Two Exciting Concerts from the Eastman Musica Nova Ensemble: Featuring a piece by 2022 Kennedy Center honoree, Tania León on February 20

The Eastman Musica Nova Ensemble presents two upcoming performances on Monday, February 20 and Friday, April 7 featuring new and exciting works alongside seminal compositions of the 20th century. The ensemble’s next performance on February 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, includes Tania León’s Rítmicas. A Cuban-born composer who received a…

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Organist Chelsea Chen

Multifaceted Organist Chelsea Chen Performs in the Rochester Celebrity Organ Recital Series

The organ is an instrument best known as an accompaniment to church services, emitting a sacred aura through its wind-filled pipes. But the organ is a tremendously virtuosic instrument. Organists can create an entire orchestra of sounds through highly synchronized movements between hands and feet. Over keys, foot petals, and knobs called “stops,” an organist…

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The Empire Film and Media Ensemble Performs Danny Elfman’s Iconic 1989 “Batman” Score: Q&A with Music Director Brett Miller

Batman won’t be the only superhero on display when the 1989 Warner Bros. Pictures DC film “Batman” screens at Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre on Friday, February 10 at 7:30 p.m. The film will be accompanied by live musicians from the Empire Film and Media Ensemble, a not-for-profit organization entirely managed by Eastman School…

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Diversifying Classical Repertoire for Intermediate Ensembles: Commissioning Brittany J. Green’s “Freedom 2040: The Tomorrow We’ll Build”

On Thursday, December 15, 2022, Rochester’s East High School Band (pictured above) premiered Freedom 2040: The Tomorrow We’ll Build, by Brittany J. Green. The piece, scored for both band and orchestra, was commissioned through support of the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, along…

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Wellness at Eastman: Music Making, Mental Health, and the Identity of the Professional Musician

Wellness at Eastman is a monthly seminar series from Eastman Performing Arts Medicine (EPAM) featuring artists and clinicians speaking to physical and mental wellness for performing artists, inspired by the Healthy Conservatoires movement in Europe.  The next Wellness at Eastman seminar will be on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at 6 p.m.: Music Making, Mental Health, and the Identity of the Professional Musician, presented by Dagmar…

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Faculty Artist Series Features the Collaborative Piano Faculty in a Fairytale Concert

  The recital stage would be extra lonely if not for the presence of an accompanist. A partner-in-musical-crime, pianists who accompany other instrumentalists and vocalists—more equitably called “collaborative pianists”—provide musical camaraderie. But their roles are frequently overlooked. Accompanimental piano parts are often virtuosic and, at times, exposed. The pianist must attend to their performing partners’…

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