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.)
A Brünnhilde Is Born: The Week in Classical Music
(New York Times 03/29/19)
If the opera world had awards like the Oscars, then in 1998 the tenor Anthony Dean Griffey would surely have won for best actor in a leading role, for his wrenching performance as the hulking, slow-witted Lennie in Carlisle Floyd’s “Of Mice and Men” at New York City Opera. …
Mr. Griffey might even have picked up the award again in 2008, for the title role of Britten’s “Peter Grimes” at the Metropolitan Opera. His Grimes came across like a dangerously intemperate and painfully isolated man-boy.
Now a professor of voice at the Eastman School of Music, Mr. Griffey returned to New York for a …
Ying Quartet and PUSH Physical Theatre collide in unique show
(Democrat and Chronicle 03/29/2019)
Call it “PUSH-Ying” the boundaries of art forms.
Billed as Creative Collision, the physical theatre group PUSH — named for its mission of pushing the boundaries of conventional theatre — will share the stage with the Ying Quartet, Eastman School of Music’s Grammy-winning quartet-in-residence, at …
Eastman student Austin Keck beats out other percussionists for national performance
(RochesterFirst 03/28/2019)
An Eastman School of Music student is being recognized. Austin Keck is one of just 11 musicians selected nationwide for a major award. …
Coming up on Connections: Wednesday, March 27
(WXXI News 03/27/2019)
Then in our second hour, how can music be used to make social commentary? Wall Street Journal jazz critic Larry Blumenfeld is in Upstate New York to share his work with college students. His writing and research center on the intersection of jazz and social justice. He joins us for the hour to discuss a range of issues, including “jazz in troubled times.” Our guests: •Bob Sneider, associate professor of jazz studies and contemporary media at the Eastman School of Music (Also reported by WXXI News)
Another push for more arts in downtown Rochester
(City Newspaper 03/27/2019)
A coalition of local community leaders called Arts in the Loop hopes to help revitalize downtown Rochester through the arts. …
“We don’t want to define what this mission is,” says executive committee member James Doser, director of the Eastman School‘s Institute for Music Leadership. “We want to be the conduit to help articulate what this vision would be from our community. So it’s not us saying, This is what ought to happen. It’s us saying, Here are some things that have worked in other places.” The group wants feedback, Doser said, on what is considered unique in Rochester “and what might succeed here.” …
CLASSICAL | Ying Quartet with PUSH Physical Theatre
(City Newspaper 03/27/2019)
For two consecutive nights in Kilbourn Hall, the Ying Quartet will continue its collaboration with PUSH Physical Theatre. Dubbed “Creative Collision,” the program will include PUSH’s clever vignette about coffee called “Cup of…,” with music by 20th-century composers Erwin Schulhoff and Randall Thompson, and the poignant trio “Censored,” set to a movement from Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in D Major. PUSH’s co-Director Darren Stevenson says the program’s unifying theme is “The Eternal Rhythm” — “the dynamic tension between inhale and exhale, heroism and death.” The troupe’s movements combine the gravitas and gracefulness of ballet with the physicality of contemporary dance and acrobatics, while the Ying Quartet’s accompaniment gives the vivid choreography a rich and vibrant musical pulse.
(Rochester Business Journal 03/28/2019)
Miriam Fried, hailed as one of the world’s pre-eminent violinists, will be offering a master class through the Eastman School of Music. She has played with all of the big name orchestras in both the United States and Europe and currently teaches at the New England Conservatory. 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 30 in Ciminelli Formal Lounge. esm.rochester.edu
Project Fusion to play in Westerly
(The Westerly Sun 03/28/2019)
Project Fusion, a musical ensemble formed in 2010 by graduates of the Eastman School of Music, will perform Sunday, …
Project Fusion captured the gold medal at the 40th Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and first prize at the Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition, and was the first saxophone quartet to win the grand prize, as well as the Audience Choice Award, at the sixth Plowman International Chamber Music Competition. …
The Penfield Symphony Orchestra announced young artist competition winners
(Monroe County Post 03/27/2019)
Jonathan Runion earned second place. Runion is a senior at the Charles Finney School. He is a trumpet student in the studio of Wesley Nance. He is a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the ECMS Trumpet Ensemble and is a past member …
Noah Lee earned third place. Lee, 16, is a junior at The Harley School and plans to study pre-med and music in college. … Also a skilled violinist, Lee studies with Professor Renée Jolles at the Eastman Community Music School. …
(City Newspaper 03/27/2019)
After 19 years together and four CD’s to their credit, drummer Rich Thompson, trumpeter Clay Jenkins and bassist Jeff Campbell — known collectively as Trio East — are as musically tight as it gets. All are professors at the Eastman School of Music, but when they’re not professing, Thompson has played with the Count Basie Orchestra, Clark Terry, and others. Campbell has worked with Marian McPartland, Gene Bertoncini, and many more. After playing with Buddy Rich and others, Jenkins remains a vital member of the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. (Also reported by Rochester Business Journal)
Music prodigy to perform at Fairlawn Lutheran
(Akron Leader Publications 03/28/2019)
Daniel Colaner, a pianist and organist who debuted at Carnegie Hall in November 2017 when he was 12 years old, was first exposed to music to counter the effects of chemotherapy treatment for stage 4 neuroblastoma at age 6 months, according to his parents, Marie and Dan Colaner. …
His parents said Daniel now travels regularly to Rochester, New York, for lessons with David Higgs, of the Eastman School of Music, while continuing …
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