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.)
Anniversary celebration set for Rochester’s historic organ
(Newsday © 09/25/2015)
Musicians and scholars will gather in Rochester next month to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the installation of a restored 18th-century Italian Baroque organ.
The Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester says the four-day celebration will be held Oct. 22-25 at the university’s Memorial Art Gallery. (Also reported by The Wall Street Journal, Bridgeport Connecticut Post, WTEN ABC10 Albany, WHEC-TV , Washington Times , Democrat & Chronicle )
Symposium offers keys to proficient piano playing
(The Tampa Tribune 09/23/2015)
Musicians and music educators from several continents will present workshops, master classes and group and individual lessons from 8:30 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. Oct. 16 and from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 17
Workshop presenters include pianist-pedagogues Kenneth Hanks of Hillsborough Community College, Douglas Johnson of Berklee College of Music, Carina Joly of Zurich, Switzerland, Rebecca Penneys of the Eastman School of Music, Martha Thomas of the University of Georgia, Grigorios Zamparas of the University of Tampa and Helga Winold, of the University of Tampa and professor emeritus from Indiana University.
Book Review: The Devil’s Pleasure Palace: the Cult of Critical Theory and the Subversion of the West
(The Tucson Weekly 09/22/2015)
Such a book is The Devil’s Pleasure Palace: The Cult of Critical Theory and the Subversion of the West, by Michael Walsh.
To get a good perspective on this book, one should take a look at the author. Walsh graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 1971. He worked as a reporter for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, then became its classical music critic. He later became a music critic for the San Francisco Examiner, then for Time Magazine. Around the turn of the century he was a Professor of Journalism and Professor of Film & Television at Boston University. He wrote for National Review, and had a weekly column at the New York Post. He helped Andrew Breitbart launch Big Journalism.com, and became a featured journalist at PJ Media. He has authored over a dozen books both fiction and nonfiction. In short, he is a bit of a Renaissance Man.
Art Beat: Superb Schubert performance starts the arts season on a perfect note
(Cordova Times © 09/25/2015)
The performing arts season got off on a good start last weekend with a performance of “Tribes” at Cyrano’s that featured several established local theater veterans and very impressive fresh talent. The play — in part about the physical deafness experienced by a few and, in sum, about the psychological deafness experienced by most of us from time to time — continues through Oct. 11 and will have two signed performances on Oct. 3 and 4.
But for sheer emotional catharsis, it will be hard to top Saturday’s concert in the Autumn Classics chamber music series. The guests were the superbly cohesive Ying Quartet from the Eastman School of Music. The group is brilliantly bookended by cellist David Ying and violinist Robin Scott, who moved into the first chair slot this spring. Janet and Philip Ying had the inner violin and viola parts.
University Symphony Orchestra a value at any price
(Boulder Daily Camera 9/19/2015)
Back at Macky on Nov. 19, the orchestra is joined by cellist Robbie Erhard, undergraduate division winner of last year’s concerto competition. Erhard, the son of CU professor of double bass Paul Erhard and now a graduate student at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.., plays Schumann’s Cello Concerto. The orchestra pairs it with Dvorák’s lyrical Eighth Symphony.
Sister Act: Jazz runs in family for The Ault Sisters
(Sudbury Northern Life 09/23/2015)
The young vocal jazz trio The Ault Sisters will be featured Oct. 1 as part of The Motley Kitchen’s Dinner and a Show series.
The Ault Sisters have enjoyed tremendous support from CBC, with several tracks from their album, Timeless, playing on such shows as Here and Now, Tonic, and Fresh Air. Timeless has also received radio play on various radio stations across Canada, and on more than 50 radio and Internet stations in the U.S., including six billboard stations. The trio has been featured at a number of jazz festivals, Canada Indie Week and International Divas III, as well as Toronto clubs the Jazz Bistro, Hugh’s Room, Lula Lounge, The Round and Monarch’s Pub.
Not content with prodigious natural talent, the sisters have all pursued formal education in vocal music, Amanda from York University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program, Alicia at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and Alanna at Humber College’s Vocal Jazz program.
First conductor candidate to lead ASO concert
(The Daily Telegram 08/24/2015)
To conductor Allen Tinkham, the first of four candidates coming to Adrian with hopes of becoming the next Adrian Symphony Orchestra music director, the idea of possibly getting the job is exciting.
He’s actually not unfamiliar with Adrian, because he attended graduate school not far away. After earning his Bachelor’s of Music degree from the prestigious Eastman School of Music, he came to the University of Michigan to earn his Master’s of Music in orchestral conducting.
Cobblestone Crossing farewell concert at EPAC
(Press & Sun-Bulletin 09/01/2015)
After 15 years as Greater Binghamton’s best-known folk band, Cobblestone Crossing is ready to say goodbye. Cobblestone Crossing has performed for audiences of 40 to 4,000 throughout the Southern Tier. They have opened for The Kingston Trio and appeared at the Binghamton Pops, Binghamton’s First Night and other regional festivals.
This concert will mark the band’s farewell to the area, because founder and leader Darrell Varley and his wife, Janet, move to the Nashville area.
Darrell Douglas Varley is the arranger, bass-baritone vocalist, and banjo, guitar, fiddle and mandolin player of the group. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, and he has operated Douglas Media Productions in Binghamton, producing commercial radio and television audio.
A Fall Harvest of Shows On Stage at Downstairs Cabaret Theatre This Fall !
(Rochester Democrat & Chronicle © 09/22/2015)
Downstairs Cabaret Theatre has announced eight different productions between now and mid-November, with more in the planning stages.
THE GROVE PLACE JAZZ PROJECT, a collaboration between Downstairs Cabaret and Eastman School of Music jazz students, continues each Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. A different jazz ensemble is featured each week, showcasing the talents of Eastman School of Music students and other area jazz artisans. The series is co-sponsored by the Friends of The Grove Place Jazz Project, and takes place at 20 Windsor Street (near Eastman Theatre). Tickets are $10 general admission.
Garner: Another ‘Masterpiece’ for PBS
(Democrat & Chronicle 09/27/2015)
APPLAUSE FOR BEALS. How about a standing ovation for Eastman School of Music graduate Jeff Beal, an Emmy-winning composer, and his wife, vocalist Joan Beal? They’ve committed $2 million to Eastman to launch The Beal Institute of Film Music and Contemporary Media.
It’s a grand and meaningful gesture that will elevate at Eastman the importance of creating quality music for film and television, and give students a clear path into that field.
Jeff Beal, a 1985 graduate of Eastman, has composed music for such diverse projects as the films Pollock, Appaloosa, Blackfish and The Queen of Versailles, and has earned 15 Emmy nominations for such shows as House of Cards, Rome and The Newsroom. He has won Emmys for Nightmares and Dreamscapes, The Company and Monk.