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.)
New director working to make Bachauer piano competition more international
(Salt Lake Tribune © 06/13/2014)
Douglas Humpherys, Pollei’s former colleague and now successor, aims to take the Bachauer to the world.
For starters, Humpherys has secured a recording contract and a New York City recital date for the winner of the competition, now under way in downtown Salt Lake City. (See accompanying box for details.) The grand prize also includes engagements in Shanghai and at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., where he heads the piano department.
Rochester Jazz Festival final touches
(WHAM TV ABC 13 Rochester © 06/18/2014)
Final preparations are underway for this year’s Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. Beginning Friday, more than a 1,200 musicians will be performing, with tens of thousands more listening.
Eastman School of Music student Julia Egan is looking forward to the festival. She said, “It’s such a gift to have a festival like this right here. There are all different kinds of jazz. It’s not one specific kind of music.”
(Democrat & Chronicle 06/15/2014)
Eastman School of Music’s Bill Dobbins will play Dave Brubeck’s music at this year’s Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. Video story by Annette Lein
Free shows at Jazz Fest
(Rochester Democrat & Chronicle © 06/18/2014)
The Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival has plenty of free concerts for people who want to come down and party.
Eastman School of Music students will also be on the Jazz Street Stage on Gibbs Street almost every day at 6 p.m., and some of their best works will be showcased at the ESM-XRIJF Gerry Niewood Jazz Scholarships Concert at 8 p.m. Monday at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre.
Mike Cottone comes home to ROC — with some friends
(Democrat & Chronicle 06/22/2014)
Mike Cottone, a native Rochesterian and a graduate of Eastman School of Music, is a trumpet player in Holophonor, which plays a highly polished brand of jazz that is equal parts punch and sensitivity. Harmonic synchronicity meets exquisite solos.
Father hands down love of music
(Post Star © 06/15/2014)
Danny Lombard sat rapt as his daughter, Kyra, gave a nearly flawless rendition of Chopin’s “Scherzo B-flat Minor” from memory on the black baby grand piano. At its conclusion, nearly 10 minutes later, Danny jumped up from the sofa in his living room, clapping his hands.
Danny, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, said his kids got their introduction to music while still in the womb. His wife, Renee, would sit on the couch while he serenaded her on the piano with all sorts of tunes. “I think they could hear that,” he said.
Cole at Kaleidoscope
(Buffalo Artvoice © 06/19/2014)
Cole is an appealing biographical revue of Cole Porter’s songs devised by Benny Green and Alan Strachan in 1974. As a look back at one of the most astonishing songwriting careers in history, the decidedly nostalgic show has long been a mainstay for companies that perform for older audiences whose memories of romance hark back to a more glamorous time.
Meghan Attridge, an Eastman School of Music grad, lends her classically trained voice to the evening.
Classic Music Crises in America
(Fairfield Freestone County Times © 06/18/2014)
When graduates hit the job market this summer, one thing is for sure: There is a vast oversupply of classically trained musicians in comparison to the number of professional positions available. The Crisis of Classical Music in America: Lessons from a Life in the Education of Musicians by Robert Freeman explores this reality and offers solutions to address this problem of increasing intensity.
After serving as a junior faculty member at Princeton and MIT, he led the Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester) during the period 1972-96, presided over the New England Conservatory from 1996 to 1999, and served as dean of the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Fine Arts during the period 1999-2006.
LHI Live: Rohan and Sujatha Krishnamurthy perform in Indian Carnatic tradition
(WMUK 06/20/2014)
Six years ago, Rohan Krishnamurthy graduated from Kalamazoo College and enrolled at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he recently completed a master’s degree in ethnomusicology and a masters and PhD in Musicology. While in graduate school, Rohan continued his professional career as a player of the two-headed pitched Indian drum called the mridangam, and widened his interests to include Balinese gamelan music and the mbira music of Zimbabwe. The Eastman School awarded him a prize in composition for an original work scored for two mridangam drums and gamelan orchestra.