Can you imagine the multi-disciplinary world of the organ without Johann Sebastian Bach? His life’s work is reflected in seemingly every facet of modern-day organ culture. His prowess as performer of exceptional virtuosity continues to set the bar in conservatories and organ competitions across the globe which bear his name. Pedagogically-minded by necessity and design, through his own teaching and composition he has shaped – and continues to inspire – three centuries of performers, composers, teachers, and musicologists. Transcending national and confessional boundaries, and overcoming the accumulated, ephemeral dictates of taste and style, the centrality of his organ compositions has been a powerful catalyst for ‘reformations’ and ‘renaissances’ in both organbuilding and pedagogy in the 19th and 20th centuries on both sides of the Atlantic. Join us as the foremost performers and scholars of our time help us to hold up the mirror of this rich inheritance, shedding light on many of the important streams of thought that flow through that endless brook of inspiration.
Featuring special guest Daniel Roth, including a concert launching University of Rochester Press’ new publication: “Daniel Roth, Organist of Saint Sulpice”
Other guest presenters include: Ludger Lohmann, Joel Speerstra, and Anne Laver
Earlybird Full Registration (until July 31): $325
Regular Full Registration: $350
Rochester AGO Registration: $250
Student Registration: $100
Monday Day Pass: $125
Tuesday Day Pass: $175 (includes banquet dinner)
Wednesday Day Pass: $100
Bus Transportation to Ithaca (Wednesday only): $50
About EROI
When the Eastman School of Music opened its doors in 1921, it housed the largest and most lavish organ collection in the nation, befitting the interests of its founder, George Eastman. Mr. Eastman provided the School with opulent facilities and stellar faculty, creating an expansive vision for organ art and education in the 20th century. Over the years, the Eastman School has built on this vision by offering one of the most distinguished organ programs in the world. In keeping with this tradition of excellence, the Eastman School of Music has embarked on a long-range plan, the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI), that will extend George Eastman’s vision into the 21st century.
With the aim of making Rochester a global center for organ performance, research, building, and preservation, the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative of the Eastman School of Music is assembling a collection of new and historic organs unparalleled in North America. An incomparable teaching resource, this collection offers access to organs of diverse styles and traditions to talented young musicians from around the world. Tourists, scholars, and music lovers are drawn to Rochester to hear the varied sounds of these extraordinary instruments.
In its short twelve year history, EROI has completed an initial phase which has included the placement of four magnificent instruments in downtown Rochester. An historic Italian Baroque organ was installed in the University of Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery in 2005. The Craighead-Saunders organ, closely modeled after a Lithuanian organ built by Casparini in 1776, was constructed and installed in Christ Church in 2008, in cooperation with the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester. Eastman also owns two vintage 19th century American instruments, an 1898 Hook and Hastings Organ housed in St. Mary’s Church, and an 1893 Hook and Hastings Organ restored and installed in the choir chamber of Christ Church in the summer of 2012. The EROI Project continues to work towards expanding the collection of high-quality organs in the Rochester area. The next phase of the project includes the construction of a new French Symphonic Organ modeled on Aristide Cavaillé-Coll’s late 19th century instruments, renovation of the historic E.M. Skinner organ housed in the Eastman School’s Kilbourn Hall, and the restoration and replacement of the School’s fourteen practice organs.
A central component of the EROI Project is outreach and education. Even-numbered year in autumn, EROI presents the EROI Festival, an international academic conference that features the collection of instruments in Rochester. The event has grown from humble beginnings into one of the premier organ conferences in the world. In addition, EROI sponsors Eastman student community concerts at local churches throughout the academic year.
EROI Festival Archive
An important component of the EROI Project is the EROI Festival, an annual academic conference devoted to special topics in organ performance and building. The first EROI Festival was held in 2002 with the aim of bringing together invited performers, scholars, and builders in order to share experiences and research and to enrich organ education at Eastman and the wider community. Since then the event has grown into a conference of international stature.
Click on the links below to access schedules and materials from past festivals. More archived materials will be posted soon.
EROI 2018: Beyond the Stops
Beyond the Stops: Finding the Organ’s Voices
EROI Festival 2018: October 24-26
2018 marks the tenth anniversary of the installation of three magnificent organs in Rochester: the Craighead-Saunders Organ (GOArt/Yokota/Arvidsson) at Christ Church, the Halloran-All Saints Organ (Paul Fritts and Company, Opus 26) at Sacred Heart Cathedral, and the David Tannenberg-style organ (Taylor & Boody, Opus 57) at First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford. With the theme of Beyond the Stops: Finding the Organ’s Voices, the 2018 EROI Festival celebrates these instruments by going beyond stoplists and stereotypes to explore the potentials of organ sounds—regardless of chronological, national, or historical styles of organ building. An international slate of organists, scholars, and builders will participate in onsite studies of these three instruments, as well as the Italian Baroque organ at the Memorial Art Gallery, the Hook & Hastings organ (Opus 1573, 1893) at Christ Church, and the E. M. Skinner organ (Opus 711, 1928) at Church of the Ascension. Keynote speakers Nathan Laube (Eastman School of Music) and Joel Speerstra (Göteborg Organ Art Center) will identify central issues and propose concepts to be explored during the course of our conversations. Evening concerts will feature Eastman’s distinguished organ faculty as well as guest artists Hans Davidsson (Sweden) and Thomas Lacôte (France).
Please click here to find the 2018 Festival Information and Registration brochure.
EROI 2016: “Breath for Singing: The Organ and the Human Voice”
“Breath for Singing: The Organ and the Human Voice”
EROI Festival 2016: October 26–28
The Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI) will hold its 2016 EROI Festival October 26–28 at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY. With the theme of “Breath for Singing: The Organ and the Human Voice,” EROI 2016 will consider conceptual, historical, and practical aspects of the interaction of organ and voice. Among conceptual aspects we will explore the cognitive and psychological benefits of group singing within religious communities. While supporting and encouraging congregational singing is perhaps the most ubiquitous of roles for the organ, comparatively little historical attention has been devoted to this aspect of the organ art. The organ also has a long history of alternating with the choir (the schola cantorum or Kantorei), the organ becoming another voice in such a liturgical dialogue. Both of these roles for the organ will be considered historically through lectures and demonstrations by leading organists and musicologists, examining various repertories of chant, chorales, metrical psalms, and hymns—with the organ as the central focus. Practical considerations of hymn accompaniment will be illustrated through lecture demonstrations and master classes involving Eastman organ students and nationally recognized organists who have developed special artistry in techniques of hymn-based improvisation. The opening keynote lecture on Wednesday, October 26 will be given by Robin A. Leaver (Emeritus Professor, Westminster Choir College), with a hymn festival to follow, featuring a festival choir comprised of Rochester-area church choirs, all led by James E. Bobb (St. Olaf College), Aaron David Miller (House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, MN), and Peter DuBois (Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY). The hymn festival will include the premiere performance of a new hymn commissioned for this conference, with text by Thomas Troeger and music by Nico Muhly. Other highlights include a Moravian Singstunde, using an organ built in the style of David Tannenberg, and two evening recitals by Eastman organ faculty.
Download the 2016 schedule and brochure here
Wednesday, October 26
Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester
| 3–5PM | Conference Registration |
| 3:30–4:30PM | Recital on Italian Baroque Organ by Eastman students and faculty Public admission: Free with paid Gallery admission |
| 5PM | Keynote Lecture: Robin A. Leaver (Professor Emeritus, Westminster Choir College) |
| 6:15PM | Dinner at the Memorial Art Gallery |
Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester
| 8PM |
Hymn Festival Organists: James E. Bobb (St. Olaf College), Aaron David Miller (House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, Minn.) Festival Choir from Rochester-area churches Free admission |
Thursday, October 27
Hatch Recital Hall, Eastman School of Music
| 9AM-Noon |
Paper Session
Chair: Betsy Marvin |
| Noon–1:15PM | Lunch on your own in downtown Rochester |
Christ Church, Rochester
| 1:15-3:30PM | Lecture-demonstrations This session will focus on the historical use of the organ in alternation with voices in the liturgies of the Western church. Chair: Kerala Snyder (Eastman School of Music) France: Robert Bates (University of Houston) Italy: Edoardo Bellotti (Eastman School of Music) Germany: Frederick Gable (University of California, Riverside) |
First Presbyterian Church, Pittsford
| 4:30PM | Moravian Singstunde Organizer and lecturer: Nola Reed Knouse (Director, Moravian Music Foundation) Organist: Jack Mitchener (Mercer University) |
| 5:45PM | Catered dinner |
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Rochester
| 8PM | Concert of chant and chant-inspired organ repertoire, including alternation practices, featuring Edoardo Bellotti, Nathan Laube, Stephen Kennedy, and the Christ Church Schola Cantorum Public admission: $15 regular/$10 student; tickets available at the door |
Friday, October 28
Third Presbyterian Church
| 9AM-Noon |
Master classes with Eastman Organ students
James E. Bobb: Leading nontraditional/multicultural hymnody from the organ James E. Bobb, Aaron David Miller, Rick Erickson (Christ the King Lutheran Church, Houston, Texas): Improvising introductions and accompaniments to congregational hymns |
| Noon-2PM | Lunch on your own in downtown Rochester |
Christ Church
| 2-5PM | Lecture-demonstrations Chair: Roger Freitas (Eastman School of Music) Frederick Gable: The organ and congregational song in 17th-century Hamburg Kerala Snyder: The organ and congregational song in 17th-century Lübeck Jacob Fuhrman (Eastman School of Music): Metrical psalms in 18th-century Netherlands Derek Remeš (Eastman School of Music): The chorale in Germany after J. S. Bach |
| 5:15PM | Conference banquet at Max of Eastman Place, Miller Center, Eastman School of Music |
Christ Church
| 8PM | Concert featuring David Higgs and William Porter playing organ repertoire based on chorales, metrical psalms, and hymns, including congregational singing Public admission: $15 regular/$10 student; tickets available at the door |
Saturday, October 29
Christ Church and the Memorial Art Gallery
| 9AM-Noon | Open console |
EROI 2014: Organ and Film Festival
EROI 2014: Organ and Film Festival
October 23-26, 2014
We are pleased to report that the 2014 EROI Organ and Film Festival was a tremendous success! The four-day event brought to life the early-20th-century art of improvised silent film accompaniment. Through the foundational efforts of the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI), the festival featured a wide collection of new and historical instruments at the George Eastman House and local churches. Conference attendees heard outstanding performances of live, improvised organ accompaniment alongside iconic silent films, including Dryer’s 1928 classic La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc; the festival also included lectures on the history of silent film accompaniment, cue sheets at the George Eastman House, the role of music in film, and the long-standing relationship between organ and cinema.
We are indebted to all of our presenters, Eastman faculty, interns, students, attendees, and the many wonderful hosts and churches that made this event possible. A special thank you to this year’s festival sponsors:
Christ Church • Memorial Art Gallery • Third Presbyterian Church • Rochester Chapter of the American Guild of Organists Rochester Theatre Organ Society • Encore Music Creations
For a complete listing of presenters and events: Download the 2014 EROI Festival Program Book
Schedule of Events:
Thursday, October 23
Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Avenue
6:30 p.m. – Pre-performance talk in the Auditorium
7:30 p.m – Silent film shorts accompanied by Edoardo Bellotti on the Italian Baroque Organ in the Fountain Court
Films include Mozart’s Last Requiem (Leon Gaumont, 1909); King Lear (Gerolamo Lo Savio, 1910); The Birth, the Life, and the Death of Christ (Alice Guy, 1906)
Friday, October 24
Third Presbyterian Church, 4 Meigs Street
7:30 p.m. Pre-performance talk
8 p.m. Ted Wilde’s 1928 comedy Speedy, with accompaniment by Tom Trenney on the Austin Organ
Saturday, October 25
Christ Church, 141 East Avenue
7:30 p.m. Pre-performance talk
8 p.m. Carl Theodor Dryer’s 1928 silent classic La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc with live improvised accompaniment by the Christ Church Schola Cantorum, and Stephen Kennedy and Edoardo Bellotti on the Craighead-Saunders Organ and the Hook & Hastings Organ
Sunday, October 26
Eisenhart Auditorium at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, 657 East Avenue
2 p.m. Pre-performance talk
2:30 p.m. Victor Fleming’s 1920 romantic comedy, The Mollycoddle, with accompaniment by Philip Carli on the Wurlitzer Theatre Organ
2014 Festival Photo Highlights
EROI 2013: Spectrum of Sound
Spectrum of Sound – Aspects of Organ Music since 1940
EROI 2013: September 26-29
The twelfth annual Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI) Festival offered a fresh program dedicated to the music of our own time. The conference covered a sampling of different topics and musical styles reflective of the eclecticism of twentieth-century organ culture. Many of the most colorful, virtuosic, and original works in our repertoire came into being after the 1940s, and the 2013 festival celebrated composers as diverse as Messiaen, Hindemith, Ligeti, and Cage. Highlights included a keynote address by Hans-Ola Ericsson, recitals by Eastman’s own organ faculty, and presentations by two guest composers: Germany’s Martin Herchenröder and American Pulitzer Prize winner William Bolcom.
For a complete listing of presenters and events: Download the 2013 EROI Festival Program Book
Pre-conference events:
Monday, September 23
9:00 a.m.−1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.−7:00 p.m. Christ Church, Rochester
Westfield Competition First Round (free and open to the public)
Tuesday, September 24
8:00 p.m. Cominsky Promenade, Eastman School of Music, Rochester
Announcement of Westfield Competition Second Round competitors
Wednesday, September 25
Master classes for Westfield Academy participants at Christ Church, Memorial Art Gallery, St. Michael’s Church, and Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester
Thursday, September 26
Master classes for Westfield Academy participants at Christ Church and St. Michael’s Church
1:00 p.m. Memorial Art Gallery
Recital by Westfield Academy Participants
free with gallery admission
EROI Festival Schedule
Thursday, September 26
2:00 p.m.−5:00 p.m. Wolk Atrium, Eastman School of Music
EROI Festival Registration
5:00 p.m. Hatch Recital Hall, Eastman School of Music
EROI Festival Keynote address by Hans-Ola Ericsson
6:00 p.m. Rochester Club Ballroom
Light dinner reception
8:30 p.m. Christ Church
Rhythm and Color: Organ Music 1962-2012
Organ recital and multi-media presentation by Martin Herchenröder
Works by Messiaen, Ligeti, Cage, Stockmeier, Herchenröder, and a world premiere by Michael Pelzel
Pre-concert talk by Martin Herchenröder at 8:00 p.m.
Friday, September 27
9 a.m.−12:30 p.m. Downtown Presbyterian Church
Paper Session I
Andrew Shenton: What Does God Sound Like? Symbolic Meaning and Systematic Registration in Messiaen’s Organ Works
William Bolcom: Confessions of a Non-Organist
Amy Bauer: Let the Disease Become the Cure: Ligeti’s Utopian Organ Works
Hans Davidsson: Performing Ligeti’s Volumina (workshop)
12:30 p.m.
Lunch
1:30 p.m.−2:45 p.m.
Paper Session II
Peter Planyavsky: Organ Works of Hindemith and Heiller—Some Thoughts on Performance Practice
Mark Steinbach: Heiller Variations: Posthumous Discoveries
3:00 p.m.−4:45 p.m.
Master class with Christa Rakich and Peter Planyavsky
Repertoire: Heiller and Hindemith organ works; performers: Westfield Academy participants
4:45 p.m.−5:30 p.m.
Panel discussion on Heiller’s pedagogy with former Heiller students
Jay Peterson, moderator
5:45 p.m. High Falls Event Center
Conference Banquet
8:00 p.m. Asbury First United Methodist Church
Organ concert by David Higgs, Nathan Laube, and Douglas Reed
Works of William Bolcom and William Albright
Saturday, September 28
9 a.m.−10:30 a.m. Asbury First United Methodist Church
Master class with Jon Gillock
Repertoire: Messiaen organ works; performers: Eastman students
10:45 a.m. ─12:15 p.m.
Master class with William Bolcom
Repertoire: Bolcom organ works; performers: Eastman students
12:45 p.m. Rochester Club Ballroom
Lunch
1:45 p.m.─5:30 p.m. Christ Church
Westfield Competition Final Round
5:30 p.m. Rochester Club Ballroom
Reception and announcement of winners
7:00 p.m. Christ Church (repeated at 8:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.)
Spirits Within: Stephen Kennedy, organ improvisation; Marla Schweppe, projection
8:00 p.m. Third Presbyterian Church
Organ and chamber orchestra concert featuring music of Heiller and Bolcom
Peter Planyavsky, Hans-Ola Ericsson, and Nathan Laube, organ
Edoardo Bellotti, harpsichord
Eastman Graduate Chamber Orchestra, Chaowen Ting and Peter Planyavksy, conductors
Sunday, September 29
Morning Option to attend morning worship at area churches
Noon Cominsky Promenade, Eastman School of Music
Box lunches available for EROI participants
12:45−1:45 p.m. Messinger Hall, Eastman School of Music
Paper Session III
Lars Gjerde: “The Forbidden Organ Concert”: Egil Hovland’s Elementa pro Organo in Context
Randall Harlow: Hyperorgan: Augmented Reality, Affordances and Ecology of the Wondrous Machine
2:30 p.m. Sacred Heart Cathedral
Recital by Jon Gillock: Organ works of Olivier Messiaen
4:00 p.m. Bus departs for Ithaca from Sacred Heart Cathedral
6:00 p.m. Reception
7:00 p.m. Anabel Taylor Chapel, Cornell University campus
Westfield Competition Winners’ Recital
Bus returns to Rochester at the conclusion of the concert
