Highlighted Eastman Concerts & Events: March 2026
Eastman’s spring semester is well underway, and we have an exciting lineup of performances scheduled throughout March. The following concerts feature music from a wide range of styles and genres in all three of our major performance venues. To learn more and purchase tickets to any of our Eastman Presents concerts, please call our Box Office at (585) 274-3000 or visit us online at EastmanTheatre.org.
TICKETED
Fernando Laires Piano Series: Sir Stephen Hough
Thursday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall
One of the most distinctive artists of his generation, Sir Stephen Hough combines a distinguished career as a pianist with those of composer and writer. Since taking first prize at the 1983 Naumburg Competition in New York, Sir Stephen has appeared with most of the major European, Asian and American orchestras and plays recitals regularly in major halls and concert series around the world from London’s Royal Festival Hall to New York’s Carnegie Hall. In 2014 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honors in 2022.
Kilbourn Hall Series: Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion, featuring Ringdown
Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall
In Sō’s latest evening-length show, “Who Turns Out the Light?”, the ensemble provides a theatrical performance of songs by Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion, featuring Ringdown. Spanning years of working together across several albums, this event is a band-generated theatrical experience, featuring staging and design by Director Mark DeChiazza. The musicians gradually place lights and reveal novel instruments as the show builds from a lone spotlight on Shaw to the ecstatic full ensemble performing thrilling up-tempo songs like “Sing On” and “To the Sky,” as films by Sō Percussion member Jason Treuting ’99E splash across canvases throughout the stage. This production melds DIY design with dazzling original songs, to sensational effect.
Kodak Hall Series: Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens
Thursday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. | Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998 as a reminder that even as rapid globalization resulted in division, it brought extraordinary possibilities for working together. Seeking to understand this dynamic, he recognized the historical Silk Road as a model for cultural collaboration – for the exchange of ideas, tradition, and innovation across borders. Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, Silkroad creates music that engages difference, sparking radical cultural collaboration, and passion-driven learning for a more hopeful and inclusive world, materializing on their program: Sanctuary – The Power and Resonance of Ritual. Featured image photography credit: Adam Gurczak, Almanak Creative
Eastman Ranlet Series: The Doric String Quartet
Sunday, March 29 at 3:00 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall
The Doric String Quartet brings an elegance and intimacy both to the classical canon and new music, with the depth and integrity of its interpretations winning fans across the world. Having performed cycles of Haydn, Mendelssohn, Britten, and Bartók at famous international venues—including Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Vienna Konzerthaus, and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie—they now turn their attention to Beethoven. Being praised by The Times as “a joy,” this series will culminate in 2026–27 with the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death. Included in this performance’s program is Beethoven’s Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 “Harp.”
Faculty Artist Series
Various dates, times, and places
Eastman faculty Juliana Athayde, violin, Steven Doane, cello, and Alexander Kobrin, piano, all perform in Kilbourn Hall in the first week of March as part of our Faculty Artist Series. At the end of the month, multiple faculty members come together on one concert program as the fourth iteration of Eastman Virtuosi in the 2025-2026 academic year.
FREE & OPEN TO PUBLIC
The following concerts, which feature Eastman students in a variety of settings, are free and open to the public. Additionally, select concerts will be livestreamed using Eastman’s new 4K multi-camera equipment.
Eastman Philharmonia
Monday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. | Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
Neil Varon conducts Édouard Lalo’s Cello Concerto in D minor and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D Major. This concert’s livestream will be in 4K with a multi-cam setup.
Eastman Wind Orchestra
Wednesday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m. | Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
A collection of works by Viet Cuong, Walter Mays, Alan Hovhaness, and Roshanne Etezady. This concert’s livestream will be in 4K with a multi-cam setup.
Celentano Award Recitals: The Yoji Quartet and The Lazuli Quartet
YOJI: Friday, March 6 at 4:30 p.m. | Hatch Recital Hall
LAZULI: Friday, March 6 at 8:30 p.m. | Hatch Recital Hall
The Celentano String Quartet Award is granted to undergraduate students for outstanding study and performance of string chamber music, endowed by and in honor of the late John Celentano ’37E, ’41E (MM), Professor Emeritus of Chamber Music. This year features two recipient groups who both will present recitals on Friday, March 6th.
Musica Nova
Wednesday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall
The Eastman Musica Nova performs a set of works by Oliver Knussen as well as Musica Nova Director Brad Lubman’s “May 18 – June 7, 2025.” They are joined by guest musicians from Ensemble Signal. This concert’s livestream will be in 4K with a multi-cam setup.
OSSIA
Friday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. | Hatch Recital Hall
OSSIA New Music, Eastman’s student-operated new music ensemble, performs the winning compositions of its 2025-2026 Call For Scores and its student commissions, as well as a commission by Thanakarn Schofield.
For full event listings, visit Eastman’s online calendar.
Media only: Lauren Sageer, Associate Director of Public Relations & 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.