Alumni Testimonials

Eastman Chamber Music AlumniQuick LinksChamber Music Main Group Auditions and Registration Information/Group Enrollment Forms for Students James E. Clark Chamber Music Residency Photo Highlights Alumni Testimonials Eastman to Go Departments Main

“Chamber music (especially at Eastman) has been a massive inspiration to me in ways that I didn’t expect. Arriving at Eastman I found it so unique that we had a woodwind quintet class for all incoming freshman (something I have found to be unique when I talk to friends at other conservatories). That course was a fantastic plunge into the world of chamber music, and I found that chamber performances quickly became some of my favorite playing.” Harrison Short, bassoon, Sequoia Reed Quintet

Harrison Short
Charles Warren Fox

Charles Warren Fox Originally hired in 1932 to teach psychology, Charles Warren Fox (1904-1983) soon was chosen by Director Howard Hanson to become Eastman’s first musicologist. Dr. Fox studied under the eminent musicologist Otto Kinkeldey at Cornell University. His own contributions ranged from writing important papers on the music of the Renaissance to helping found…

Adelin Fermin

Adelin Fermin Adelin Fermin (1867-1941) was a member of the voice faculty during the earliest years of the Eastman School. Before coming to Eastman in 1921, Mr. Fermin — known to many as “Daddy Fermin” — taught at the Hague and at the Sweelwicks School in his native Holland. He had a very successful performing…

Michael Farris

Michael Farris Michael Farris (1957-1999) was an Eastman alumnus and associate professor of organ from 1994 until his untimely death. Born in New Mexico, he received his undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University and then continued his studies at Indiana University where he earned a master of music degree and a Performer’s Certificate. At Eastman,…

Roy Ernst

Roy Ernst Roy Ernst, professor emeritus of music education, taught at Eastman for 25 years and chaired the music education department for 12 years. In 1991, Dr. Ernst started the first New Horizons Band at Eastman for the purpose of creating a model program emphasizing entry and reentry points to music making for older adults.…

Jon Engberg

Jon Engberg Jon Engberg has enjoyed a long and prosperous affiliation with the Eastman School, beginning with undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral studies, and culminating in a career as Eastman’s associate director of academic affairs and associate dean of graduate studies from 1975 to 1995. Coming to Eastman in 1950 as a freshman cellist from Los…

José Echániz

José Echániz Pianist José Echániz (1905-1969), a Cuban-born child prodigy, studied at the Falcon Conservatory in Havana, where he was awarded the title “professor of piano” at age 14. During the 1920s, he appeared at Carnegie Hall, toured U.S. cities, and appeared in Paris, The Hague, Amsterdam, and Madrid. During the 1930’s, he was a…

Harold Danko

Harold Danko Harold Danko is associated with such jazz legends as Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Lee Konitz, and Woody Herman, in performances at major jazz venues throughout the world as a band leader, composer, and solo pianist. Beginning his piano studies at the age of five, Harold became serious about pursuing a…