ROCHESTER, NY — Zvi Zeitlin, distinguished Kilbourn professor of violin at the Eastman School of Music, received one of the University of Rochester’s highest teaching honors — the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching — at the Eastman School’s Convocation ceremony held earlier this month.
Awarded within University of Rochester schools with undergraduate programs, the Edward Peck Curtis Award is a distinguished teaching prize given to the University’s best faculty members. Recipients have a record of classroom excellence usually developed over at least eight years of instruction, and demonstrate their readiness to help less experienced or less successful teachers and teaching assistants master their craft.
Eastman School Dean James Undercofler presented the award to Zeitlin in the presence of the Eastman community ― including many of the violinist’s colleagues and students. He described Zeitlin as a “prodigy, master, virtuoso, and legend” as well as a “dynamic teacher and mentor” to nearly four decades of Eastman students.
With a distinguished career as a performer, Zeitlin ― who continues to perform around the world to great acclaim ― joined the Eastman faculty in 1967, and was appointed Distinguished Professor of Violin in 1998. At Eastman, he has amassed a long list of former students who are concertmasters or who hold leading positions in top orchestras throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Other former students are established music teachers and scholars at universities and music schools worldwide.
As a teacher, Professor Zeitlin has set an example of artistry and a commitment not only to help students improve their technique and musicianship, but also to introduce them to an engagement with music that enriches their lives and the lives of those around them. As one colleague commented, “Professor Zeitlin is not only a teacher of violin. He is a teacher of music.”
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Note to editors: Professor Zeitlin is a resident of Brighton. An electronic photo is available.