Eastman History

Beginnings and Renewals

Industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Company, established the Eastman School of Music in 1921 as the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Through the efforts of Eastman, Howard Hanson (Eastman Director from 1924-1964), and University President Rush Rhees, the Eastman School became an innovator in American music education. The trio’s original vision is still alive and vital through the Eastman School’s numerous creative endeavors– to create a music school dedicated to the highest levels of musical artistry and scholarship, to the broad education of young musicians within the context of a university, the musical enrichment and education of the greater community, and preparing Eastman students to be leaders in their chosen professions.

In 1921, George Eastman articulated his belief in the importance of music education in America:

“The life of our communities in the future needs what our schools of music and of other fine arts can give them. It is necessary for people to have an interest in life outside their occupations … I am interested in music personally, and I am led thereby to want to share my pleasure with others. It is impossible to buy an appreciation of music. Yet, without appreciation, without the presence of a large body of people who understand music and get enjoyment out of it, any attempt to develop the musical resources of any city is doomed to failure. Because in Rochester we realize this, we have undertaken a scheme for building musical capacity on a large scale from childhood.”

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Eastman By the Numbers

900 Students

900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate division of the Eastman School of Music — about 500 undergraduate and 400 graduate students.

2,100

Applicants

Each year about 280 students enroll, selected from more than 2,100 applicants.

95 Faculty

They are guided by more than 95 full-time faculty members.

7 Winners

Seven Pulitzer Prize winners have taught at Eastman, as have several Grammy Award winners.

Tradition of Excellence

Graduates of the Eastman School of Music are distinguished in nearly every aspect of the musical community throughout the world, from the concert stage to the public school classroom, from the recording studio to collegiate classrooms and administrative offices. Eastman’s more than 10,000 living alumni are noteworthy for their depth and breadth of training and experience, as well as for their willingness to assist current and graduating students in pursuing their careers.

The School’s tradition of excellence in performance is reflected in its numerous renowned ensembles. Students can hear and perform the full spectrum of music: from opera to jazz, from medieval music to brand-new pieces composed by their fellow students.

The Eastman Community Music School (ECMS) preparatory and adult education programs have been an integral part of the Eastman School from its beginning. Approximately 1,700 area citizens, ranging in age from 18 months to well over 80 years of age, enroll annually for classes and lessons in ECMS.

Notable Alumni

Opera Singers

Julia Bullock

Nicole Cabell

Joyce Castle

Pamela Coburn

Renée Fleming

Anthony Dean Griffey

Katherine Lewek

Erin Morley

William Warfield

Jazz Musicians

Ron Carter

Steve Gadd

Chuck Mangione

Maria Schneider

Conductors

Frederick Fennell

John Fiore

Paul Freeman

Mitch Miller

Jeff Tyzik

Composers

Samuel Adler

Dominick Argento

Jeff Beal

Peter Mennin

Maria Newman

Kevin Puts

Gardner Read

Charles Strouse

Michael Torke

George Walker

Robert Ward

Other Notable Alumni

Alexander Courage

Doriot Anthony Dwyer

Mary Jo Heath

Raymond Gniewek

Bob Ludwig

Mark Volpe

Richard Woitach

Timeline

For a full listing of timeline events please visit our Centennial Website.

1921

Opened Doors

The Eastman School opened its doors to a class of 104 regular course students in September.

1923

5 Floor Annex

In 1923-24 a five-floor annex was built on Swan Street, connected by a bridge to the Eastman Theatre.

1927

10 Floor Annex

In 1927, a 10-floor annex was built on Swan Street, providing additional practice rooms and classrooms, rehearsal space for the opera department, and a gymnasium.

1989

Eastman Place

The library collections would remain there until 1989, when they were re-housed in the new Eastman Place building on Gibbs Street, directly across from the School and Theatre.

2009

Kodak Hall

The renovated Eastman Theatre re-opened in fall 2009 as Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre; the East Wing opened in December 2010 with a gala week of concerts and other events.

2016

Kilbourn Hall

Major renovation of Kilbourn Hall.

2021

Centennial Celebration

Beginning of celebrations for the school’s centennial.

1922

The Eastman Theatre

The Eastman Theatre opened one year later, on September 2, 1922.

1925

Dormitories

In 1925, three dormitories for women students were built on University Avenue, adjacent to the University’s College for Women.

1937

Sibley Music Library

In 1937, the Sibley Music Library moved from its quarters on the first floor of the main building into its own new building on Swan Street, a two-level structure with an adjoining four-level stacks area.

1991

Student Living Center

In 1991, a new Student Living Center was opened at the corner of Main and Gibbs Streets, replacing the University Avenue dormitories built nearly 70 years earlier.

2010

The East Wing

The East Wing opened in December 2010 with a gala week of concerts and other events.

2018

Messinger Hall

Opening of Messinger Hall as a center for the Eastman Community Music School.

Directors and Deans

Since 1921, the Eastman School of Music has had seven directors or deans.

Alf Klingenberg

Alf Klingenberg, who had been one of the founders of the D.K.G. Institute of Musical Art and then served as its director (1916-21), served as the first Eastman School director (1921-23).

Howard Hanson

After a one-year interim under Acting Director Raymond Wilson (a member of the School’s piano faculty), the young American composer and conductor Howard Hanson was appointed director in 1924. Dr. Hanson’s 40-year directorship was a time of tremendous expansion of the School’s reputation and mission, with a special emphasis on promoting American music. In 1925 Dr. Hanson initiated the American Composers’ Concerts, a series of concerts that, over the next 10 years, provided a venue for the first performances of works by numerous American composers. Dr. Hanson’s tenure also saw the launch of the Festivals of American Music, weeklong festivals that took place annually from 1931 through 1970. The festivals not only stimulated the active performance of contemporary American music, but also engendered scholarly research in that field. Hanson’s legacy of service to American music lives on in the Hanson Institute for American Music at the School.

Walter Hendl

Upon his retirement in 1964, Dr. Hanson was succeeded by the distinguished American conductor Walter Hendl , who led the School until 1972. In his eight years at Eastman, some of Hendl’s accomplishments brought Eastman national renown. He invited such prominent composers as Stravinsky, Khatchaturian, and Penderecki for week-long residencies, established the Eastman Musica Nova ensemble, and encouraged innovative curricula in accompanying, conducting, jazz studies and contemporary media, and electronic music.

Robert Freeman

In 1972, the American pianist, musicologist, and music educator Robert Freeman was named director, a position he held until 1996. Associate Director Daniel Patrylak served as acting director from the time of Mr. Hendl’s resignation (May 1972) until Mr. Freeman assumed full-time responsibilities (July 1973). Robert Freeman’s 24 years at Eastman were a time of great growth for the school. As director, Freeman oversaw a major expansion in the campus, including a new Student Living Center and a new building for the Sibley Music Library. He appointed many distinguished artists and scholars to the Eastman faculty, while pointing the school’s curriculum towards the realities of the musical world. He helped to increase national and international exposure for such Eastman performing groups as the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Philharmonia.
Robert Freeman died on October 18, 2022, in Austin, Texas. In 2015, Eastman awarded him an honorary degree and renamed the Sibley Music Library atrium the “Freeman Family Atrium.” You can read more about Robert Freeman’s remarkable life and his contributions to the Eastman School Music at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/freeman/

James Undercofler

James Undercofler (BM ’67) was Acting Director from 1996 to 1997, and Director and Dean from 1995 to 2006. While serving as Associate Director for Academic Affairs (an office he assumed in 1995), Mr. Undercofler led the transition of the of the Eastman Initiatives, a collection of curricular and extra-curricular programs designed to give students the skills and experience necessary to meet the demands of performance and education in today’s changing musical world, into the Institute for Music Leadership, which was formed in 2001. The IML encompasses such programs as the Arts Leadership Program, the Orchestra Musician Forum, Polyphonic.org, and various other cutting-edge certificates, diplomas, programs, and partnerships. Other initiatives that took place under Undercofler’s tenure included an expansion of the Music for All program and increased emphasis on technology-based programming. Following his departure from Eastman, Undercofler became the President and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Douglas Lowry

In August 2007, Douglas Lowry began his tenure as the sixth dean of the Eastman School. Senior Associate Dean Jamal Rossi served as the interim dean from the time of Mr. Undercofler’s resignation (April 2006) until Mr. Lowry assumed full-time responsibilities (August 2007). A nationally known conductor and composer, Lowry had previously served as Dean and Thomas James Kelly Professor of Music at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and before that as Associate Dean of the Flora L. Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. In 2010, Douglas Lowry was installed as the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music. During Mr. Lowry’s tenure, the Eastman Theatre was renovated as Kodak Hall, and the Eastman East Wing was added. Lowry also created the Center for Music Innovation and Engagement, and the Paul R. Judy Center for Applied Research within the Institute for Music Research.
On September 23, 2013, Lowry resigned for health reasons and was named Dean Emeritus, and Jamal Rossi was appointed the interim dean. Dean Lowry died on October 2, 2013.

Jamal J. Rossi

Jamal J. Rossi served as the seventh dean, and first Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music from May 2014 until June 2024. Prior to his appointment as Dean, Rossi served as the Executive Associate Dean at Eastman (2005-14). Previous academic leadership appointments include serving as Dean of the School of Music at the University of South Carolina, and Assistant and Associate Dean of the Ithaca College School of Music.
An active saxophone soloist and chamber musician, Rossi is featured on numerous recordings, he has commissioned/premiered more than twenty compositions, and he has been a soloist with symphony orchestras and military/college/university bands. His articles and reviews have appeared in leading wind publications. A founding and current member of the Kilbourn Saxophone Quartet, Rossi was formerly a member of the Carolina and Empire saxophone quartets. Rossi earned a Bachelor of Music Education and Performance degree from Ithaca College (summa cum laude), the Master of Music from the University of Michigan, and the Doctor of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music.
Having served in leadership roles in music for more than two decades, Rossi has spearheaded significant collaborative educational and community initiatives and has wide-ranging experience in academic scholarship and leadership, teaching, performance, recording, and fundraising.

Kate Sheeran

Kate Sheeran serves as Eastman’s Joan and Martin Messinger Dean, beginning in 2024. She previously served as executive director of Kaufman Music Center. In that position, Sheeran launched several center-wide initiatives, including artists-in-residence, robust community programming, and increased collaborations between the center’s two schools and concert presentations in their renowned Merkin Hall. Under her leadership, the organization nearly doubled its endowment, strengthening its financial future. Established with the mission of providing access without barriers, Kaufman Music Center provides innovative programs and music education to 3,000 students and 50,000 audience members of all ages and backgrounds each year. During the COVID pandemic, Sheeran organized Musical Storefronts, presenting more than 130 safe concerts produced for the community and employing professional artists when concert halls were closed. The pop-up concert series delivered needed joy and a sense of connection through live music, as well as garnered worldwide media attention.
Previously, Sheeran served as provost and dean of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In that capacity, she was the chief academic officer of the institution, oversaw all curricular and programmatic areas, led the faculty, and launched a professional development curriculum for all students. Earlier in her career, Sheeran was a member of the leadership team at Mannes School of Music in New York City, where she was an assistant dean and directed all pre-college and continuing education. She has been a faculty member at Dickinson College, Susquehanna University, Bucknell University, and Mannes Prep, part of Mannes School of Music.
As a professional horn player, Sheeran has performed with a wide range of ensembles, including Ensemble Signal, The Wordless Music Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound (an ensemble founded at Eastman), Ensemble LPR, and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. She has recorded for the Nonesuch, Cantaloupe, Western Vinyl, New Amsterdam, XL, Tzadik, and Warp labels, and for commercial television and film.
She received an undergraduate degree, certificate in arts leadership, and performer’s certificate from Eastman, and a master’s in music degree from the Yale School of Music. She has served on the boards of Kinhaven Music School and Alarm Will Sound, and is currently on the board of JACK Quartet, another Eastman alumni-founded ensemble.