The concert season at Eastman School of Music kicks back into high gear after the holidays with an exciting line-up of guest artists and exciting performances by world-renowned Eastman faculty and talented students.
The famed Tokyo String Quartet presents an all-Beethoven program, featuring one work each from the composer’s early, middle, and late periods, on Sunday, Jan. 27, as part of the Eastman-Ranlet Series. The series also features Eastman’s own Ying Quartet, who just received a Grammy nomination for Best Chamber Music Performance, on Sunday, Feb. 17, and the young, award-winning Daedalus Quartet on Sunday, April 6.
Other series include the Kilbourn Concert Series, featuring the Musicians from Marlboro on Sunday, Feb. 24, cellist Pieter Wispelwey on Tuesday, March 18, and pianist Ingrid Fliter on Tuesday, April 8; and the World Music Series, with Ensemble East performing traditional and modern Japanese music on Thursday, Feb. 7; Ologundê celebrating Afro-Brazilian culture with a synthesis of religious ritual, music, and dance on Tuesday, March 25; and Eastman’s own Gamelan Lila Muni presenting its annual concert of Balinese percussion music on Tuesday, April 29.
For Eastman faculty, recitals in Kilbourn Hall are an important part of their touring schedules. Seventeen faculty recitals are scheduled throughout the winter and spring, ranging from solo to group recitals featuring voice, piano, violin, cello, viola, horn, trombone, clarinet, and percussion.
Eastman’s impressive vocal and instrumental student ensembles will be performing concerts with repertoires ranging from Early Music to jazz in both Kilbourn Hall and in the Eastman Theatre. Music lovers are rewarded with high-level, enthusiastic presentations by the talented student orchestras, wind and jazz ensembles, and choral and chamber groups that make Gibbs Street the place to be almost every night of the week. In addition, Eastman Opera Theatre follows up November’s sold-out production of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with another popular work: Franz Lehar’s effervescent operetta The Merry Widow, beloved by audiences for its sweeping waltzes and love duets.
The fourth annual Women in Music Festival at Eastman, which celebrates women involved in all aspect of music including composition, performance, teaching, and scholarship, will feature the premiere of a new work by composer-in-residence Nancy Van de Vate on March 24.
The University of Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery is home to the only full-size Italian Baroque organ in North America. Monthly showcase concerts feature guest artists and include a collaborative concert with Pegasus Early Music on Jan. 18 and 20, followed by solo recitals on Feb. 17, March 16, April 20, and May 18. Eastman students give a 25-minute presentation and recital every Sunday at 1 and 3 p.m.
A full listing of concerts and events can be found on the web by visiting Eastman’s homepage at www.esm.rochester.edu. All are open to the public, and many are free. Tickets for concerts that require paid admission, with the exception of tickets for the Faculty Artist Series and Memorial Art Gallery concerts, are available at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Box Office, 108 East Ave., (585) 454-2100, and online at www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts. The 24-hour MusicLine at (585) 274-1100 offers recorded information on concerts in the coming four-to-seven days. Information is also available by calling the Concert Office at (585) 274-1110 during business hours.
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