Charles Castleman Charles Castleman was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1941. When he was only six, he appeared as a soloist with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra, and at nine, he made solo recital debuts at Boston’s Jordan Hall and New York’s Town Hall. He was a student of Ivan Galamian at the…
Abram Boone Abram Boone (1907-2000) served on the Eastman string faculty as a senior instructor of violin and viola for 26 years, from 1947 to 1973. After earning a bachelor of music degree from the School in 1929, he worked for Bausch & Lomb in Rochester during World War II and began his Eastman teaching…
Lynn Blakeslee Lynn Blakeslee was born in Los Angeles, and began violin studies at the age of four. Her teachers and mentors read as a stellar history of violin performance and pedagogy: Sascha Jacobsen (a student of Franz Kneisel), Efrem Zimbalist (Leopold Auer), Ricardo Odnoposoff (Karl Flesch), Franz Samobyl, and Sandor Vegh (Jenö Hubay). She…
Warren Benson A professional performer by the age of 14, Warren Benson (1924-2005) played timpani in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Ormandy, Reiner, Goossens, Bernstein, and others while an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. He also was the percussion instructor there during his freshman year, 1943. From 1950-1952, Mr. Benson was awarded two successive…
John Beck A graduate of the Eastman School, John Beck returned to teach percussion from 1964 to 2008. Beck’s career as a performer and teacher includes posts as percussionist, timpanist, marimba soloist with the United States Marine Band (1955-59); principal percussionist with the Rochester Philharmonic (1959-62); and timpanist for the Rochester Philharmonic (1962-2002). He has…
Cherry Beauregard Cherry Beauregard, professor of tuba at the Eastman School, received his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Eastman. After completing his undergraduate degree, Dr. Beauregard joined the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra. In 1962, he returned to Rochester to begin his graduate degree studies at Eastman, and…
Wayne Barlow Wayne Barlow (1912-1996), professor emeritus of composition, entered the Eastman School in 1930 and received his graduate and undergraduate degrees. In 1937, he was awarded a Ph.D. in music (composition) here, becoming the first person in the United States to receive such a degree. He also spent time at the University of Southern…
Samuel Adler Samuel Adler taught at the Eastman School of Music from 1966 to 1995, and served as chair of the composition department from 1974 until his retirement. In 1989, he received the Eastman School’s Eisenhart Award for distinguished teaching. Adler was educated at Boston University and Harvard University, and holds honorary doctorates from Southern…
Charles Murdock Lucas Set Designer Eastman Opera Theatre PRODUCTION STAFFEastman Opera TheatreBIOGRAPHY Charles Murdock Lucas is a scenic designer working for theatre and opera companies across the United States. Recent productions include Mary Poppins (Children’s Musical Theater, San Jose), Oliver! (Cabrillo Stage), The Pirates of Penzance, (Ohio Light Opera), Honky Tonk Angels (Virginia Stage Company), and The Winter’s Tale (Texas Shakespeare Festival). He received his…
Josh Lau Production Stage Manager Eastman Opera Theatre PRODUCTION STAFFEastman Opera TheatreBIOGRAPHY Josh Lau, Production Stage Manager of Eastman Opera Theatre, was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School. He received a B.A. in Theatre Arts with a minor in Music from Nazareth College, where he was both a performer and…