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.)
Composer Kevin Puts appointed director of Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute
(American Composers Forum 06/11/2014)
The Minnesota Orchestra announced today that Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts has been appointed Director of the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, an acclaimed professional composer training program that the Orchestra offers annually in conjunction with the American Composers Forum.
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Puts received his Bachelor’s Degree from the Eastman School of Music, his Master’s Degree from Yale University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts at the Eastman School of Music. Since 2006, he has been a member of the composition department at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. (Also reported by Minneapolis Star Tribune, Twin Cities.com, New Music Box)
Bachauer piano competition is back, with Utahn in the running
(Salt Lake Tribune © 06/07/2014)
Douglas Humpherys, artistic director of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation, heard every 20-minute audition in person. Juries in each city voted “yes” or “no” on each contestant; about 70 pianists made it through. After watching the videotaped auditions of those 70 contestants, the jury invited 39 to Salt Lake City.
Humpherys can empathize with the contestants. He was the gold medalist in the inaugural Bachauer competition. He has been back several times since, including 14 times as a juror (10 of those as foreman). Now the head of piano studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., he is the second artistic director in Bachauer history; founder Paul Pollei died last year.
Julia Gaines, new MU Music School director: Facility is priority
(Columbia Missourian 0611/2014)
Julia Gaines, a percussion professor at the MU School of Music, usually spends her time teaching students how to hit things. But now, she will take on a more administrative role. The School of Music announced May 30 that Gaines will be its new director.
Gaines received her bachelor’s degree from the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, her master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma. Gaines joined the faculty at the MU School of Music in 1996.
SPECIAL EVENT | The Sound ExChange Project
(Rochester City Newspaper © 06/11/2014)
Why look and listen, when you can join the orchestra. Comprised of a core of Eastman School of Music graduates, contemporary classical group The Sound ExChange Project explores alternative ways of presenting and creating music to re-invent the concert experience. The group’s upcoming event is designed to add sound to Rochester Contemporary Art Center by transforming the gallery into an interactive concert hall.
The great club pass challenge
(Rochester Democrat and Chronicle © 06/13/2014)
5:50 p.m. Hatch Recital Hall is an acoustical treasure. Opened in 2010, it features world-class pianists performing solo. Tonight, it’s Harold Danko — an Eastman School of Music professor with a long history performing with stellar jazz musicians.
It only takes a few minutes to convince me of Danko’s talents. His hands glide along the ivories in a composition that flows wave-like from serene to boisterous.
University of Scranton names new provost
(The Sunday Dispatch 05/17/2014)
University of Scranton President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., announced the appointment of Donald R. Boomgaarden, Ph.D., as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs effective July 1.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas State University and master’s and doctoral degrees from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. He also studied as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Vienna, Austria. He is also a graduate of Harvard University’s Institute for Management and Leadership in Education. (Also reported by Times-Leader)
Southwest String Quartet to perform for the Rotary Club of Estes Park
(Estes Park Trail Gazette 06/10/2014)
David Rife, a native of South Carolina, received a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music in Violin Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. He has studied with Donald Weilerstein, Mazuko Ushioda, Jerry Lucktenburg, Dennis Bourret and members of the Cleveland Quartet. He is presently the Assistant Concertmaster of the Tucson Orchestra, and the first violinist of the Tucson Symphony String Quartet. In 2005 he was awarded the Teacher of the Year of the State of Arizona by the American String Teachers Association.
Wynne Wong-Rife is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance with Distinction, and the New England Conservatory with a Master of Music in Violin Performance. She has studied with Peter Salaff, John Ferrell, and Shirley Givens. Ms. Wong-Rife is a member of the second violin section of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the second violin of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra String Quartet, and the Southwest String Quartet.
Pianist Chee to Perform at Wolf Sanctuary and Old School Gallery
(Cibola County Beacon 06/13/2014)
The Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary and the El Morro Old School Gallery are proudly hosting a performance from Navajo pianist Connor Chee, according to a recent press release.
At age 17, Chee graduated from the School for Creative and Performing Arts, and began studies at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, N.Y., under professor Rebecca Penneys. He received his Bachelor of Music from Eastman in 2009, and went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, studying under professor Elizabeth Pridonoff.