Oscar Zimmerman (1910-1987), double bassist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for 36 years and professor emeritus at Eastman, was a member of the first graduating class of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Hired by the Philadelphia Orchestra as a 19-year-old student, he played with the orchestra for six years until joining the St.…
Arkadia Yegudkin (1884-1956), professor of horn, was one of the earliest members of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He studied music in his native Russia, and performed with the orchestra of the Imperial Theater in Warsaw and the Petrograd Symphony Orchestra. He left his homeland during the Russian Revolution and traveled to the United States, where…
Rayburn Wright (1922-1990), professor of jazz studies and contemporary media and co-chair of the conducting and ensembles department, received his bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School and his master’s degree from Columbia University. Mr. Wright was a composer, arranger, conductor, and former arranger and co-director of music at Radio City Music Hall. His arrangements and…
Raymond Wilson (1888-1969) joined the piano faculty of Eastman in its first year, 1921. Dr. Wilson served as acting director of the School from 1923 until Howard Hanson was appointed in 1924, at which time Wilson became the assistant director of the Preparatory Department. Dr. Wilson received a bachelor of music degree from the Pennsylvania…
Before coming to Rochester, violinist, conductor, and composer Paul White (1895-1973) had already studied with some of the virtuosi of his era: George Chadwick and Eugene Ysaÿe. White attracted the attention of George Eastman, and accepted his invitation to perform with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He also wanted to study conducting with Eugene Goossens at…
Gretchen A. Wheelock received her BA from Wellesley, and her graduate degrees from Yale University. Her research interests in musicology include Haydn, Mozart, 18th-century aesthetics, reception history, and performance practice; her professional associations and memberships include the American Musicological Society (where she served on the board of directors in 1995-96 and as vice-president, 1999-2000, as…
A pioneer in the performance of George Gershwin’s piano repertoire, Harry Watts (1901-1962) taught at Eastman for 36 years. He joined the piano faculty in 1921, shortly after the School was founded. In 1942, Mr. Watts was named chairman of the secondary piano department. He wrote several music textbooks and served as an adjudicator at…
K. David Van Hoesen, professor emeritus of bassoon and former principal bassoonist of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, received his bachelor’s degree from Eastman in 1950. Mr. Van Hoesen was professor of bassoon at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (1950-54) and at the Cleveland Institute of Music (1952-54) before joining the Eastman faculty in 1954. While…
Before joining Eastman’s string faculty in 1949, Francis Tursi (1922-1991) received two bachelor of music degrees from Eastman, one in composition in 1947 and one in viola in 1948. Prior to his studies at Eastman, Mr. Tursi received diplomas in viola and composition from the Curtis Institute, in 1942 and 1946. During his career as…
Before joining the Eastman faculty in 1947, Leonard Treash (1909-1996) was already well known in the world of opera. An outstanding operatic basso, he performed in leading roles under such conductors as Fritz Reiner, Leopold Stokowski, Artur Rodzinski, and Erich Leinsdorf. In 1935, he won the National Federation of Music Clubs Award as the most…