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.)
Paul Simon provides a special surprise for the Rochester Music Hall of Fame ceremonies
(WXXI News 04/23/2018)
They came for Eastman School of Music percussion professor John Beck. Who begat one of his students to this class as well, drummer Steve Gadd. Who begat one of his rhythm-section cohorts, and a fellow Eastman grad, bassist Tony Levin. Add television-theme powerhouse Ferdinand Jay Smith and … (Also reported by Democrat and Chronicle, 13WHAM-TV, WHEC, Spectrum News)
Revered drummer Steve Gadd to be inducted into Rochester Music Hall of Fame
(Democrat and Chronicle 04/20/2018)
I’m sure much of the joy for Gadd will be the induction of his early-days friend and bandmate, Tony Levin, and also Gadd’s teacher, legendary Eastman drum professor John Beck. …
Gadd says he’s grateful to have been exposed to Beck’s talent and work. “He’s really helped me throughout my life, getting into college at Eastman, getting into (the) military band …
Bassist Tony Levin, another Eastman connection, was Gadd’s first major bandmate. They formed the rhythm section for early Chuck and Gap Mangione configurations. Levin later became prominent in the music of Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, and others. Gadd and Levin also played in a short-lived but highly regarded fusion band, L’Image, who are reuniting to perform at the Hall of Fame ceremony at … (Also reported by City Newspaper, 13WHAM-TV)
5 Black Pulitzer Prize Winners Who Made History
(Black Enterprise 04/17/2018)
George Walker became the first African American to receive a coveted Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1996 for his work Lilacs. Walker, who is noted as one of the greatest composers of his time, was also the first African American to graduate from the Curtis Institute in 1954, receive a doctorate degree from Eastman School in 1956, and become a tenured faculty member at Smith College. (Also reported by Blavity)
UB violist Leanne Darling explores both the familiar and the unusual in her recital
(Artvoice 04/17/2018)
A classically trained violist with degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music, Darling was assistant principal viola with the Florida West Coast Symphony and the Missouri Chamber Orchestra. In 2001 she moved to New York City where she studied with jazz violinists …
Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in Rochester
Saxophonists Aiwen Zhang and Jiaqi Zhao, both with Eastman School of Music, and the Plank Road South Elementary Chorus will perform that evening. All the song lyrics of the chorus performances will be displayed in both Chinese and English on the stage screen for the audience in real time.
Baptist Temple Scholarship Fundraiser for Eastman School of Music Students
(WRUR 04/19/2018)
For many years, The Baptist Temple has enjoyed the talent of vocal scholars from The Eastman School of Music in its worship services. We are proud to compensate these voice majors through a scholarship fund that is supported through donations. These scholars will celebrate your generosity by performing art songs and arias from the classical, romantic, and contemporary style periods. Please join us! Free admission. Donations gratefully accepted to supplement the Scholarship Fund.
The New York Choral Society and Orchestra to Present JS Bach’s Mass in B Minor
(Broadway World 04/17/2018)
Featured Performers Include Sopranos Sarah Shafer and Abigail Fischer, Tenor James Reese, and Baritone Lee Poulis. …
Originally trained as a cellist, Ms. Fischer has often worked as a chamber musician, from Musicians of Marlboro Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, to St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble. She has premiered works of Elliott Carter and Bernard Rand at Tanglewood Music Festival, Nico Muhly at Lincoln Center, numerous works by John Zorn throughout the world. A graduate of Eastman School of Music (MM) and Vassar College (BA). Ms. Fischer now studies with Stephen King in Houston and …
‘Spirits of America’ Theme for April 28 Concert
(TAPinto.net 04/20/2018)
Music by American composers, including the first symphony by an African-American to be performed by a leading orchestra, will be presented at a concert by the Hunterdon Symphony and the Hunterdon Choral Union … The program will include “Symphony No. 1, Afro-American” by William Grant Still; “John Adams: The Voice Heard ‘Round the World” by Anthony DiLorenzo with Kyle Tinnes as narrator; Howard Hanson’s “Song of Democracy”; and an arrangement of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Hanson, for 40 years the Director of the Eastman School of Music and the founder of the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, composed many works during his lifetime, including orchestral works, chamber and keyboard pieces, choral and band selections and an opera. His “Song of Democracy” for chorus and orchestra is set to a poem by Walt Whitman. (Also reported by NJ.com)
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