ROCHESTER, NY — Spring graduation ceremonies may pale in comparison to an upcoming performance opportunity for three select Eastman School of Music students who will represent the School in The Conservatory Project — an exciting new initiative through the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Chosen as a founding participant, Eastman leads off the premiere festival on Monday, May 24, with its own concert at the Center’s Terrace Theater in Washington, D.C.
As one of only eight music schools to participate in the project, Eastman will showcase the talents of soprano Heather Davis (a senior from the studio of Carol Webber); pianist Jeremy Samolesky (a double doctoral student in piano performance with Barry Snyder, and in accompanying and chamber music with Jean Barr); and hornist Julie Fagan (a senior from the studio of Peter Kurau, and a Performer’s Certificate recipient). Their hour-long program features works by Francis Poulenc, Frederic Rzewski, Franz Schubert, and Eastman Professor Emeritus Verne Reynolds.
“All three students have distinguished themselves as first-rate young artists,” said Eastman Dean and Director James Undercofler. “They already have shown the musicianship and the maturity that it takes to succeed in a competitive musical world, and their talents exemplify Eastman’s level of artistry.”
Representing Eastman, Fagan and Samolesky will perform Reynolds’ Partita for Horn and Piano. (Verne Reynolds was professor of horn at Eastman from 1959 to 1995 and was a founding member of Eastman Brass.) Davis and Samolesky then perform five songs by Poulenc followed by Samolesky performing two solo piano works — North American Ballads 1 and 2 — by Rzewski. To conclude the concert, all three performers take the stage in Schubert’s Auf dem Strom, a stirring piece for soprano, horn, and piano.
The Conservatory Project’s premiere festival takes place from May 24 -31, and will feature eight concerts of classical music, jazz, and opera programming. Each institution selects its own performers and programming on its own evening. The project’s format is designed to distinguish each institution by allowing them to select and feature talented students who are ready for the exposure and experience this performance opportunity provides. This model also permits schools to design a themed, cohesive program that ties together two or three repertory pieces and demonstrates each school’s specific musical values.
The Eastman School of Music educates talented musicians from around the world who become leaders and innovators in all fields of music. Established in 1921 by Eastman Kodak Company founder and visionary George Eastman, the School — part of the University of Rochester (NY) — has achieved international prominence through its enduring commitment to the highest standards of artistry, scholarship, and leadership. More than 800 students are enrolled in the collegiate division of the Eastman School — about 500 undergraduate students and 325 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 20% are from other countries. Each year, about 260 new students enroll, selected from more than 1,400 applications. They are guided by a renowned faculty, which includes more than 90 full-time, resident members. Seven Pulitzer Prize winners have taught or studied at Eastman, as have several Grammy Award- and other major prize winners.
The other schools involved in The Conservatory Project are: Berklee College of Music; the Curtis Institute of Music; the Juilliard School; the Peabody Conservatory of Music; the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; the School of Music at Indiana University; and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. After this initial series, the project will continue to present bi-annual festivals each fall and spring, adding seven additional schools to the project.
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