ROCHESTER, NY — It’s six weeks of outstanding music this summer, as the Eastman School of Music presents nearly 50 concerts and performances as part of its annual Summer Session (June 29-August 7). This year’s featured performers include the Community Education Division (CED) and collegiate faculty, special guest artists, and summer program participants.
A complete concert schedule is available at www.rochester.edu/Eastman/summer. Most concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. All are open to the public, and the majority are free. Tickets for concerts that require paid admission are available at Ticket Express, 100 East Avenue, or by calling 232-1900. They also may be purchased at the hall box office one hour before each concert. For up-to-date program information, patrons should call the School’s 24-hour MusicLine at 274-1100.
Among the many performance highlights this summer:
Eastman Guitar Festival Concerts · Nicholas Goluses, artistic director
Summer Session 2003 opens with a weeklong guitar festival led by Eastman Professor of Guitar Nicholas Goluses, who welcomes student guitarists from around the country for a third year. In addition to a variety of workshops for the participants, the festival includes several concerts in Kilbourn Hall, featuring Nicholas Goluses (7:30 p.m., Sunday, June 29), Eastman’s “Rising Stars” (7:30 p.m., Monday, June 30), and other acclaimed classical guitarists: Raphaella Smits (7:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 2); Stephen Aron (7:30 p.m., Thursday, July 3); Petar Kodzas (7:30 p.m., Saturday, July 5); and jazz guitar great Gene Bertoncini (3 p.m., Sunday, July 6). The festival concludes with a final free performance featuring the student participants (7:30 p.m., Sunday, July 6). General admission tickets for solo concerts are $8 for the general public, $5 for University of Rochester faculty/staff, and free for students with ID.
Dave Rivello Ensemble • Tuesday, July 1 • 7:30 p.m.
Fresh from his rousing successes during the Rochester International Jazz Festival, Eastman’s Dave Rivello — recently called “the remarkable and apparently indefatigable jazz composer and conductor” by the Democrat & Chronicle — brings his acclaimed ensemble back to Kilbourn Hall for a tenth consecutive summertime concert. Don’t miss it!
Bob Sneider, jazz guitar · Monday, July 7 · 7:30 p.m.
Eastman’s jazz guitarist Bob Sneider’s annual summer concert will feature selections from his upcoming duo CD release, Interconnection, with pianist and CED colleague Paul Hofmann. In addition, Sneider will premiere a work commissioned by The Commission Project, “Fra Diavolo,” by recent Eastman graduate Steve Guerra ’03. Other guests include Phil Flanagan, a nationally acclaimed jazz bassist, as well as Sneider’s CED guitar students.
Eastman Summer Sings · July 8, 15, 22, 29 · 7:30 p.m.
Singers of all ages and ability levels are invited to take part in four Eastman “Summer Sings” — a series of choral music reading sessions held on Tuesday evenings in Kilbourn Hall. Each program features one great choral work led by a prominent conductor. This year’s works are Bach, Mass in B minor, led by William Weinert (July 8); Haydn, The Creation, led by Weinert and various guest conductors (July 15); Beethoven, Mass in C, led by Eastman student Sun Min Lee (July 22); and Vaughan Williams, A Sea Symphony, led once again by Weinert (July 29). Summer Sings are free and open to the public, although a $5 donation is suggested. Hundreds of singers from novice to pro have taken part in this relaxed and wonderful summer music-making tradition.
Paul Hofmann, jazz piano · Wednesday, July 9 · 7:30 p.m.
Eastman’s new CED jazz pianist Paul Hofmann presents a true “community education” concert featuring performers of all ages, ranging from 7 to 72 years old. The program is divided into two sections: the first half features compositions and performances by many of Hofmann’s students; the second half features selections Hofmann recently finished recording with jazz guitarist Bob Sneider. This free concert features both classical and jazz music.
Canadian Brass · Saturday, July 12 · 7:30 p.m.
For the second consecutive year, the Canadian Brass — the quintet who “put brass music on the map,” according to The Washington Post — stops by Eastman for an exciting weekend workshop (July 11-13). The highlight of the group’s visit is this concert in Eastman Theatre, featuring the best in brass music that’s sure to appeal to all. Reserved ticket prices range between $10 and $17.50, with a $3 discount for University of Rochester faculty and staff, and a $5 discount for students. As an added bonus, the brass quintets that will be coached by the Canadian Brass during the weekend residency will present a free performance in Kilbourn Hall at 11 a.m., Sunday, July 13.
Sophia Gibbs Kim, flute · Monday, July 14 · 7:30 p.m.
Join Sophia Gibbs Kim, CED Jack L. Frank Instructor of Flute, and CED staff accompanist Irina Lupynis for an evening of virtuoso music for the flute — including Boehm’s Nel Cor Piu Variations, Carl Vine’s Sonata, and Jacques Ibert’s Flute Concerto.
Hindustani Classical Music · Saturday, July 19 · 7:30 p.m.
Don’t miss an intriguing evening of Indian classical music in Kilbourn Hall featuring local Indian musician Asawari Maggirwar. After studying and receiving degrees at the premier center for tradition and research in Indian classical music, Maggirwar continued his studies in a ‘guru-kul’ manner with Veena Sahasrabuddhe, a top ranking guru in India.
Mitzie Collins and Friends, world music · Monday, July 21 · 7:30 p.m.
Renowned dulcimer player Mitzie Collins presents her annual summer extravaganza in Kilbourn Hall. This year’s concert features music from Japan, Eastern Europe, Canada, and New York State. She and local musicians Jim Kimball, Dick Bolt, and Karen Canning will open the evening with historic fiddle tunes from Western New York State. Then the Great Bear Trio from nearby Fulton, NY (which features teenage fiddlers Andrew and Noah VanNorstand, accompanied by their mother, Kim) will perform with an intense virtuosity sure to leave audiences clamoring for more. In addition, Debbie McCullough and Ryuko Mizutani will present the ancient musical traditions of the shakuhachi, a Japanese end-blown flute, and the koto, a six-foot-long zither. Finally, the Karamfil Balkan Folk Orchestra, an ensemble of eight accomplished musicians who specialize in the instrumental and vocal music of Macedonia and Bulgaria, will perform challenging rhythmic dance tunes on traditional instruments.
Nan Gullo Richmond, harp · Monday, July 21 · 7:30 p.m.
Concurrent with the world music concert, CED harpist Nan Gullo Richmond will perform a harp recital in the School’s Howard Hanson Hall. Featured on this program is music by Hiner, Petrini, Saint-Saens, Ravel, and Debussy, along with the world premiere performance of Moments No. 3 by Kenneth Lee Richmond, featuring RPO clarinetist Robert DiLutis. Other performers include Paul Knoke, Robert Kerner, Dona Noune Wiedmann, Karl Bawel, and Nancy Howe Webster.
“Creative Music Making” Concert: William Cahn, director · Wednesday, July 23 · 2 p.m.
Percussionist William Cahn will be directing this afternoon concert in Kilbourn Hall that features the participants from his “Creative Music Making” seminar at Eastman. As a member of the acclaimed percussion chamber ensemble NEXUS, Cahn has pushed the boundaries of music and music-making for percussionists around the world throughout the past three decades. In this concert he’ll do the same as a performer and coach, making for an exciting musical experience.
“Eastman Goes Ragtime” • July 25-26
Eastman’s versatile pianist Tony Caramia — recently showcased on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz on National Public Radio — and special guest Bob Milne bring a little ragtime to Eastman this summer. On Friday, July 25, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 120 of the School, Caramia presents “Those Syncopated Europeans,” a fascinating multimedia look at what European composers did with American syncopated sounds. On Saturday, July 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall, the incomparable ragtime pianist Milne presents a concert titled “Ragtime Extravanganza” — sure to delight all lovers of the music from this bygone era. General admission tickets for each concert are $10 for the general public, $8 for University of Rochester faculty/staff, and free for students with ID.
Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition and Festival · July 28-August 6
For a seventh year and running, this competition, part of Eastman’s annual summer Piano Festival, brings some of the world’s finest young players (age 14-18) to Rochester — each playing for the chance to win a full tuition scholarship to Eastman, $6000 in cash prizes, and performance and master class opportunities. As in previous years, the public is welcome to catch the spectacular performances of the young pianists in Kilbourn Hall. Preliminary rounds (July 29, 30, 31, Aug. 1) begin at 1 p.m.; the final round of competition, featuring the top ten finalists, begins at 7:30 p.m., on Sat., August 2. The winners, announced at the end of competition on August 2, will perform in a gala concert in Eastman Theatre at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, August 6. Admission to these competitions and performances, sold in advance, are $8 for the general public, $5 for University of Rochester faculty and staff, and free for students with ID.
IMPROVfest: Organ Improvisation Workshop Concerts · July 31-August 2 · 8 p.m.
Join program director Gerre Hancock and artistic adviser David Higgs for a fabulous few days of exciting improvisation on the “king of instruments.” Highlighting the workshop are three performances at area churches, featuring three acclaimed organ improvisers. William Porter, a member of Eastman’s organ faculty, has played a leading role in the revival of the art of improvisation among American organists, and will be presenting a concert at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church (July 31); Jeffrey Brillhart, a former first-place winner in the American Guild of Organists National Competition in Organ Improvisation, will present his concert at the Church of the Incarnate Word (August 1). Finishing the three-day event is Gerre Hancock —“a legend among organ recitalists and a titan among improvisers” (American Record Guide). As organist and master of choristers at St. Thomas Church in New York City, Hancock will present his concert at the Third Presbyterian Church (August 2), concluding his performance with an improvised Symphony in Four Movements. Admission is $4, paid at the door of each church before the concert.
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Note to editors & reporters: Additional program information and photos of some of the artists performing this summer are available upon request. Interview and feature story opportunities — both print and broadcast — are possible.