ROCHESTER, NY — Three of the five recipients this year of the prestigious American Symphony Orchestra League’s (ASOL) Orchestra Management Fellowships are graduates of the Eastman School of Music.
The Orchestra Management Fellowship Program is a year-long leadership training program designed to launch executive careers in orchestra management through the observation of management practices in host orchestras, an intense course of study, and valuable work experiences. Currently, Fellowship Program graduates hold 75 leadership positions in American Orchestras — including 28 executive directors.
Two graduates of Eastman’s Catherine Filene Shouse Arts Leadership Program (ALP) — Lisa Dixon and Rachel Roberts Hermanson — have been awarded fellowships. Both were admitted to the ALP program in 2001 and graduated in May 2003. In addition, Vanessa Rose, a 1998 Eastman graduate, is the third recipient of the ASOL Fellowship this year.
Lisa Dixon graduated with distinction with Bachelor of Music (BM) degrees in Applied Music and Music Education Instrumental. She was a clarinet student, and completed ALP Internships with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s (RPO) Education & Outreach department, RPO Artistic Operations and Eastman School of Music Communications. She received an ALP Special Opportunity Grant to attend the Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference in New York City in January 2002. Currently, she is completing her ALP postgraduate internship for 2004-05 with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in Artistic Operations and Education.
Rachel Roberts Hermanson graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Applied Music. She was a flute student, and she completed ALP Internships while in school with RPO Artistic Operations and Eastman School Communications. She also received an ALP Special Opportunity Grant to attend the Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference in New York City in January 2002. Her 2004 ALP summer internship at the Montana Summer Festival provided her with a performing opportunity as well. Currently, Rachel is the Artistic & Production Assistant for the Houston Symphony Orchestra.
Vanessa Rose holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music degree from Mannes College of Music, as well as a certificate from the Royal
Conservatory in The Hague. Most recently, she was a member of the Development Department at the American Symphony Orchestra League. She has also worked in various administrative roles with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, String Orchestra of New York, Solstice Music Festival, and International Keyboard Institute and Festival. As a violinist, she has performed with the Harrisburg Symphony, New World Symphony, Key West Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, and Spoleto Festival Orchestras (Italy and USA).
The Catherine Filene Shouse Arts Leadership Program is designed to prepare Eastman students for a rapidly changing musical culture and an increasingly competitive and diversified marketplace. The ALP recognizes that success as a professional musician requires more than superb technique and artistry: Success also requires entrepreneurial savvy, strong communication skills, fluency with emerging technologies, commitment to audience education, and public advocacy for music and the arts. The fundamental goals of the ALP are to inspire students with a personal vision, to equip them with the professional skills and experience that will allow them to take charge of their career prospects, and to encourage them to provide leadership in the musical culture and marketplace.
For more information on the ASOL fellowship program, please visit http://www.symphony.org/ola/fellowship.shtml.
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Editors note: Photos of the three fellowship recipients are available from the Eastman School of Music Office of Communications, 585-274-1052.