Here are some select clippings from the past week showing the variety of hits/mentions identifying musicians and scholars as Eastman School of Music alumni, faculty or students. Note: Some links may have expired.)
May Festival rewards listeners with rousing opener
(Cincinnati Enquirer © 05/08/2014)
Somehow, Wednesday evening didn’t quite feel like a May Festival opening night in Music Hall. And yet, the arts world has been generally far more embracing of diversity than society at large. Like many of his peers, Dett graduated with honors from a top-notch program (in his case Oberlin College). He directed a college music program. His music was heard often at Carnegie Hall and other top venues. And “The Ordering of Moses,” Dett’s largest work and his graduate thesis at the Eastman School of Music, was premiered by the May Festival in 1937 in a live nationwide broadcast. (also reported by North Country Public Radio , KRCB , Cincinnati City Beat)
City in Motion Dance Theater’s spring show goes with the flow
(Kansas City Star © 04/28/2014)
City in Motion Dance Theater will present Altered Currents, a program of dance highlighted by two water-drenched works, on Friday, Saturday and May 4 at the H&R Block City Stage Theater in Union Station. Laube received his masters degree in organ performance from the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart, Germany, and is on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., so he knows how to get a mighty sound out of an organ. Be prepared for a sonic spectacular.
Mothers embrace their children’s artistic talents
(Rochester Democrat & Chronicle 05/11/2014)
But Honan, who studied music education at Roberts Wesleyan College, also encouraged all of her children to learn an instrument. The family then figured out how to get her six oldest to lessons at the Eastman Community Music School, to performances and everything else that goes with it. Now, her youngest, 5-year-old Jimmy, is likely to study there.
Rochester Philharmonic Plays Hanson’s Merry Mount
(WQXR 05/07/2014)
Howard Hanson’s 1933 opera Merry Mount, which debuted with a splash and then quickly (and perhaps, inexplicably) fell off the public’s radar, is given a concert revival in this, the third of seven broadcasts from the Spring for Music festival.
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra led by Michael Christie brings the opera to Carnegie Hall with soloists, the Eastman-Rochester Chorus and the Bach Children’s Chorus of Nazareth College. The broadcast begins at 7:30 pm. (Also reported by WXXI )
RPO earns applause at Carnegie Hall
(Rochester Democrat & Chronicle © 05/08/2014)
“It is a fact, noteworthy in American musical annals, that the opera Merry Mount … had the most enthusiastic reception given any native music drama that had been produced in New York in 10 years — and probably in a much longer period. “Playing for a full house, the RPO was the third of six orchestras at this week’s Spring For Music festival, each presenting unique programs reflecting their regions. New York Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy was interviewed briefly from the stage before the start of the show as a part of the live radio broadcast. Duffy’s opera expertise is a bit thin, but as the city’s former mayor and police chief, he does know Rochester. Hanging out backstage Wednesday afternoon, offering no hint that earlier in the day he’d written a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo saying he wouldn’t seek re-election, Duffy described the “synergy” between the RPO and the Eastman School of Music that “I believe led to the success of both.
New Sound for Haydn’s Theresienmesse
(WXXI PBS News © 05/05/2014)
Tom Mueller is a doctoral student at the Eastman School of Music. While working on a project about classical orchestration, he decided to create a revision of the organ part for Franz Joseph Haydn’s Theresienmesse, using the research from his project. He also decided to use an organ with construction and sound that was similar to the instruments Haydn would have played, the Craighead-Saunders Organ at Christ Church in Rochester.
Rochester’s arts community takes Manhattan
(Rochester Democrat and Chronicle © 05/03/2014)
Howard Hanson would call it murder, Michael Christie admits.
But the maestro-for-hire is offering a trimmer, more-relevant Merry Mount when the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra presents a concert version of the 80-year-old opera by the Eastman School of Music’s iconic director on Wednesday at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.
Theater review: JCCs Frankenstein romps with talent
(Rochester Democrat & Chronicle © 05/06/2014)
Hoskins, artistic director of Rochester Children’s Theatre who has directed and acted for most local theaters, says he’s lucky. More than 80 people came out to audition for 25 roles, so the final group of actors, who range in age from 16 to 56, were many of the best young and seasoned performers. Mary Tiballi Hoffman, institutional giving manager at Geva Theatre Center by day, brings grace (but not too much) to the character of Elizabeth Benning. And her monster, played by Alec Powell, does a mean soft step and tap and has a deep and beautiful Eastman School of Music-trained voice that takes you by surprise. (Don’t worry, Powell says, the shoes aren’t as heavy as they look.)
Connections: Highlighting the RCSD budget; Preserving Musical Scores
(WXXI 05/09/2014)
In the second half of the show, Alice Carli of the Eastman School of Music’s Sibley Library talks about the preservation of musical scores.
Cello rock band Break of Reality to give concert at Davis High
(Davis Enterprise © 04/30/2014)
The cello rock band Break of Reality will perform at Davis High School on Wednesday, May 7, at 7 p.m., appearing with the Davis High School Chamber Orchestra. The group formed when the original members were freshmen at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
Mankato Symphony’s Music on the Hill Chamber Series Wraps Up Season
(SouthernMinnScene.com 05/06/2014)
The final work of the program is Faure’s C Minor piano quartet. Performers include Lydia Miller, Karen Kim, Mary Jo Gothmann, Emily Hagen, and Hanno Strydom.
Born in Ireland to South African parents, cellist Hanno Strydom came to the United States to study at the Eastman School of Music under Professor Steven Doane. He earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in cello performance from Eastman, where he also won the Cello Concerto Competition and was awarded the Performer’s Certificate. As a graduate student he was the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship. Mr. Strydom’s performing activities have included solo appearances with the National Symphony and Concert Orchestras of Ireland and the Eastman Philharmonia, and recitals at Ireland’s National Concert Hall and the Eastman School’s Kilbourn Hall.
Music, theater and exhibits enrich life here
(Rochester Democrat & Chronicle © 05/04/2014)
The arts and culture scene is alive and thriving in Rochester. The Strong National Museum of Play is consistently ranked among the top five children’s museums, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra is ranked among the top regional orchestras, Geva Theatre Center is a leader in regional equity houses, and artists Wendell Castle and Albert Paley recently received the inaugural Visionary Award from the Smithsonian Craft Show. Many options are surprisingly low cost, and the range of offerings continues to expand. Thanks to endowments, Eastman School of Music (esm.rochester.edu) hosts the Ying Quartet, and the Eastman-Ranlet Series, which brings in some of the best quartets in the world for $20 concerts at Kilbourn Hall.