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.)
Exploring the ‘liturgy factory’: Jennifer Pascual
(Final Note Magazine June 30, 2015)
The position of musical director of St Patrick’s Cathedral New York is very much a coveted, and prestigious role — one currently held by Dr Jennifer Pascual. Do date, her list of academic achievements comprise: a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Organ Performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester (New York); a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance from the Mannes College of Music in New York City; and Bachelor of Music Degrees in Piano and Organ Performance (magna cum laude), and Music Education, from Jacksonville University in Florida. Pascual oversaw the entire music program for the Pastoral Visit to New York by Pope Benedict XVI, on his April 2008 Apostolic Journey to the United States. She has been on the Artistic Staff of the Boys Choir of Harlem, Inc. since 1994. Membership includes the American Guild of Organists, Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians, Liturgical Organists Consortium, and National Association of Pastoral Musicians, where Pascual serves on the Section Committee for Organists. This talented musician is also a frequent broadcaster, recitalist, and clinician at national conventions.
Young Artists International Piano Competition at Eastman – Pt 1
(Fox Rochester © 07/15/2015)
Pop your head into Eastman’s Kilbourn Hall this week and you’ll hear the sounds of talented young musicians.
It’s the 14th Young Artists International Piano Competition. 21 teenagers from around the world are chosen to play. (Part 2 Fox Rochester, Part 3 Fox Rochester, Part 4 Fox Rochester, Part 5 Fox Rochester)
Maryland Teen Wins Top Prize at Eastman Young Artists Competition
(WXXI 07/19/2015)
A 17 year old virtuoso from Silver Springs, Maryland has won the top prize in the Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition. Brian Le was awarded the prize on Saturday after performing the first movement Allegro maestoso of Chopin’s Concerto No. 1 in E Minor with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Neil Varon.
As the top winner in the event for talented 15-to-18-year-old pianists, held at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, Le was awarded the Gold Medal, a cash prize of $10,000, and a New York City Debut Concert on the DiMenna Center Piano Concert Series.
(Ithaca Times 07/15/2015)
There were years—decades, really—when Johnny Russo was at just about every Ithaca musical event you could imagine. There were 30+ hours in a week devoted solely to music. He’s never had a day job. Johnny Russo has made it this long on sheer talent and drive. These days, Johnny Russo sightings are rarer, but still happening. “I’m playing a lot less than I used to play,” Russo told me recently. You can see him play this Saturday, July 18; Johnny Russo and the East Hill Classic Jazz Band will perform at 7 p.m. at Taughannock Falls State Park. Russo said this will be his 15th performance there.
Russo hails from Geneva, New York, and he attended the Eastman School of Music, graduating in the early-to-mid ‘60s. His mentor, Walter Hendl, had been the associate conductor of the New York Philharmonic, replaced by Leonard Bernstein. Hendl became friends with Igor Stravinsky, and during Hendl’s tenure at Eastman, Stravinsky visited and heard a recital performance of “The Firebird Suite,” with Russo as part of the Eastman Philharmonia.
(Sioux Falls Argus Leader 07/13/2015)
Augustana College has named Jungho Kim as assistant professor of music and director of orchestras. Kim most recently studied with Neil Varon at the Eastman School of Music, where he earned a doctorate in orchestral conducting and served as assistant conductor for the Eastman Philharmonia and cover conductor for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
(Fort Wayne Journal Gazette 07/13/2015)
IPFW has named a trumpet-toting, globe-trotting musician and director as its new music department chair. Gregory Jones has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Al Jarreau, Audra McDonald, Joshua Bell, Diana Krall and the Dallas Cowboys Band. He has played and taught all over the United States and abroad. On a Senior Fulbright Grant, he toured the Balkans and Greece, where he was named an artist-in-residence. He has played principal trumpet for Amsterdam’s Concertgebow Orchestra.
For 28 years, Jones taught at Truman State University in Missouri as trumpet professor and conductor of the brass choir. He holds music degrees from Florida State University, the University of North Texas, and a doctorate in music performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
Susan Ferré Organ Concert
(Bangor Daily News 07/13/2015)
St. John’s Organ Society’s 23rd Summer Recital Series continues on August 20 at 7:30 pm with a concert by Susan Ferré from Gorham, New Hampshire, on Maine’s largest 19th-Century tracker-action pipe organ, E. & G. G. Hook’s magnificent Opus 288, at St. John’s Roman Catholic Church in Bangor.
Susan Ferré directs a non-profit organization, Music in the Great North Woods, bringing classical music to the North Country. She serves St. Barnabas Episcopal Church as Organist and Director of Music. She maintains an active concert career, having performed widely in Europe, including three visits to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Scandinavia, Brazil, Canada, and throughout the United States. She has served the faculties of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology, University of North Texas and the University of Paris at Vincennes. For more than twenty years Ferré directed the Texas Baroque Ensemble, employing early singing styles and original instruments. She holds degrees from Texas Christian University and the Eastman School of Music.
AHM Summer Youth Theater presents ‘Hello, Dolly!’
(Hartford Courant 07/13/2015)
The AHM (Andover, Hebron, Marlborough) Summer Youth Theater (SYT) will be performing its summer musical “Hello, Dolly!” on Thursday through Saturday, July 23, 24, and 25.
Kelly Whitesell, one of a dozen graduating seniors in this year’s production, plays the lead role of Dolly Levi. This is her seventh show with AHM, and she has done theater with RHAM High School and YPCCA (Young People’s Center for Creative Arts), as well. Here first major role was playing Snoopy as a freshman in RHAM’s production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” She has also played major roles in “Anything Goes” and “The Music Man.” Whitesell is off to the Eastman School of Music in the fall to study operatic performance and possibly music education.