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.)
Renée Fleming Sings A New Song Cycle
(WQXR 09/07/2016)
Nov. 12, 14. Fleming, the adventurous soprano who is always open to new works, will perform the world premiere of Letters from Georgia, a song cycle based on the letters of painter Georgia O’Keefe composed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts (the opera Silent Night). The soprano will be joined by the Eastman Philharmonia under the direction of Neil Varon. Puts mostly used O”Keeffe’s letters written to her eventual husband Alfred Stieglitz, and artist and suffragette Anita Pollitzer. The premiere is Nov. 12 at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, N.Y. On Nov. 14 it comes to Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center.
A Network of Mutual Admiration at California Symphony
(San Francisco Classical Voice 09/07/2016)
Sometimes, linear isn’t boring.
Case in point, plot the career trajectory of composer Kevin Puts from his early childhood, …
Puts earned bachelor and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Eastman School of Music. A faculty member at the Peabody Institute since 2006, …
Puts is currently focused on two new works: his first chamber opera, an adaptation of Peter Ackroyd’s gothic novel, The Trial of Elizabeth Cree, with libretto by frequent collaborator Mark Campbell; and a work for soprano Rénee Fleming and orchestra based on the personal letters of Georgia O’Keefe. Although O’Keefe’s paintings are well known, Puts says most people don’t know about the poetic, lovely letters she wrote. “When we approached her estate (to ask for the rights) to use them, no one knew what to do because no one had ever asked for the letters. At first, they said ‘OK, you can do it and perform it once.’ We said, ‘No, no, we need to do lots of performances, maybe record it.’” The estate agreed, and Puts and Fleming plan to expand the piece to include a baritone and letters that O’Keefe exchanged with her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz. Like a cartographer unafraid to venture “off the map” and in words that sound like a teenage echo, Puts says that the music he hears in his head today is much like the music played at those long-ago parties: “It’s big harmonies, percussion, tremolos, rich, colorful — and all that stuff.”
Musicians as Audiophiles: Ron Carter
(Stereophile Magazine 9/10/2016)
Ronald Levin “Ron” Carter is arguably the greatest upright jazz bassist to have ever walked four strings, and he’s literally the most recorded bassist of all time. “With 2,221 individual recording credits, as verified on 15 September 2015,” notes Carter’s website.
Carter’s many plaudits stack up like a layer cake: bachelor of music degree from the Eastman School, master’s degree in double bass from the …
Massena native and musical composer releases debut album
(WatertownDailyTimes.com 09/11/2016)
Music has been a part of Jennifer Bellor’s life since a very young age.
So the schooling continued, and she earned a Ph.D. in music composition at Eastman School of Music, Rochester, a master of music degree in …
Among the organizations that have performed her work are the …, Eastman New Jazz Ensemble, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Eastman Saxophone Project, …
Idaho State Civic Symphony 2016-2017 season preview
(Idaho State Journal 09/10/2016)
Season highlights include:
New Concertmaster Hyeri Choi: Hyeri Choi is the symphony’s new concertmaster. Choi comes to Idaho from Mansfield University in Pennsylvania where she was an instructor of violin and viola. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in violin performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. She has taught lessons at Rutgers University, New York String Academy, Eastman School of Music, Hochstein School of Music and Dance and Rochester Korean United Methodist Church. She is also teaching violin and is the strings area coordinator at Idaho State University.
Mary Louse Knutson Trio Opens a New Season of Jazz @ St. Barneys, September 10
(Jazz Police 09/09/2016)
Not only is the Mary Louise Knutson Trio led by one of the region’s most accomplished jazz pianists and composers, but her cohorts include bassist Gordy Johnson and drummer Phil Hey, two more area veterans who have performed with a long list of top local as well as international stars.
Gordy Johnson graduated from the Eastman School of Music where he … the University of Minnesota, St. Olaf College, and MacPhail Center for Music.
Williamson: Former ENMU graduate is jack-of-all-trades
(Portales News-Tribune 09/08/2016)
It should come as no surprise to anyone who knew John Ashcraft during his three decades as a nurse practitioner in eastern New Mexico that he finally went back to school and became a doctor.
But many of John’s former patients in our area might not be aware that it’s been four years since he was in a medical setting, and that his doctoral degree is not an MD, but a DMA — a doctor of musical arts. His stethoscope has been retired for good and replaced with a conductor’s baton.
While still working in the emergency room at Roosevelt General Hospital, John began the doctoral program at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music out of Rochester, New York.
Oboist Burgess and harpsichordist Schelhase to visit Marshall
(HNN Huntingtonnews.net 09/08/2016)
The Marshall University School of Music proposes an evening of Bach with visiting Joan C. Edwards Distinguished Professors in the Arts Dr. Geoffrey Burgess, oboist, and Leon Schelhase, harpsichordist, … Burgess currently lives in Philadelphia and is the Baroque oboe instructor at the Eastman School of Music
Three new musicians join the BPO
(Buffalo.com 09/07/2016)
Three newly hired musicians will be on hand to go with the new season. … The third newcomer is Sheryl Lynn Hadeka, who will join the French horn section. A graduate of Eastman School of Music, Hadeka earned her master’s degree in music from … (Also reported by The Daily News Online)
In the Public Eye: The annual “art in the heart” selections
(ithaca.com 09/07/2016)
On Sept. 6 Opus Ithaca will have opened the doors for its fifth season of music education and enjoyment. Located in the lower level of St Paul’s United Methodist Church, Opus is the brainchild of Andrea Merrill. Merrill is originally from Pennsylvania, and received her bachelor’s degree in music with a focus on piano performance from Ithaca College. After earning a master’s degree in music with a focus on piano accompanying from Arizona State and a doctoral degree in piano accompanying and chamber music from the Eastman School of Music, she moved back to Ithaca with her husband, jazz trumpeter Paul Merrill, as part of the Faculty in Residence program at Cornell University.
Merrill’s minor field of study while she was a doctoral candidate at Eastman was administration with a focus on opening a community school.
Mr. Spock greets commuters on ‘Star Trek’s’ 50th anniversary
(Democrat and Chronicle 09/09/2016)
East-side commuters to downtown Rochester: Did you notice an extraterrestrial sighting? A likeness of Mr. Spock from the original Star Trek series …
It’s only fitting that Spock would pay a visit to Rochester. After all, the Star Trek theme was composed by Eastman School of Music graduate Alexander Courage. (Also reported by Cosumnes Connection (subscription)
Lompoc Music Association to begin 54th season Sunday
(Lompoc Record 09/09/2016)
Pianist Lynne Garrett, cellist Jacqueline Greenshields and flutist/composer Linda Holland will open the Lompoc Music Association’s 54th concert season … Garrett earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance at New York’s Eastman School of Music and has taught at universities in …
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