The Faculty Artist Series presents pianist Alison d’Amato, Thursday, February 8, at 8 p.m., in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music. The program includes: Schumann: Liederkreis, Op. 24 with Robert Swensen, tenor; Schumann: Myrthen, Op. 25; special project with juniors and seniors from Eastman’s voice studios.
Pianist Dr. Alison d’Amato, Assistant Professor of Vocal Coaching at the Eastman School of Music, is a dynamic and versatile musician, committed to performing and teaching in the full spectrum of collaborative musical genres. A valued member of several pioneering organizations, she is Artistic Co-Director of Florestan Recital Project (www.florestanproject.org) and co-founder of the Vancouver International Song Institute. Among her current initiatives is the Academy for Collaborative Performance, a new summer program with Florestan Recital Project that explores interdisciplinary collaborations and new approaches to the performer-audience relationship. In all these activities, Alison is dedicated to energizing the relationships and communication inherent in music.
As both a pianist and teacher, Alison has developed several projects that explore interdisciplinary collaborations among artists, including projects with musicologists, composers, writers, and dancers. In 2011, she co-created the Art Song Lab, a partnership between VISI and the Canadian Music Centre which presents new works in collaboration with composers, poets, and audiences. From 2007-2010 she coordinated Florestan Recital Project’s position of Musical-Artists-in-Residence at Dickinson College, which included a wide variety of concerts and classroom activities that engaged the entire college community in the richness of song repertoire. In 2011, she was part of a collaboration between Florestan and Maine State Ballet, presenting “The Poet’s Love,” a highly-acclaimed original presentation of Schumann’s Dichterliebe with choreography.
Alison received the Grace B. Jackson Prize from Tanglewood Music Center in 2002 acknowledging her ‘extraordinary commitment of talent and energy.’ Alison attended Oberlin College and Conservatory, and earned a double Master of Music degree in solo and collaborative piano from Cleveland Institute of Music. In May 2007, she received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from New England Conservatory of Music. In 2011, she joined the faculty at Eastman School of Music as Assistant Professor of Vocal Coaching.
The Faculty Artist Series is generously supported by Patricia Ward-Baker.
Tickets for Eastman’s Faculty Artist Series are $10 for the general public and free to current Season Subscribers. Tickets can be purchased at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main St.; by phone (585) 274-3000; or online at http://eastmantheatre.org
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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.