From the first public concerts on a unique new pipe organ to the presentation of an honorary degree to jazz legend Dave Brubeck, the Eastman School of Music will celebrate the creativity, innovation, scholarship, and lifelong learning that occur within its classrooms and performance halls during Eastman Weekend.
Eastman Weekend combines traditional events such as class reunions and family weekend with lectures, discussions, musical events, and presentations geared to the School’s community. The four-day celebration is being held at the same time as the University of Rochester’s Meliora Weekend, Oct. 16 to 19.
Among the highlights is a series of concerts marking the public debut of the Craighead-Saunders Organ, the result of an international collaborative project as part of the school’s Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI). The seventh annual EROI Festival is being held in conjunction with Eastman Weekend and offers the public several opportunities to hear the organ during the inaugural concerts.
Brubeck, who has been designated a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress, will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Music from the University of Rochester at the start of a concert by the Eastman Wind Ensemble and Eastman Philharmonia at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18. The concert event is free and open to the public. Brubeck, famous for his innovative time signatures, counterpoint, and polyrhythm, has earned numerous national and international honors for his musical contributions over a six-decade career.
Other special guests for Eastman Weekend are renowned composers Charles Strouse, an Eastman alumnus who has written the scores for four films and more than 30 stage musicals, including Bye Bye Birdie, Annie, and Applause; and Samuel Adler, a former faculty member whose more than 300 works include four operas, six symphonies, and a ballet.
The listings for public concerts and events during Eastman Weekend are:
Oct. 17, at 1 p.m., Craighead-Saunders Organ recital
Featuring Eastman alumni Roberta Gary, professor of organ and head of the keyboard division at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, and Larry Smith, professor and chair of the organ department at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.
Christ Church, 141 East Ave.
Tickets: $15 ($12 for UR faculty and staff with ID; $10 for full-time students with ID). Available at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra box office, 108 East Ave., 585-454-2100, or online at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts/tickets.php. Any unsold seats go on sale one hour before concert time, cash or checks only.
Oct. 17, at 2:30 p.m., “The Bach Expedition: New Biographical and Musical Discoveries.”
Musicologist and Bach expert Christoph Wolff presents the 2008 Glenn E. Watkins Lecture
Christ Church, 141 East Ave.
Free and open to the public
Oct. 17, at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m., Craighead Saunders Organ Gala Concert
Cantatas of J.S. Bach. Recital with the Christ Church Schola Cantorum and members of the Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble, under the direction of Paul O’Dette.
Christ Church, 141 East Ave.
Tickets: $30 ($25 for UR faculty and staff with ID; $20 for full-time students with ID). Available at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra box office, 108 East Ave., 585-454-2100, or online at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts/tickets.php. Any unsold seats go on sale one hour before concert time, cash or checks only.
Oct. 18, at 1 p.m., Craighead-Saunders Organ recital
Featuring Eastman School of Music faculty David Higgs, Hans Davidsson, and William Porter.
Christ Church, 141 East Ave.
Tickets: $15 ($12 for UR faculty and staff with ID; $10 for full-time students with ID). Available at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra box office, 108 East Ave., 585-454-2100, or online at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts/tickets.php. Any unsold seats go on sale one hour before concert time, cash or checks only.
Oct. 18, at 8 p.m., Eastman Wind Ensemble and Philharmonia Concert and Dave Brubeck Honorary Degree Presentation
Mark Davis Scatterday conducts the Eastman Wind Ensemble performance of “New York CityScape” by Jeff Tyzik and Michael Burritt’s “Duo Concertante.” Soloists are Kenneth Grant, clarinet, and Michael Burritt, percussion. Neil Varon conducts the Philharmonia in Holst’s “The Planets.”
At the start of the concert, legendary jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck receives an honorary degree from the University of Rochester.
Eastman Theatre, 60 Gibbs St.
Free
Oct. 18, at 8:30 p.m., Craighead-Saunders Organ recital
Harald Vogel, a leading authority on the interpretation of German organ music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
Christ Church, 141 East Ave.
Tickets: $15 ($12 for UR faculty and staff with ID; $10 for full-time students with ID). Available at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra box office, 108 East Ave., 585-454-2100, or online at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts/tickets.php. Any unsold seats go on sale one hour before concert time, cash or checks only.
Oct. 19, at Noon, and 1, 2, 3, and 4 p.m., Organ Spectacular: World’s Largest Organ Concert
In conjunction with an international celebration by the American Guild of Organists. Mini-recitals by Ulrika Davidsson, Eastman School of Music students.
Fountain Court, Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Ave.
Free with Gallery admission
Information about Eastman Weekend is online at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/iml/alumni/weekend/.
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