{"id":16215,"date":"2023-02-27T14:30:06","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T19:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/?p=16215"},"modified":"2026-03-09T11:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T15:00:18","slug":"feb27-mar5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/2023\/02\/feb27-mar5\/","title":{"rendered":"February 27th-March 5th: New Eastman Symphony"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1728409422621{background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;]<em>Published on Feb 27th, 2023<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/this-week-at-eastman\/\">Back to This Week at Eastman<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677692401977{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669830733727{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;1998: New Eastman Symphony in Kilbourn Hall&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h3|text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677692392905{margin-top: 40px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;border-left-color: #dddddd !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-color: #dddddd !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-color: #dddddd !important;border-top-style: solid !important;border-bottom-color: #dddddd !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677695455693{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669830733727{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_row_inner equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1710525124882{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669831170763{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677695332749{margin-top: -10px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-five years ago this week, on the evening of Monday, March 2<sup>nd<\/sup>, 1998, a unique student orchestra gave a concert under Brad Lubman\u2019s direction in Kilbourn Hall.\u00a0 The New Eastman Symphony, comprised primarily of graduate students and representing the Eastman School\u2019s first-ever student-managed symphony orchestra, was enjoying its first full season as a recognized ensemble endowed with credit-earning status in the Eastman School curriculum. The concert of March 2nd\u2014the orchestra\u2019s fourth concert of the 1997-98 season\u2014featured <em>Mathis der Maler <\/em>by Hindemith and the Symphony no. 9 by Shostakovich. \u00a0If any Eastman School student of the 1940s or 1950s had been transported through time to 1998, they might well have been dumbstruck at the notion of a student-managed orchestra, for during the long directorate of Howard Hanson, who openly characterized himself as a \u201cbenevolent dictator,\u201d such a notion would have been impossible.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 Now, in 1997-98, society and the times had changed, and so had the Eastman School of Music.\u00a0 The New Eastman Symphony was in operation with the announced mission \u201cto equip student musicians with leadership skills necessary to help professional orchestras survive, while providing high-quality pre-professional training in orchestral performance.\u201d<sup><a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_images_carousel images=&#8221;16225,16226,16227,16228,16229,16230,16231,16232&#8243; img_size=&#8221;300&#215;400&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677696747987{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-left: 20px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677696717645{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: -10px !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\">\u25baConcert program of March 2nd, 1998. This concert marked only the third performance of the Shostakovich Ninth Symphony at Eastman. Eastman School of Music Archives. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; gap=&#8221;2&#8243; equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1710525092941{margin-bottom: -10px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677703286741{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;16218&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;img_link_large&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677770828460{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677703344662{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;16219&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;img_link_large&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677770886553{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677703395975{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;16220&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;img_link_large&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677770894423{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; gap=&#8221;5&#8243; equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1710525138061{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669054474769{background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\">New Eastman Symphony in concert in Kilbourn Hall on March 2nd, 1998.\u00a0 Brad Lubman, conductor.\u00a0 Eastman School of Music Archives.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 12px;\">\u00a0\u25ba<em>\u00a0Photos by John Widman for the Eastman School of Music. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677693078744{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 40px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669830733727{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_row_inner equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_column_inner css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669831170763{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677696876864{margin-top: -10px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>Significant changes had been put in motion at the Eastman School with the appointment of James Undercofler, BM \u201967, as Associate Director for Academic Affairs in 1995. \u00a0Director Robert Freeman had for some time professed a deep concern for the challenges faced by classical musicians in the late 20th-century, problems that included (but were not limited to) diminishing and aging audiences, declining sales of classical music recordings, sharp cuts in public school music programs, and declining public funding.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup> Dr. Freeman tasked the newly appointed Undercofler with the design and implementation of such programs and curricular reform as would prepare the musicians of today and tomorrow to operate and thrive in a changing society and economy.\u00a0 The resulting programs were formally branded the Eastman Initiatives, a battery of co-curricular and extra-curricular programs designed to give students the skills and experience necessary to facing the demands of performance and education in a changing world.\u00a0 The Eastman Initiatives were nothing less than a school-wide response to the numerous problems that were widely perceived to be threatening art music. The Eastman School\u2019s Official Bulletin (a.k.a. annual catalogue) explicitly acknowledged the Eastman Initiatives for the first time in 1997-98, describing them as a \u201cformal curricular review process . . . progressively reshaping the School\u2019s programs to address the future.\u201d\u00a0 Two of the key initiatives that emerged were the Arts Leadership Program (later superseded by the Institute for Music Leadership), offering courses focused on the future of music to a select group of seniors and later subsumed under the Institute for Music Leadership, and Music for All, preparing chamber music ensembles for interactive community performances.\u00a0 Besides these far-reaching programs, Mr. Undercofler (later Acting Director, 1997; Director, 1997-2006) also worked to strengthen partnerships between the Eastman School and various arts and educational organizations in the community.<\/p>\n<p>In his first Convocation address after being named Acting Director, Mr. Undercofler pledged to continue the Eastman Initiatives, calling them a \u201crejuvenation of George Eastman\u2019s grand vision.\u201d<sup><a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup> He delineated four themes running through the Initiatives: to educate students to discover non-traditional ways to reach out to audiences and educate them; to prepare students to create opportunities for performers and audiences where such have not yet been imagined, with special emphasis on rejuvenating the musician-artist\u2019s connection with his\/her\/their community; to expand our conception of \u201cart music\u201d to acknowledge the musical traditions of other cultures, and to accommodate the inevitable changes in our own conception of what is \u201cclassical\u201d; and, to inculcate in Eastman School students a sense of initiative and leadership.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\">[5]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup> Mr. Undercofler also emphasized as the most important aspect of the Initiatives a thorough reform of the undergraduate curriculum, a process aimed at identifying and protecting the curriculum\u2019s core while incorporating into existing courses the training necessary to instill in musicians the highest level of artistry with a broad range of skills, including improvisation, music technology applications, and the interaction of music with other art forms.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\">[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>The Eastman Initiatives received national publicity in several contexts, including a spot on National Public Radio\u2019s <em>Morning Edition,<\/em><sup><a href=\"#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\">[7]<\/a><\/sup> and articles in <em>The Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em><sup><a href=\"#_ftn8\" name=\"_ftnref8\">[8]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup> and <em>Symphony Magazine.<\/em><sup><a href=\"#_ftn9\" name=\"_ftnref9\">[9]<\/a><\/sup><em>\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0The success of the Initiatives was borne out by their permanence, for what was new in the 1990s is today part and parcel of how the Eastman School does business; the new co-curricular and extra-curricular initiatives were transparently and seamlessly folded into the school\u2019s infra-structure. \u00a0One of the most prominent new elements, the Institute for Music Leadership, is today a thriving and essential division of the school.<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677697052000{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669830733727{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_row_inner equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669831170763{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677701949750{margin-top: -10px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>It was against that backdrop that the New Eastman Symphony was founded.\u00a0 In the fall of 1996 a dedicated circle of graduate students who desired orchestral performing experience organized themselves as an extra-curricular orchestra under the name New Eastman Symphony. \u00a0Their commitment was to performing standard orchestral repertory and also to giving outreach concerts whenever possible.\u00a0 There was already at this time a for-credit graduate orchestra at Eastman, the Kilbourn Orchestra, which had been in operation since the early 1990s.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn10\" name=\"_ftnref10\">[10]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup> \u00a0In the spring of 1997 the newly organized NES performed two concerts under the direction of Mark Gibson, who volunteered his time and services.\u00a0 For various reasons interest in the Kilbourn Orchestra had begun to decline, while in 1996-97 there was significant interest in the newly formed NES.\u00a0 In the summer of 1997, the NES management group approached the ESM Administration with a proposal to merge the Kilbourn Orchestra and the NES under the NES brand on condition that they, the management group, would themselves be empowered to manage the orchestra on the same principles as they had founded the extra-curricular NES.\u00a0 Their proposal met with the approval of Administration and also the faculty members of the Conducting and Ensembles Department.\u00a0 Under the new arrangement, the NES Management Core Group would receive budgetary support from the Associate Director for Academic Affairs to cover expenses incurred in outreach and promotion.\u00a0 The students participating in the Management Core Group would receive independent study credit through an Arts Leadership Program independent study, Practicum in Orchestral Self-Management, a course co-advised by conductor David Effron and the Associate Director for Academic Affairs.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn11\" name=\"_ftnref11\">[11]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup> Perhaps most significantly, the NES would be recognized as one of the Eastman School\u2019s fully-fledged student ensembles, with all members of the NES receiving academic credit.\u00a0 Notwithstanding the academic recognition, it was the student management that set this orchestra apart.\u00a0 NES members would share a sense of ownership for the orchestra and also a responsibility for the quality of its performances.\u00a0 All members signed an attendance contract committing themselves to 100% attendance. Above all, the NES strove for a broad educational experience that not only embodied musical performance goals, but extended into management and outreach activities.\u00a0 Indeed, the New Eastman Symphony initiated its outreach program with a mini-residence at Rochester\u2019s School of the Arts, which included giving master classes and also a concert narrated by NES members.<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;16244&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1710525517897{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;}&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677697725519{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669830733727{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_row_inner equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_column_inner css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669831170763{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677701964920{margin-top: -10px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><sup><a href=\"#_ftn13\" name=\"_ftnref13\"><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Mr. Undercofler acknowledged the NES when he addressed the ESM community for the first time as Director, citing both the New Eastman Symphony and OSSIA, two newly founded large ensembles \u201cformed completely at student initiative at the graduate level\u201d as an example of the demonstration of leadership and deserving of mention among the \u201camazing events\u201d that had marked the fall semester just ended.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn12\" name=\"_ftnref12\">[12]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0 Just as significantly, when full recognition of the New Eastman Symphony was announced to the Eastman School community, Associate Director for Academic Affairs Douglas Dempster hailed the NES as an endeavor that \u201c. . . embodies the most important principles of the Eastman Initiatives.\u201d<sup><a href=\"#_ftn13\" name=\"_ftnref13\">[13]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>The orchestra\u2019s Management Core Group was chaired by Jennifer Barlament, MM \u201997, the acknowledged founder of the orchestra.<a href=\"#_ftn14\" name=\"_ftnref14\"><sup>[14]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 The Management Core Group\u2019s other members were:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Robin Creighton (Personnel Manager), MM \u201898<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Anna Hendrickson (C&amp;E Department liaison), MM \u201997, DMA \u201901<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Daniel Hung (Personnel Manager and String Dept. liaison), DMA \u201802<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Erika Kirsch (Ensembles Library liaison), MM \u201898<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Stacey Miller (Treasurer), BM \u201997, MM \u201899*<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>*succeeded Jennifer Barlament as chair of the Management Core Group. <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Ken Potsic (Concert Office liaison), MM \u201898<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Barbara Showalter (Public Relations; Winds, Brass, and Percussion Dept. liaison), MM \u201898<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Scott Stratton (Outreach Coordinator), DMA \u201898<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Jason Van Eyk (Secretary), MM \u201898<\/p>\n<p>The administrative advisor to the Management Core Group was Dr. Douglas Dempster, Associate Director for Academic Affairs.\u00a0 Professor Bradley Lubman was to be the orchestra\u2019s principal conductor.<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677697052000{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669830733727{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_row_inner equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669831170763{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1771944065821{margin-top: 40px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]Thus, formally recognized as the 1997-98 academic year began, the newly accredited New Eastman Symphony gave its debut concert in Kilbourn Hall on October 19th, 1997, performing music by Mozart, Prokofiev, and Beethoven.\u00a0 The concert received additional exposure through its having been scheduled during the Eastman School\u2019s Alumni Weekend.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn15\" name=\"_ftnref15\">[15]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 The next NES concert was on November 9th, featuring music by Mussorgsky, Kodaly, and Brahms.\u00a0 The following spring semester was an especially active one for the NES: three full symphonic concerts, a recital of chamber works, and then the semester\u2019s traditional concluding choral concert.\u00a0 On January 25th, 1998, Brad Lubman conducted the orchestra in music of Wagner, Debussy, and Tchaikovsky; and on March 2nd, Professor Lubman conducted the orchestra in the concert profiled here.\u00a0 On April 5th, David Effron conducted the NES in a concert of works by Mendelssohn and Brahms, the latter being the Double Concerto in A minor, with featured guest soloists Oleh Krysa and Steven Doane.\u00a0 A flourishing finale for the New Eastman Symphony\u2019s first full season was the concert of May 3rd, 1998, when the NES was the ensemble of choice for a performance of Beethoven\u2019s <em>Missa Solemnis <\/em>in the Eastman Theater.\u00a0 The Eastman-Rochester Chorus, the Eastman Chorale, four soloists, and the NES were all directed by the renowned Robert Shaw (1916-1999), guest conductor.<\/p>\n<p>During its seasons of operation, NES performers gave several recitals of chamber music that diversified the orchestra\u2019s offerings.\u00a0 There were also collaborations with faculty members; violinist Oleh Krysa appeared with the NES in Beethoven\u2019s Violin Concerto, and Mr. Krysa and violoncellist Stephen Doane together appeared with the NES in Brahms\u2019 Double Concerto in A minor.\u00a0 Moreover, this was an orchestra that, founded in the closing years of the 20th century, was clearly at home with 20th-century repertory, performing such works as Lukas Foss\u2019 Renaissance Concerto, Stravinsky\u2019s Symphonies of Wind Instruments and <em>The Rite of Spring<\/em> and <em>The Firebird;<\/em> Paul Hindemith\u2019s <em>Mathis der Maler; <\/em>Shostakovich\u2019s Ninth Symphony; Ravel\u2019s Piano Concerto in G major; Gershwin\u2019s <em>An American in Paris; <\/em>Bartok\u2019s Concerto for Orchestra; \u00a0John Adams\u2019 \u201cThe Chairman Dances\u201d from the opera <em>Nixon in China; <\/em>and in a concert on November 22nd, 1998, Gustav Mahler\u2019s complex and challenging Seventh Symphony, marking the Eastman School premiere of that work.\u00a0 An emphasis on publicity and community connection was clearly on the orchestra\u2019s agenda, for an invitation to join the orchestra\u2019s mailing list was included in each concert program.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_images_carousel images=&#8221;16238,16239,16240,16241,16242,16243&#8243; img_size=&#8221;360&#215;770&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1771944357873{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<span style=\"font-size: 12px;\">\u25baPromotional flyer for the New Eastman Symphony, outlining the orchestra\u2019s mission, and advertising the spring, 1998 concerts. Note the season finale of Beethoven\u2019s Missa Solemnis, which would be conducted by the renowned Robert Shaw (1916-1999). Eastman School of Music Archives. \u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_column_inner css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669831170763{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1771944269264{margin-top: 40px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]Nor was the NES the only student-managed ensemble to emerge from the atmosphere of innovation at the Eastman School in the 1990s.\u00a0 OSSIA, founded by a circle of graduate students and student composers, gave its debut performance in October, 1997, and has flourished in the years since then.\u00a0 As events came to pass, notwithstanding the enthusiasm that had greeted the New Eastman Symphony\u2019s founding, the NES ceased operations in the spring of 2000. \u00a0The reasons for the cessation were not publicly circulated at the time, nor are they publicly accessible or retrievable now.\u00a0 In what proved to be the orchestra\u2019s valedictory concert, the New Eastman Symphony performed Richard Strauss\u2019 magnificent tone poem <em>Ein Heldenleben <\/em>in the Eastman Theater, conducted by Mendi Rodan (served on faculty 1999-2002).\u00a0 If such an ambitious experiment in self-management and performance by enterprising and industrious students had to come to an end, the Strauss was perhaps the most appropriate note on which to conclude.\u00a0 For those three academic years, Eastman School students had demonstrated what a student-managed orchestra could do.\u00a0 Today the NES performances are preserved on digital tape and on magneto-optical discs in the Eastman Audio Archive; CD service copies of these recordings are accessible in the Sibley Music Library (Recordings and Reserves desk, 3rd floor). \u00a0Simply point your browser to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/\">SML homepage<\/a> and enter the query \u201cnew eastman symphony\u201d (with the quotation marks) in the DiscoverUR search query field; the retrieval set will show 22 hits.\u00a0 If you are already part of the networked UR community, you can listen to the 1998 performance of Beethoven\u2019s <em>Missa Solemnis <\/em>via streaming (link embedded within the DiscoverUR bibliographic record).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column][\/vc_column][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677697052000{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669830733727{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_row_inner equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_column_inner css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669831170763{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677703099288{margin-top: -10px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s beyond the scope of this entry to track the professional progress of all NES members, I would observe that members of the New Eastman Symphony\u2019s management core group have gone forward professionally in a variety of fields, ranging from academe to orchestral management to finance.\u00a0 In 2016, after serving in management positions with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra, NES founder Jennifer Barlament was appointed Executive Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677693078744{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 40px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669830733727{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_row_inner equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_column_inner css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1669831170763{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1677699536604{margin-top: -10px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">_____________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> Dr. Hanson described himself thus in more than one published interview.\u00a0 Eastman School of Music Archives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> From a statement printed in the concert program, An Afternoon of Chamber Music, New Eastman Symphony, Sunday, October 18, 1998.\u00a0 That concert was the first NES event that this listener had the opportunity and the pleasure to attend, while interviewing at the Sibley Music Library.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a>\u00a0 Such problems were later summed up by James Undercofler in his Inaugural Address as ESM Director, April 25, 1998. Eastman School of Music Archives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> Convocation Address by James Undercofler, Acting Director, Eastman School of Music, September 4, 1997.\u00a0 Eastman School of Music Archives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\">[5]<\/a>\u00a0 Ibid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\">[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Ibid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\">[7]<\/a> \u00a0\u201cEastman on the air:\u00a0 National Public Radio examines Initiatives.\u201d <em>Eastman Notes, <\/em>winter 1998, page 17.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref8\" name=\"_ftn8\">[8]<\/a>\u00a0 \u201cEastman Initiatives get noticed.\u201d\u00a0 <em>Eastman Notes, <\/em>July 1997, page 12.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref9\" name=\"_ftn9\">[9]<\/a>\u00a0 \u201cLearning to Teach\u201d by Heidi Waleson.\u00a0 <em>Symphony Magazine, <\/em>\u00a0vol. 48, no. 5 (January-February 1997), pages 16-20, 54-57.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref10\" name=\"_ftn10\">[10]<\/a> The Kilbourn Orchestra had been recognized when the Eastman School mounted the symposium \u201cPopular Music and the Canon: Old Boundaries Reconsidered\u201d (September 26-29, 1996), which included a concert of music by Frank Zappa and Steve Vai in the Eastman Theater that featured guest artist Steve Vai performing as soloist with the Kilbourn Orchestra.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref11\" name=\"_ftn11\">[11]<\/a>\u00a0 Besides the NES history printed in the 1997-98 promotional flyer displayed here, further background was provided in a letter addressed to \u201cAll interested faculty, staff, and students\u201d from the desk of Douglas Dempster, Associate Director for Academic Affairs, October 1st, 1997.\u00a0 In addition, Jan Fitzpatrick\u2019s feature article \u201cWith New Eastman Symphony, students take charge\u201d in the fall 1998 issue of\u00a0 <em>Eastman Notes <\/em>introduced the NES to the wider Eastman School community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref12\" name=\"_ftn12\">[12]<\/a>\u00a0 Letter, January 2, 1998, James Undercofler addressed \u201cDear Eastman Friends\u201d.\u00a0 Copy in ESM Ephemera file, year 1998, Ruth T. Watanabe Special Collections.\u00a0 Mr. Undercofler noted that this was his first occasion to address the community as Director, rather than Acting Director.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref13\" name=\"_ftn13\">[13]<\/a> \u00a0Memorandum, October 1, 1997, addressed to \u201cAll interested faculty, staff, and students\u201d from the desk of Douglas Dempster.\u00a0 Eastman School of Music Archives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref14\" name=\"_ftn14\">[14]<\/a>\u00a0 \u201cWith New Eastman Symphony, students take charge\u201d by Jan Fitzpatrick.\u00a0 <em>Eastman Notes, <\/em>fall 1998, page 17.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref15\" name=\"_ftn15\">[15]<\/a>\u00a0 A photo of the NES with conductor David Effron taken at that concert was published in <em>Eastman Notes, <\/em>winter 1998.\u00a0 The printed program issued by the Concert Office promoted the Kilbourn Orchestra and not the New Eastman Symphony; the concert of January 25th, 1998 marked the first time that a concert program had promoted the New Eastman Symphony.\u00a0 Nevertheless, there can be no question that the orchestra on-stage in Kilbourn Hall on October 19th, 1997 was the newly recognized New Eastman Symphony.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner]<svg id=\"gambit-row-separator-1\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMax meet\" class=\"gambit_separator gambit_sep_bottom gambit-sep-type-arrow-outward-small1\" viewBox=\"0 0 1600 200\"  style=\"display: none; width: 100%; height: calc(100 \/ 1600 * 100vw)\" data-height=\"100\">\n<polygon class=\"gambit_sep_main\" style=\"\" points=\"888,126 800,38 712,126 -4,126 -4,244 1604,244 1604,126 \"\/>\n<polygon class=\"gambit_sep_decor2\" style=\"opacity: 0.7;fill: #bdc3c7;\" points=\"800,50 876,126 900,126 800,26 700,126 724,126 \"\/>\n<polygon class=\"gambit_sep_decor1\" style=\"opacity: 0.5;fill: #95a5a6;\" points=\"800,50 876,126 888,126 800,38 712,126 724,126 \"\/><\/svg>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1631195300893{margin-top: 40px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=&#8221;post&#8221; max_items=&#8221;4&#8243; element_width=&#8221;3&#8243; grid_id=&#8221;vc_gid:1771943915643-475a3225-6c75-6&#8243; taxonomies=&#8221;18&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> On the evening of Monday, March 2nd, 1998, a unique student orchestra gave a concert under Brad Lubman\u2019s direction in Kilbourn Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":276,"featured_media":16219,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[24,25],"coauthors":[3],"class_list":["post-16215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-this-week-at-eastman","tag-february","tag-march"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/276"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16215"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22745,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16215\/revisions\/22745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16215"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=16215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}