The original version of this article appeared in the printed edition of the Winter 2022 Eastman Notes magazine. Since it appeared, we’ve been able to update a number of commissioned titles and other facts, which are reflected in this online version. It officially began last fall, and it is still going strong. Eastman’s centennial celebration…
About the Horn Studio The Eastman Horn Studio has a long and prestigious legacy dating back to the 1924 when Wendell Hoss was the inaugural Professor of Horn. His successors included Arkadia Yegudkin, Frederick Bradley, Morris Secon, Milan Yancich, and Verne Reynolds. W. Peter Kurau has served as Professor of Horn since 1995, and the…
Since it was founded in 1977, the William Warfield Scholarship Fund, Inc. (WWSF) has provided financial aid to more than 35 African American students at the Eastman School of Music, 15 African American high school classical singers across the United States, and spotlighted talented Eastman recipients in an annual benefit concert. This year’s benefit concert…
Eastman Conducting Graduates The Conducting & Ensembles department boasts many accomplished alumni, and prepares students for careers in performing, teaching, academia, and many other fields. Choral Conducting From the studio of William Weinert: Daniel Bara (DMA01) Director of Choral Activities, University of Georgia David Chin (MM12, DMA17) Artistic Director, Bachfest Malaysia Senior Research Fellow, Bach-Archiv,…
Ossia Ossia takes its name from the score marking that indicates a musical alternative. This ensemble provides alternatives for the performance of new music at the Eastman School of Music, throughout the Rochester area and beyond. Ossia produces professional-quality concerts of contemporary music, and in so doing, helps the student members learn the musical and…
Mbira EnsembleCO-DIRECTORS | Jennifer Kyker and Glenn West Theorist Martin Scherzinger started Eastman’s Mbira Ensemble in 2004. Played by Shona-speaking communities in Zimbabwe, the mbira is an instrument with 22 to 28 metal keys (lamellae) fixed to a wooden soundboard, which is then placed in a gourd resonator, used to amplify its resonance. Rattling pieces of metal, bottle…
GamelanDIRECTORS | Ken Luk and I Nyoman Suadin Gamelan at Eastman, as in Bali, is a communal effort. Our members include Eastman students, faculty, and staff, as well as many members of the Rochester community. The music is learned through the oral/aural tradition without the use of notation, and therefore requires the players to work…
Schola CantorumDIRECTOR | Stephen Kennedy, Instructor of Sacred Music The Schola Cantorum performs the Office of Compline each Sunday night at Christ Church, 141 East Avenue. The Schola specializes in performing Gregorian chant, choral music from the Renaissance and baroque, and choral improvisation. This critically acclaimed ensemble has collaborated with Manfred Cordes and Weser-Renaissance Bremen,Boston Early Music…
Collegium MusicumDIRECTORS | Paul O’Dette and Christel Thielmann The Collegium Musicum performs music from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, with repertoire ranging from solo cantatas to madrigals, oratorios, operas, concertos, and other orchestral works. Recent concerts have included performances of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, Handel’s Concerti Grossi, op. 3, Purcell’s King Arthur and The Fairy Queen,…
Tuba MirumDIRECTOR | Don Harry, Associate Professor of Tuba Directed by Associate Professor of Tuba Don Harry, Tuba Mirum consists of the combined euphonium and tuba studios at the Eastman School of Music. The ensemble gives a variety of concerts, with repertory ranging from Bach to Zappa. During the past year, the ensemble accompanied guest…