The annual degree ceremony for Eastman School of Music bachelor’s and master’s degree students will take place on Saturday, May 14th, with the procession at 8:45 a.m. and the ceremony at 9 a.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. The Saturday ceremony is for students receiving their Bachelor of Music, Master of Arts, and Master of Music degree. The ceremony for students receiving a Doctor of Musical Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degree will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 13, in Kodak Hall. The University wide Commencement Ceremony will take place the day before on Friday, May 13, at 11 a.m. in Fauver Stadium at the Brian F. Prince Athletic Complex on the River Campus, including the first ever performance by the Eastman Wind Ensemble at the University Commencement Ceremony.
Kevin Puts (BM ’94, DMA ’99) will be this year’s Commencement Speaker on May 14th. Puts has established himself as one of America’s leading composers, gaining international acclaim for his “plush, propulsive” music (The New York Times), and described by Opera News as “a master polystylist.” Puts will also receive a Distinguished Alumni Award, at the ceremony.
“It is a tremendous honor to have been given this opportunity to speak to the class of 2022 at its Commencement ceremony,” says Kevin Puts. “My years at the Eastman School were the most formative in my life, and I would not be the musician and human being I am today without the quality and integrity of the education I received there.”
Lance Reddick, who studied composition at Eastman, will accept an award at Eastman’s ceremony. This year’s student address will be given by Students’ Association President, Raffi Wright, and President of Graduate Studies Association, Elise Noyes, with music performed by the Eastman Trombone Choir.
For a full listing of commencement details across the University of Rochester, please visit: https://www.rochester.edu/commencement/
Livestream for Eastman’s degree ceremony: https://www.esm.rochester.edu/live/
The three-semester-long Eastman Centennial celebration began in Fall 2021 and continues throughout 2022. Highlights include acclaimed guest artists performing alongside Eastman’s ensembles; national academic and music conferences; alumni events throughout the country; “100 concerts to celebrate 100 years”; a documentary being produced in partnership with WXXI, and more.
For up-to-date information on the Eastman Centennial, including feature stories, future events, videos, testimonials, ways to engage, and more, please visit our Centennial website at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/100.
Media Only: Katey Padden, Public Relations and Social Media Specialist, (585)451-8492, kpadden@esm.rochester.edu
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About Kevin Puts
Kevin Puts (BM ’94, DMA ’99) will be this year’s Commencement Speaker on May 14th. Puts has established himself as one of America’s leading composers, gaining international acclaim for his “plush, propulsive” music (The New York Times), and described by Opera News as “a master polystylist.” He has been commissioned and performed by leading organizations around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, Opera Philadelphia, Minnesota Opera, and many more, and has collaborated with world-class artists such as Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Marin Alsop, among others.
In March 2022 Puts’ fourth opera, The Hours had its world premiere on the concert stage by the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin and was hailed as a “historic event … with a lush orchestration that hits you in the solar plexus.” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). The Hours premiers as a fully staged production at the Metropolitan Opera in November 2022 starring sopranos Renée Fleming, Kelli O’Hara and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. Other highlights of 2022 include the west-coast premiere of The Brightness of Light featuring Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra. His triple concerto Contact had its world-premiere in March 2022 with the Florida Orchestra and will receive additional performances in summer with the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Sun Valley Symphony. A recording of the piece by the Philadelphia Orchestra will be released on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
Puts’ breakthrough opera Silent Night – for which he was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize following its 2011 premiere by Minnesota Opera – has been heralded as “remarkable” (The New York Times) and “stunning” (Twin Cities Examiner). In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Mr. Puts has received numerous honors and awards for composition. Since 2006, he has been a member of the Composition Faculty at the Peabody Institute, and currently is the Director of the Minnesota Orchestra Composer’s Institute.
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.
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. Additionally, more than 1,700 members of the Rochester community, from young children through senior citizens, are enrolled in the Eastman Community Music School.
About the University of Rochester:
The University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading private research universities, one of only 62-member institutions in the Association of American Universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives undergraduates exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery.