Here are some select recent clippings 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.)
The Hollywood Reporter Unveils the Top 25 Music Schools 2014
(The Hollywood Reporter 11/09/2014)
From L.A. to Nashville to Seoul, the Grammy, Emmy and Oscar winners of tomorrow are practicing in these notable institutions
- Eastman School of Music ROCHESTER, N.Y.
Students and the job market don’t always make beautiful music together, but a third of Eastman upperclassmen prepare for a paying career through the entrepreneurial Institute for Music Leadership. “As soon as I arrived, I went to work,” says Kathryn Lewek, ’08, who in 2013 debuted as the Queen of the Night in the Met’s The Magic Flute.
Notable alumni Ron Carter, Jeff Beal, Renee Fleming
The Ella Songbooks, Version 3: Connie Evingson and Jon Weber at the Jungle, November 9
(Jazz Police 11/04/2014)
Twin Cities vocalist Connie Evingson and New York-based pianist and honorary Twin Citian Jon Weber paired up during the 2012 Twin Cities Jazz Festival and on a Prairie Home Companion European cruise, where they cooked up the idea for a show for Connie’s Jazz at the Jungle series at the Jungle Theater in south Minneapolis.
Twin Cities vocalist Connie Evingson and New York-based pianist and honorary Twin Citian Jon Weber paired up during the 2012 Twin Cities Jazz Festival and on a Prairie Home Companion European cruise, where they cooked up the idea for a show for Connie’s Jazz at the Jungle series at the Jungle Theater in south Minneapolis.
Son of pianist Thelma and late Minnesota Orchestra bassist Cliff Johnson, and brother of guitarist Jimmy Johnson (founder of Flim and the BBs), Gordon Johnson grew up in the Twin Cities, surrounded by music. His first instrument was the piano, followed by flute, which he continued to study through college at the Eastman School of Music, where Chuck Mangione needed his services as a Fender bassist.
(Broadway World 10/30/2014)
The Italian Academy hosts the inaugural concert of *The Stefan Wolpe Fund featuring world premieres and works by Charles Wuorinen, Jonathan Dawe, Matthew Greenbaum and William Anderson on Thursday, October 30th at 8pm. Also on the program, a New York premiere for string sextet by Charles Wuorinen. Featured artists: JACK Quartet, pianist Steven Beck, Vox n Plux, violist Miranda Cuckson and cellist Jay Campbell. This concert was produced by Zaidee Parkinson and Alanna Maharajh Stone with gen
JACK Quartet – The JACK Quartet electrifies audiences worldwide with “explosive virtuosity” (Boston Globe) and “viscerally exciting performances” (New York Times). David Patrick Stearns (Philadelphia Inquirer) proclaimed their performance as being “among the most stimulating new-music concerts of my experience.”
The members of the quartet met while attending the Eastman School of Music and studied closely with the Arditti Quartet, Kronos Quartet, Muir String Quartet and members of the Ensemble Intercontemporain.
Internationally recognized pianist returns to TAIMU
(Laredo Morning Times 11/05/2014)
Internationally recognized pianist Anthony Tobin will return to Texas A&M International University as part of the Master Performers @TAMIU Series on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall.
Steinway artist, Tobin started touring in 1999 as a collaborative pianist for eurythmy, a movement form that attempts to shape musical notes, phrases and harmonies. He went on yearly, month-long tours, which involved 30 or more performances, made connections and became adept at playing under all circumstances.
He received a doctor of musical arts degree in piano from the University of Texas at Austin. His master of music was earned from the University of Southern California. He received a bachelor of music with distinction from the Eastman School of Music.
OPERA | Eastman Opera Theatre presents Albert Herring
(Rochester City Newspaper © 11/05/2014)
Beginning Thursday, November 6, the Eastman Opera Theatre will present “Albert Herring,” a comedic opera about an innocent young British man who sets out to lose his virginity immediately after being crowned May King. Written by famed writer Benjamin Britten, “Albert Herring” is a witty satire of British small-town attitudes that explores themes of societal marginalization. Assistant Professor of Opera at Eastman, and Stage Director for the production Stephen Carr notes that one of the most distinctive elements of Albert Herring is its “tight character development,” bringing a realism to the characters that audiences will immediately connect with. “Albert Herring” features two alternating casts of lead roles, with Steven Humes and Nathaniel McEwan starring as the titular character.
“Albert Herring” will run Thursday, November 6, through Sunday, November 9, at Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music, 26 Gibbs Street. 7:30 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday; and 2 p.m. on Sunday. (Also reported by Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)
ABAC Virtuoso Series will feature pianist on November 13
(The Moultrie Observer 11/08/2014)
Dr. Benjamin Warsaw will be featured on the piano as the second performer in the Virtuoso Chamber Music Series at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. in Howard Auditorium.
A native of Atlanta, Warsaw received his bachelors and masters degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. In 2011 he completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at Boston University. Upon completion of his doctorate, Warsaw returned to Atlanta and taught at Georgia Perimeter College. In 2013, he accepted a position as assistant professor of music at Armstrong State University in Savannah, where he is chair of the piano department and teaches piano, theory, and other piano related courses. He is president-elect of the Savannah Music Teachers Association and a member of the Music Teachers National Association.
CLASSICAL | RPO performs Brahms, Rachmaninoff, and Kodaly
(Rochester City Newspaper © 11/05/2014)
This week, Christoph Konig will guest conduct the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra through a program of Brahms’s Third Symphony, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 composed when Rachmaninoff was only 18 and Kodaly’s “Dances of Galanta.” Brahms’s Third Symphony will most-likely be familiar to listeners for its soulful, sweeping melodies especially its third movement, which has been used on TV, in film, and borrowed by Frank Sinatra for his song “Take My Love.” Eastman School of Music professor Douglas Humpherys will be featured during the orchestra’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s first of his four piano concertos. (Also reported by Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)
Classical pianist to perform at historic food, music pairing
(Wayne Independent 11/04/2014)
A native of Rochester, Cristina Dinella resides in Binghamton, NY where she is Director of Bands at Hancock Central School and Organist/Choir Director at All Saints Church in Johnson City. Recent engagements include musical director for “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” at Endicott Performing Arts Center, and composer/arranger/music director and pianist for Galumpha Gang’s 2014 dance show at Binghamton University.
Cristina has served as an accompanist for Eastman Community Music School, pianist at Holy Ghost Church, and Piano Teacher at American Music Center. Cristina has performed in Eastman’s annual Women in Music Festival, the Eastman at Washington Square Series, and the George Eastman House. Cristina completed her Bachelor of Music at the Eastman School of Music in 2013 as a recipient of the Howard Hanson Scholarship.
NMB Fall concert celebrates significant anniversaries
(Positively Naperville 11/04/2014)
The Naperville Municipal Band’s Fall Concert titled “Anniversaries” will be held at 3PM Sun., Nov. 9, at Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave. Admission is free.
Bassoonist Peter Kolkay returns to his hometown and will play two bassoon solos.
Today, Kolkay is called “stunningly virtuosic” by The New York Times and “superb” by The Washington Post. He claimed first prize at the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in 2002 and was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2004. He is an Artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and a member of the IRIS Orchestra in Germantown, Tenn. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., a master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music and a doctorate from Yale University. He is associate professor of bassoon at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University.
St. Thomas Names New Music Director
(Valley News 11/07/2014)
St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover has a new music director.
Diane Meredith Belcher, a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music, has 30 years of experience in sacred music. She served in churches in Philadelphia, Boston, Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y., Baltimore and Memphis.