middlebury College. A member of the Eastman School’s humanities department from 1924-1953, she taught generations of students…

Catherine Crozier Called “an internationally renowned teacher and one of the most highly regarded organists of our time” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Catherine Crozier studied organ at Eastman with Harold Gleason. Born in 1914, she earned her bachelor’s degree in 1936 and master’s degree in 1941, as well as both the Performer’s Certificate and the…

David Craighead Born in 1924, David Craighead, professor emeritus of organ and former chair of the Eastman organ division of the keyboard department, received a bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In his last year at Curtis, Mr. Craighead joined the faculty of the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.…