Here are some select recent clippings 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.)
‘At home’ on the podium: Rei Hotoda to join Utah Symphony as its first female associate conductor
(Deseret News 05/16/2015)
Though Rei Hotoda has lived a life steeped in music, Utah Symphony’s new associate conductor says she still gets nervous before every performance. Hotoda will experience those feelings many times during her three-year tenure with Utah Symphony as she is responsible for youth and education concerts, including organizing outreach concerts and visiting 50 schools in rural areas to perform with the orchestra.
Hotoda received her bachelor’s degree in piano performance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. She went on to receive her master’s and doctorate at the University of Southern California.
Breaking: Glass ceiling broken at top US conservatory
(Slipped Disc 05/11/2015)
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music is pleased to announce the appointment of Kate Sheeran as Provost and Dean of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Currently Assistant Dean at Mannes School of Music of The New School, Sheeran takes up her new position on July 1, 2015.
A professional hornist as well as an energetic administrator, Sheeran is also an accomplished musician and educator. She has performed with such cutting-edge ensembles as the Wordless Music Orchestra and Alarm Will Sound and has recorded for the Tzadik, Warp, New Amsterdam and Nonesuch labels, among others. Sheeran has served on the horn faculty at Mannes Prep, Dickinson College, Susquehanna University and Bucknell University. She earned a B.M., Performer’s Certificate and Certificate in Arts Leadership from the Eastman School of Music and an M.M. from the Yale School of Music. (Also reported by Broadway World )
Classical Public Radio 89.9 WDAV and OrthoCarolina Crown the Winners of the 2015 Young Chamber Musicians Competition
(Stanly News and Press © 05/12/2015)
Classical Public Radio 89.9 WDAV and OrthoCarolina announced today the winners of the 2015 Young Chamber Musicians Competition. The competition kicked off its second year in January 2015, when youth chamber ensembles across the country were invited to submit video performances for a chance to win their share of $4500. The competition culminated on Saturday, May 9 with four ensembles performing in a live adjudicated event on the Davidson College campus.
The winner of the 19-24 age group and $1,500 grand prize is the Farrago 4 Saxophone Quartet from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Members of the ensemble include Stephanie Venturino, Aiwen Zhang, Anne Kunkle, and Arthur Liang. The name Farrago 4 comes from the Latin for “assorted medley or conglomeration.”
Eastman Students Earn DownBeat Honors
(Messenger Post Newspapers 05/15/2015)
Four Eastman School of Music students have been named recipients of 2015 DownBeat Student Music Awards. Garret Reynolds was recognized for Undergraduate College Outstanding Composition for his work “Our Time.” Brendan Lanighan was recognized for Undergraduate College Outstanding Arrangement for “Lament.” Gabe Condon and Julian Tanaka were named Graduate College Arrangement winners for “In a Sentimental Mood” and “Orbit” (Unless It’s You), respectively.
Renée Fleming to spend another 2 years with the Lyric Opera of Chicago
(WXXI 05/15/2015)
Famed soprano Renée Fleming will spend another two years working with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The opera says Fleming, who grew up in Churchville and also studied at the Eastman School of Music, will continue to serve as its creative consultant while she keeps up her performance schedule.
Auburn School Board selects 2 finalists for superintendent
(Auburn Reporter 05/15/2015)
The Auburn School Board has selected two finalists – Michael Newman and Alan Spicciati – for district superintendent. Newman is deputy superintendent of business and operations for Auburn schools, and Spicciati is chief accountability officer for the Highline School District.
Spicciati is a graduate of the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, with a double major in music education and performance. He earned his master’s degree from the University of Washington’s Danforth Educational Leadership Program, and his superintendent certification and doctor of education at Seattle Pacific University.
Dick Durham and Stef Scaggiari
(MyEasternShoreMD 05/12/2015)
Dick Durham and Stef Scaggiari, two world-class jazz pianists who call Maryland home, will bring their duo-piano magic to the Mainstay at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 16.
Scaggiari attended Eastman School of Music and played with the United States Marine Band. After earning a master’s degree from Peabody Conservatory and leaving the military, he was a semi-finalist in the Van Cliburn Competition in 1971.
Sisters Willa and Ledah Finck to Perform Classical Violin Recital at SAI May 23
(High Country Press 05/15/2015)
Local musicians and sisters Willa and Ledah Finck will present a recital of classical violin music on Saturday, May 23 at 5:00 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Broyhill Music Center at Appalachian State University.
Willa Finck studied at the UNC School of the Arts during her senior year of high school, where her teachers were Sarah Johnson and Ida Bieler. She recently completed her first year at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, where she studies with Mikhail Kopelman.
The offbeat glory of small shows: A smarmy Eddie Fisher
(Rochester Democrat & Chronicle © 05/10/2015)
The most-academic of our jazz bands, The Bill Dobbins Trio, plays a 2 p.m. May 16 benefit for the Arts & Cultural Council. The concert is at the Denton Cottier & Daniels Showroom in the Piano Works Mall, 349 W. Commercial St., East Rochester. All three performers — Dobbins on piano, bassist Jeff Campbell and drummer Rich Thompson — are Eastman School of Music professors. The nonprofit Arts & Cultural Council offers a wide range of services for artists and culture vultures.
(Messenger Post Newspapers 05/12/2015)
American Revolutionary War veterans buried in the towns of East Bloomfield and West Bloomfield were honored on Saturday, May 2, proclaimed “Drummers’ Heritage Day” by officials in each town as well as Rochester as part of the Percussion Rochester Festival 2015 to showcase percussion performance.
Bill Cahn, a West Bloomfield resident and associate professor of percussion at the Eastman School of Music, organized the event. At both cemeteries he gave a brief talk on the function of drummers in the warfare of the period.
POP | Grey Light
(Rochester City Newspaper © 05/13/2015)
Grey Light strikes me as an experimental band that got it right with the first try. At the top of the list of compelling, undeniable qualities are Alicia Ault’s vocals as they float bell-like in the bands well-rooted ether. And speaking of rooted, the band got its start while its members were studying at the Eastman School of Music.