The Faculty Artist Series presents violist Masumi Per Rostad, Associate Professor of Viola, on Friday, January 24th at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music. This performance features pianist Alexander Kobrin and clarinetist Michael Wayne with music from Schumann, Enescu, and Reger.
Masumi Per Rostad, a faculty member in Eastman’s Strings, Harp and Guitar Department, has forged a career as a soloist and as a member of the Pacifica Quartet for almost two decades(2001-2017), which has received a GRAMMY® for Best Chamber Music Performance and was named Musical America’s Ensemble of the Year. Rostad has received praise for his rich and expressive tone, energy, and commanding presence, and has been described by critics as an “electrifying, poetic and sensitive musician.” In addition to performing and teaching, Rostad is an author who advocates for the arts and contributes to online and print publications.
Along with his position as professor of viola and chamber music at Eastman, Rostad has served on the faculties of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University. As a member of the Pacifica Quartet Masumi regularly performed in the world’s greatest halls including Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Sydney’s City Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Munich’s Herkuleshaal, Paris’ Louvre and Cité de la Musique, and Berlin’s Konzerthaus among many others. Masumi is an ardent advocate for the arts and is often sought after as a contributing writer to such publications as the Huffington Post, Strings and Gramophone magazines as well as The Guardian.
Passionate about breaking down barriers that prevent people from enjoying Classical music, Masumi was the founder of DoCha, a chamber music festival in Champaign, Illinois that produced innovative events with a focus on engaging new audiences through fun and inventive programming. Masumi has served on the faculties of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, The University of Chicago, Longy School of Music, and Northwestern University. He received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School. There, he studied with legendary violist and pedagogue Karen Tuttle from the age of 17 and was made her teaching assistant just three years later at the age of 20. For more on Masumi Rostad visit: http://masumirostad.com/
Called the “Van Cliburn of today” by the BBC, pianist Alexander Kobrin has placed himself at the forefront of today’s performing musicians. Alexander Kobrin has won top prizes in international piano competitions, including the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, First Prize in the Busoni and Scottish competitions, and Top Prize at the Hamamatsu competition. His prize-winning performances have been praised for their brilliant technique, musicality, and emotional engagement with the audience. The New York Times has written that Kobrin was a “fastidious guide” to Schumann’s “otherworldly visions, pointing out hunters, flowers, haunted corners and friendly bowers, all captured in richly characterized vignettes.” After Kobrin’s performance of Second Piano Concerto by Johannes Brahms with the Syracuse Symphony in Syracuse, NY, a critic wrote: “This was a performance that will be revered and remembered as a landmark of the regeneration of exceptional classical music in Central New York.”
In addition to his acclaimed performances, Kobrin has served on the faculties of the Gnessin Academy of Music and New York University’s Steinhardt School, and held the L. Rexford Whiddon Distinguished Chair in Piano at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Georgia. He has given master classes in Europe and Asia and has been a jury member for many international piano competitions, including the Busoni, Blüthner, Neuhaus, and the “Prix Animato.” After joining the Eastman faculty in the fall of 2017, Kobrin continues to perform, mainly as a soloist and chamber musician.
Clarinetist Michael Wayne has been a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops clarinet section since 2008. Prior to joining the BSO, Mr. Wayne was Principal Clarinet of the Kansas City Symphony and a member of the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra. He is on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music, Tanglewood Music Center, and has been a visiting professor at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Annual teaching engagements include the New World Symphony and Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI). Masterclass appearances include the University of Southern California, Manhattan School of Music, University of Michigan, University of Southern California, and the Royal Danish Academy of Music.
Mr. Wayne made his Carnegie Hall solo debut with the world premiere of Michael Daugherty’s clarinet concerto, Brooklyn Bridge, and subsequently recorded it for Equilibrium Records. Other recording projects include the multi Grammy Award winning Shostakovich Symphony cycle with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, recorded on Duetche Gammophone. Mr. Wayne can be seen in numerous PBS Great Performances specials with the Boston Symphony and Pops, recorded at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood. Festival performances include Verbier, Music Academy of the West, National Orchestral Institute, Colorado Music Festival, and Hot Springs Music Festival. Mr. Wayne has been the recipient of the Paul Boylan Award (University of Michigan), Whitaker Advanced Study Grant (Music Academy of the West), Earl V. Moore Award (University of Michigan), and a Fine Arts Award (Interlochen). Mr. Wayne holds degrees from the Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Michigan, where his principal teachers were Richard Hawkins and Fred Ormand.
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 and University of Rochester ID holders. 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 J. Rossi, appointed in 2014.
More than 900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate Division of the Eastman School of Music—about 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 23 percent are from other countries. They are taught by a faculty comprised of more than 130 highly regarded performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. They are Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, Emmy Winners, Guggenheim Fellows, ASCAP Award recipients, published authors, recording artists, and acclaimed musicians who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 900 concerts to the Rochester community.