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.)
With ‘The Seasons,’ Ben Wendel Redefines the Musical Encounter
(The New York Times 01/21/16)
“The Seasons,” a vividly imagined collection of duets by the saxophonist and bassoonist Ben Wendel, was one of the standout jazz records of 2015. But it was never released in album form, and took the entire year to hear in full.
After attending the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, where he met most of Kneebody, Mr. Wendel gradually established his foothold on the scene. He began releasing his own albums in 2009; “Small Constructions” (Sunnyside), a duo album with the pianist Dan Tepfer, appeared in 2013. That experience of honing a duologue, on record and on tour, had some bearing on “The Seasons.”
Grammy-winning lute player Paul O’Dette to perform in Cleveland
(Twinsburg Bulletin 01/21/16)
The Cleveland Classical Guitar Society presents lute player Paul O’Dette, winner of multiple Grammy awards, in concert Saturday, January 30, 2016.
Paul O’Dette stands as the world’s most important figure in the revival of the lute and the re-creation of the musical world of the 16th-18th centuries. Since his career began in the 1970’s O’Dette has made more than 100 recordings as a lutenist and conductor, which have earned him 2 Grammy awards, including 2015, and a 2016 Grammy nomination. His performances around the world and 4 decades at the Eastman School of Music are part of a musical legacy beyond compare.
Eastman Partners With RCSD to Offer Free Concert for Students
(TWC News 1/19/16)
Several Rochester community groups have teamed up to help make music a part of every city school district student’s life.
It’s a collaboration organizers hope will expose city school students to music and the arts, and give them something they might not otherwise get a chance to experience, all of it is for free. The Eastman School of Music, … (Also reported by 13WHAM-TV, RBJ, RochesterFirst, Democrat & Chronicle, WXXI News)
Kathleen Battle stars in Eastmans Underground Railroad
(Democrat & Chronicle 01/21/16)
“This is truly a musical journey through all its components, organically grown out of Rochester,” said Keith Elder, director of concert activities at the Eastman School of Music. “Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey,” 8 p.m. Jan. 30 in Kodak Hall, is an interweaving of Rochester’s community, history and music.
Five-time Grammy winner Kathleen Battle, the lyric soprano who rose to fame as a concert singer in the 1970s then later transitioned to opera, presents this concert only in select places. She chooses cities with connections to the Underground Railroad or with a strong history in diversity or civil right movements. Elder cited Baltimore and Detroit in particular as notable prior performances.
FSO’s concert this week to honor a number of national composers
(Arizona Daily Sun 1/24/16)
Two works by Hanson (1896-1981) round out the American program, a brief “Elegy in Memory of Serge Koussevitzky” and his familiar Second Symphony, subtitled “The Romantic.” This work has become a signature piece for the Interlochen Music Festival in Michigan where its lyrical secondary theme has become known as the “Interlochen Theme” and is performed each summer by student orchestras at that venerable institution.
Hanson taught for many years at the Eastman School of Music, and his numerous compositions are characterized by lyricism in a late romantic vein, and by what is considered to be accessibility for audiences who might be less in tune with the more experimental and often dissonant musical examples representing the 20th century.
Hanson jokingly referred to himself as a “perfect fifth” or “perfect third” composer, and he has been criticized — perhaps unfairly — for his avoidance of many of the modernist stylistic traits of other American composers of his generation
(Democrat and Chronicle 1/19/16)
“I hear music for so much of my day,” says Laura Barger. … Yarn/Wire’s program here features pieces by two revered figures of the avant garde, Tristan Murail and George Crumb, as well as a premiere by Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, a professor of composition at the Eastman School of Music.
Egg Harbor: Campbell to visit Door schools
(Green Bay Press Gazette 1/21/16)
Jeff Campbell, Birch Creek Jazz Program director and associate professor of jazz studies & contemporary media at Eastman School of Music, will return to Door County this February as part of Birch Creek’s annual Artists in the Schools program.
Percussion artist Bob Becker to appear at Fredonia starting Saturday
(Dunkirk Observer 01/22/16)
Bob Becker, a founding member of the percussion ensemble Nexus and a virtuoso on xylophone, marimba and tabla, will conduct two workshops and give a concert at the State University of New York at Fredonia during a three-day visit.
As an undergraduate at the Eastman School of Music, Becker was awarded the school’s prestigious Performer’s Certificate for his concerto performance with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He holds a B.M. with Distinction and a M.A., both from Eastman, where he studied percussion with William G. Street and John H. Beck, and composition with Warren Benson and Aldo Provenzano.
Benzie Area Symphony Orchestra announces new conductor
(UpNorthLive.com 1/24/16)
Tom Riccobono has been appointed as the new conductor for the 2016 season.
According to a release sent out by BASCO, Riccobono holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Penn State University, and a Performer’s …
Acclaimed baroque trumpeter returns to Waterloo for a special concert
(The Record 1/20/16)
Trumpeter John Thiessen and organist Jan Overduin will be performing January 31 at First United Church in Waterloo.
Thiessen holds an undergraduate degree in performance from the prestigious Eastman School of Music plus a degree in historical musicology from …
Rogue Valley Symphony showcases Christopher Theofanidis
(Ashland Daily Tidings 1/14/16)
Theofanidis, born in 1967 in Texas, is a professor of composition at Yale University’s School of Music. He holds a bachelor’s in music from University of Houston, a master’s from Eastman School of Music and a doctorate from Yale. His music is performed by orchestras and philharmonics that number in the dozens.
Symphony announces finalists for new conductor
(Messenger-Inquirer 1/20/16)
After a 10-month search, the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra announced Tuesday its four finalists for conductor … Daniel Black, Troy Quinn, Bruce Kiesling and Roger Kalia as finalists. …
Daniel has a strong connection to the Russian tradition of conducting, having studied conducting at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, …
Symphoria guest conductor chose Beethoven over biology
(Syracuse Post Standard 01/18/2016)
Guest conductor Fawzi Haimor, 33, will delve into the drama and depths of Ludwig van Beethoven’s music Jan. 23 in Symphoria’s first concert of the new year. Having earned bachelors’ degrees in music and neurobiology, he says, “Science and music were equally important to me through college. But I decided to make the switch to music as my career, and I’ve never looked back.”
“Every part of our instrumental dialogue is essential to the overall effect of the piece,” says oboist Jillian Honn. A senior at Eastman School of Music, she says, “When I can perform with this team of seasoned musicians, it’s almost impossible for me not to respond to their energy and expertise with utmost musicianship.”
Things to do in Mobile this week, Jan. 17-23
(AL.com 1/17/16)
RHYTHM
The University of South Alabama Percussion Studio will host a guest artist performance on Friday, Jan. 22, presenting the Duo Tierra Fria. According to information provided by the USA Department of Music, Tierra Fria was formed by Brant Blackard and Connor Stevens while both were students at the Eastman School of Music, focusing on performing contemporary music within the percussion duo repertoire as well as presenting their own arrangements of classic repertoire.
(Lexington Herald Leader 01/18/2016)
Asbury University’s Music Department continues its 12th annual Pipe Organ Performance Series at 12:10 p.m. Tuesday in the Hughes Auditorium in Wilmore. Jon Johnson, former associate organist and choirmaster at Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville, will perform. Johnson is currently organist and director of music at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Lexington. He holds a master’s of music degree in organ performance and the sacred music diploma from the Eastman School of Music, a master’s of music in choral conducting and a bachelor’s of music in organ performance from East Carolina University.
Algoma Conservatory of Music hosts special masterclass
(SooToday.com 1/19/16)
Algoma U Students to Perform for Pianists James Anagnoson and Leslie Kinton
Anagnoson is the Dean of The Glenn Gould School and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School.