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.)
Opera in Film Takes On a New Note in ‘Bel Canto’ (It’s Not Evil)
(The New York Times 09/06/2018)
“It’s about the power of art to humanize,” the star soprano Renée Fleming, who recorded the arias by Dvorak and Puccini that Ms. Moore lip-syncs to in the film, said in an interview.
The use of Ms. Fleming’s voice in the film is a wheel-coming-full-circle moment. Ms. Patchett has said that while she was writing the novel and creating the character of Roxane Coss, the American diva at its center, she was inspired by listening to recordings of Ms. Fleming. …
Renee Fleming Returns to Wharton Center
(Broadway World 09/10/2018)
Long-time collaborator Richard Bado will be Ms. Fleming’s accompanist for the evening. Having known each other since they were classmates at the Eastman School of Music, Mr. Bado has gone on to become a distinguished conductor, pianist, music director and educator. Bado has performed and accompanied world-class artists around the globe. …
Project Fusion Sax Quartet to perform at Houghton Artist Series
(Olean Times Herald 09/16/2018)
The group was formed in 2010 by Eastman School of Music graduates Matt Amedio, Dannel Espinoza, Matthew Evans and Michael Sawzin.
Acclaimed singer Nancy Kelly to be honored at Cazenovia jazz event
(Syracuse New Times 09/12/2018)
Nancy Kelly has been a dominant figure on the Central New York jazz scene for more than 40 years. Trained first as a pianist and later as a vocalist at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, Kelly’s innate sense of phrasing and swing has earned widespread accolades including “Best Female Jazz Vocalist” in Downbeat magazine’s readers poll twice. Kelly’s first CD Live Jazz reached No. 11 on the Billboard charts, and her fifth, B That Way, spent eight weeks in the Top 50 on the Jazzweek charts.
Gorgeous Setting, Picnic Baskets, and Fabulous Music Translates Into Brucemorchestra XI
(Iowa Public Radio 09/14/2018)
Cicadas and classical music – it doesn’t get much better than that. …, Orchestra Iowa presents Brucemorchestra XI “The American Rhapsody.” […]
“The American Rhapsody” features classics from Gershwin, Bernstein, and others from Classen and Grofé, in addition to the Star Spangled Banner. Dr. Réne Lecuona, piano professor at the University of Iowa is featured on piano throughout the show.
A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Dr. Réne Lecuona is highly regarded for not only her performance accomplishments, but also her teaching abilities. …
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