The original American genre of ragtime gets the spotlight from the Ying Quartet when the ensemble presents its annual LifeMusic concert as part of the Eastman-Ranlet Series on Sunday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall. The recital will feature Three Rags for String Quartet by pianist and composer John Novacek, who’s embraced the…
A new work by award-winning jazz artist Bob Brookmeyer will headline an upcoming concert by the Eastman School of Music’s New Jazz Ensemble. Rochester audiences will be treated to the first public performance of Brookmeyer’s “Christmas Tree” at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, in Kilbourn Hall. The work was commissioned by the NDR Big Band…
Grammy-winning ensemble eighth blackbird, known for its energetic performances making new music accessible to wide audiences, will appear in the Eastman School of Music’s Kilbourn Concert Series on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m. The program features a new work titled 5 Memos by Carlos Sánchez-Gutiérrez, Associate Professor of Composition at the Eastman School of…
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an extraordinary musician, perhaps history’s greatest composer. He should have amassed a fortune. Instead, he died penniless. Many musicians throughout history have suffered a similar fate, unable to turn their dedication and talent into a successful career. A new book by Ramon Ricker, a senior administrator at the University of Rochester’s…
The Eastman School of Music’s Eastman Chamber Jazz will perform arrangements by pianist, composer, and bandleader Gil Evans that have not been heard in more than five decades on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 8 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall. The program features Evans’s arrangements from the Claude Thornhill Orchestra that have not been performed in 50-plus…
A film and music festival program in Berlin put the spotlight on composers and musicians from the Eastman School of Music. “Old Films and New Music,” presented by the Kurt Weill Festival, featured little-known short films from the 1920s and 1930s by Bauhaus master and avant-garde artist László Moholy-Nagy. The music accompanying the works was…
Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr., Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania, will present a paper on “Diversity Is, Diversity Ain’t: Multiculturalism and Teaching in a Post-Disciplinary Music Academy” at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, in Room 404 of the Sibley Music Library at the Eastman School of Music. The event, which is sponsored by…
Hector Del Curto’s Eternal Tango will sweep Kilbourn Hall audience members away to Argentina with the dramatic, romantic, and compelling sounds of tango as the World Music Series at Eastman School of Music continues on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. Praised as “superb in their powerful and dynamic rendition” in performance, Eternal Tango has…
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno has tapped Eastman School of Music student David Aguila to reveal for the first time ever to a national audience a talent he’s developed alongside his musical ability. On Wednesday, Jan. 26, Aguila will surprise viewers with a skill he’s honed but kept hidden. He’ll appear in a segment…