The Faculty Artist Series, along with the Rochester Celebrity Organ Recital Series presents organist Edoardo Bellotti, Associate Professor of Organ, Harpsichord and Improvisation, Friday, February 2, at 7:30 p.m., at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 296 Flower City Park. The program is entitled “From Christmas to Easter: An Organ Meditation for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord”. It will include works of Francois Couperin, Dieterich Buxtehude, Bach, Mendelssohn, Eduardo Torres, Charles Tournemire, and Hans-Ola Ericsson.
A virtuoso organist and renowned improviser, Bellotti performs at leading festivals and concert venues throughout the world, including new organ music and visual art in Milan, in conjunction with the art installation of the American minimalist Dan Flavin. He has performed the complete works of Cesar Franck, and has worked with orchestras in Italy and abroad, performing a wide spectrum of repertoire, including the Italian premiere of Satyagraha by Philip Glass. He is also considered a leading expert in the performance of renaissance and baroque keyboard music.
Edoardo Bellotti has extensive teaching experience including the Conservatory of Trossingen and the University of Bremen in Germany, the University of Udine, and the Conservatory of Trento in Italy.
Bellotti combines his international performing career with musicological research and teaching, publishing articles as well as new critical editions of music of the 17th and 18th centuries. He is a frequent guest lecturer at international conferences. He has made several critically acclaimed recordings on historical instruments, including Promenade (Loft Recordings), a recording of organ repertoire and original improvisations on the Eastman School of Music’s Italian baroque organ at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester.
The Rochester Celebrity Organ Recital Series (RCORS) is administered by the Rochester AGO Chapter, collaborating with the Eastman School of Music, WXXI, and several local churches. The twofold aim of RCORS entails engaging the artist in a public recital as well as in a pedagogical setting. Eastman organ students have the opportunity to interact directly with the visiting organist in a masterclass in which players typically choose repertoire geared towards the artist’s specialty or area of expertise. Though intended for participation by Eastman organ students, Rochester AGO Chapter members and the general public are welcome and encouraged to attend these masterclasses for an enhanced weekend of pipe organ discovery.
Tickets to RCORS concerts may be purchased at the door, one hour prior to the performance. Cash or check only, please. Tickets: $12 regular/ $10 Senior and AGO member /$5 students
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About Eastman School of Music:
The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training. The current dean is Jamal Rossi, appointed in 2014.
About 900 students are enrolled in Eastman’s Collegiate Division– about 500 undergraduate and 400 graduate students. Students come from almost every state, and approximately 20 percent are from other countries. They are guided by more than 95 full-time faculty members. Six alumni and three faculty members have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music, as have numerous GRAMMYÒ Awards. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 700 concerts to the Rochester community.