Alexander Laing_Lee Koonce headshots

Alexander Laing to Succeed Lee Koonce as President & Artistic Director of Gateways Music Festival in January 2024

Alexander Laing (photo: Jared Platt) & Lee Koonce (photo: Olubode Brown) Today, in association with Eastman School of Music, Gateways Music Festival – a national organization dedicated to connecting and supporting professional classical musicians of African descent – announced succession plans for its new leadership. The changes are set to begin in July 2023, when…

Read more

Summer@Eastman Spotlight: Summer Jazz Studies

Nearly half a century ago, Eastman pioneered a summer program for jazz musicians. Generations of students from around the nation spent their summers on Gibbs Street making music, making friends, and learning from each other and from Eastman’s faculty. In this blog, we hear from three leaders who significantly contributed to this thriving program and…

Read more
Rosemary Obi provides music therapy for the youngest hospital patients.

Music Therapy Finds its Rhythm at URMC

By Terri Medina Music heals. Music evokes memories and feelings. Music allows us to remember a specific moment in time. A beat, a note, a sound. Simply strummed or hummed, arranged and performed, music resounds deeply inside us and opens up our hearts and minds. URMC has been using music as a therapeutic tool since…

Read more

Eastman Presents: April 2023 Concerts

Looking ahead to the Eastman School of Music’s remaining Eastman Presents concerts for spring 2023, we are pleased to showcase globally celebrated visiting artists, as well as our renowned faculty members. Concerts will be held throughout April in Eastman’s beautiful Kilbourn Hall. “Don’t miss your last chances to see great artists in the 22/23 Eastman…

Read more

Summer@Eastman Spotlight: Alexander Technique 2023

As a former student of Eastman’s Alexander Technique instructor Katie Fittipaldi, Summer@Eastman’s Marketing Assistant and violist Joyce Tseng has had firsthand experience with how Alexander Technique (AT) improves ease and freedom of movement. Katie has guided Joyce to use conscious intention of awareness in her playing and has helped Joyce overcome performance anxiety through the…

Read more

Summer@Eastman Spotlight: Eastman Summer Horn Institute

The Eastman Summer Horn Institute (class of 2022 pictured above) is a great program for participants wanting to dedicate a full week to solidify the craft of horn playing under the instruction of world-class faculty: Peter Kurau, Professor of Horn, Eastman School of Music/Principal Horn, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra; Nikolette LaBonte, Associate Principal/Assistant Principal/Utility Horn, Rochester…

Read more