As part of a year-long celebration of the centennial of women’s suffrage in New York State, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music and Susan B. Anthony Center are collaborating on “Women’s Voices,” a special concert featuring the premieres of composers Lori Laitman’s and Jennifer Mitchell’s new works, commissioned especially for the occasion. The…
The Eastman School of Music’s Eastman Wind Ensemble has released a new CD that features works by Puerto Rico’s best-known composer, five-time Grammy nominee Roberto Sierra. Titled Sierra Live: Music by Roberto Sierra, the recording has earned praise from Fanfare magazine for performance of the works “at the highest possible artistic level,” noting that the…
Members of OSSIA New Music performing On and Off and To and Fro by Simon Steen-Andersen last fall in Kilbourn Hall: from left, Gordon Fry, Reilly Spitzfaden, Edo Frenkel, Erik Elmgren, Nick Morandi, Kevin Sullivan, Brett Copeland By Erik Elmgren This year marks the 20th season of OSSIA New Music at the Eastman School of…
By Dan Gross The critically acclaimed New York City-based JACK Quartet returns to the Eastman School of Music to present a concert with OSSIA New Music and Musica Nova on Wednesday, February 15, at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. The free concert, featuring works by Morton Feldman, Steve Reich, and Helmut Lachenmann,…
Soprano Laura Sanders won the Friends of Eastman Opera’s annual competition for Eastman School of Music voice and opera students, held February 10 in the School’s Kilbourn Hall. She received the Lynne Clarke Vocal Prize in the amount of $1,500, donated by John Clarke in honor of his late wife, a founding member of the…
In the 19th century, Franz Liszt was a “rock star.” Composer, arranger, transcriber, promoter, author, pianist who drove female audience members into a frenzy—“Lisztomania,” it was called by German poet Heinrich Heine—the artist revolutionized performance with his virtuosity. Generally considered the greatest pianist who ever lived, Liszt is the subject of a three-day event at…
Conductor David Zinman, who was named Distinguished Visiting Artist at the Eastman School of Music in Fall 2016, will be in residence at the school on Feb. 20 and 21. During his visit, Zinman will give a public presentation, conduct rehearsals with Eastman School orchestras, hold a masterclass, and meet with conducting students. Jamal Rossi,…
Two Eastman School of Music alumni win Grammys (WROC TV 02/12/2017) Two Eastman School of Music alumni, Sean D. Connors and Geoff Saunders, were winners in the National Academy’s of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc.’s 59th GRAMMY Awards Sunday. (Also reported by WXXI, Democrat and Chronicle) ‘Silent Night’ for not-so-silent times (San Francisco Chronicle 02/07/2017)…
Updated February 23, 2017 Three Eastman School of Music alumni, Sean D. Connors, Geoff Saunders, and Shane Shanahan, were winners in the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc.’s 59th GRAMMY Awards Sunday, Feb. 12. I Connors (BM 04) is a member of the ensemble Third Coast Percussion, which won the Best Chamber Music…
Opera was a source of national identity and pride in 19th-century Italy. Church organists were even encouraged to bring the sounds of the opera into the sanctuary, where it could be available to all, including those who couldn’t afford an opera ticket. Organists of the period incorporated the musical style and gestures of operas into…