2009 Festival 2008 Festival 2007 Festival 2006 Festival 2005 Festival 2004 Festival
The Italian Baroque Organ The Craighead-Saunders Organ E.M. Skinner Organ Eastman School Practice Organs

Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI)

With the aim of making Rochester a global center for organ performance, research, building, and preservation, the Eastman School of Music has begun to assemble a collection of new and historic organs unparalleled in North America. An incomparable teaching resource, this collection will offer access to organs of diverse styles and traditions to talented young musicians from around the world. Tourists, scholars, and music lovers will be drawn to Rochester to hear the varied sounds of these extraordinary instruments.

The realization of EROI will include the placement of two European-style organs in downtown Rochester. A historic Italian Baroque organ was installed in the University of Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery in 2005. The Craighead-Saunders organ,closely modeled after a Lithuanian organ built by Casparini in 1776, was constructed and installed in Christ Church (Episcopal) in 2008, in cooperation with the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester.  The renovation of the historic E.M. Skinner organ, housed in the Eastman School's Kilbourn Hall, and the restoration and replacement of the School’s 14 practice organs, will complete the initial phase of this 10-year plan.

Eastman's Organ Department

When the Eastman School of Music opened its doors in 1921, it housed the largest and most lavish organ collection in the nation, befitting the interests of its founder, George Eastman. Mr. Eastman provided the School with opulent facilities and stellar faculty, creating an expansive vision for organ art and education in the 21st century. Over the years, the Eastman School has built on this vision by offering one of the most distinguished organ programs in the world. In keeping with this tradition of excellence, the Eastman School of Music has embarked on a long-range plan, the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI), that will extend George Eastman’s vision into the 21st century.

 

EROI News and Past Events

The 2009 EROI Festival, Mendelssohn and the Contrapuntal Tradition
October 29 - November 1, 2009 at the Eastman School of Music

The 2008 EROI Festival, Inauguration of the Craighead Saunders Organ at Christ Church, Rochester, New York
October 16-20, 2008 at the Eastman School of Music

Christ Church Organ Construction Photo Gallery
April, 2007

Pipe Organ Begins To Take Shape- R News
March 28, 2007