Media Only: Katey Padden, Public Relations and Social Media Coordinator, (585)451-8492, kpadden@esm.rochester.edu
The CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival is back! Eastman School of Music (ESM) musicians — current students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as students and faculty from the Eastman Community Music School (ECMS) — will be appearing throughout the 2022 CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival (RIJF).
This year’s festival runs June 17 through 25 with 325 shows including a record 130 free shows, over 1750 artists, and 19 venues, including Eastman School of Music’s Hatch Recital Hall, Kilbourn Hall, and the Ray Wright Room. Most of the other locations are within a short walking distance of the school’s campus on Gibbs Street, which is renamed “Jazz Street” during the event. Eastman has been involved in the festival since it was founded in 2002.
In addition to paid and free performances, the RIJF Jazz Workshops series hosted by Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media and ECMS Senior Instructor of Jazz Guitar, Bob Sneider, runs all week from Monday, June 20 to Friday, June 24. This series of five structured jazz workshops is open to music students of all ages, providing the opportunity to play and meet, listen and learn from five professional jazz musicians performing at the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival.
This year’s 2022 RIJF Scholarship recipient is Eastman student Dan Atkinson, a trombone student of Mark Kellogg. Dan will perform on the City of Rochester Jazz Street stage in a free performance on Monday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m.
For detailed information on tickets and venue locations, visit the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival website www.rochesterjazz.com
Jazz fans will be able to catch Eastman musicians throughout the festival and on different stages:
Friday, June 17
- 5 p.m. Free Headliner Series- City of Rochester Midtown Stage at Parcel 5: Dave Rivello Ensemble led by Dave Rivello ’89E (MM), Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media
- 5:45 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. in Hatch Recital Hall: Harold Danko, Professor Emeritus of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media
- 6 p.m. City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage (free): Eastman Youth Jazz Orchestra with Herb Smith ‘91E
- 10:30 p.m. Squeezers Jam Sessions at the Hyatt Regency Rochester: Jam Session Led by Karl Stabnau ‘11E, ‘13E (MM)
Saturday, June 18
- 5:45 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. in Hatch Recital Hall: Associate Professor of Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media, Piano, Gary Versace ‘93E (MM) with bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Rudy Royston.
- 6 p.m. City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage (free): ECMS Jazz Combos with Bob Sneider
- 10:30 p.m. Squeezers Jam Sessions at the Hyatt Regency Rochester: Jam Session Led by Karl Stabnau ‘11E, ‘13E (MM)
Sunday, June 19
- 5 p.m. City of Rochester Midtown Stage at Parcel 5: RIJF ALL STARS featuring Bob Sneider, Mike Kaupa and Rich Thompson
- 6 p.m. City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage (free): ESM Jazz Honors Unit 1 with Wade McClung
- 10:30 p.m. Squeezers Jam Sessions at the Hyatt Regency Rochester: Jam Session Led by Bob Sneider
- 6:15 p.m. and 10 p.m. Max of Eastman Place: ECMS Jazz Drumset Instructor Mike Melito performs with Michael Weiss
Monday, June 20
- 6 p.m. City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage (free): ESM Jazz Honors Unit 2 with John Hassleback
- 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage (free): ESM-RIJF Jazz Scholarships Performance with ESM Jazz students and faculty featuring 2022 RIJF scholarship recipient Dan Atkinson, who is a trombone student of Eastman’s Mark Kellogg
- 10:30 p.m. Squeezers Jam Sessions at the Hyatt Regency Rochester: Jam Session Led by Bob Sneider
Tuesday, June 21
- 6 p.m. City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage (free): ECMS’s New Horizons Big Band Directed by Priscilla Todd Brown
- 6:15 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Max of Eastman Place: Nabate Isles ‘99E
- 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at the Glory House International Stage: Oskar Stenmark Trio featuring Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media, Jeff Campbell
- 10:30 p.m. Squeezers Jam Sessions at the Hyatt Regency Rochester: Jam Session Led by Bob Sneider
Wednesday, June 22
- 1 p.m. Eastman School of Music Ray Wright Room (26 Gibbs St. Room 120 – 1st Floor): Free Jazz Workshop with Bob Sneider (guitar)
- 6 p.m. City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage (free): ECMS’s New Horizons Jazz Ensemble Directed by Don Sherman
- 10:30 p.m. Squeezers Jam Sessions at the Hyatt Regency Rochester: Jam Session Led by Bob Sneider
Thursday, June 23
- 6 p.m. City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage (free): ESM Wednesday & Saturday Jazz Combos
- 10:30 p.m. Squeezers Jam Sessions at the Hyatt Regency Rochester: Jam Session Led by Bob Sneider
Friday, June 24
- 12 p.m. Rochester Public Library: ECMS Faculty member Mike Melito with ECMS alum Elliot Scorzarro, saxophone
- 6 p.m. City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage (free): ECMS Jazz Alumni Band led by ESM students Robert Varon and Ben Sneider
- 10:30 p.m. Squeezers Jam Sessions at the Hyatt Regency Rochester: Jam Session Led by Karl Stabnau ‘11E, ‘13E (MM)
Saturday, June 25
- 6 p.m. City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage (free): ESM Jazz Honors Unit 3 with Gavin Grey
- 10:30 p.m. Squeezers Jam Sessions at the Hyatt Regency Rochester: Jam Session Led by Karl Stabnau ‘11E, ‘13E (MM)
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About the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival
The CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival is one of the world’s leading jazz festivals. Held annually in Rochester, NY, more than 200,000 music fans attend the nine-day festival, which presents 330+ shows at 20 venues with more than 1750 artists from around the world. the festival was founded in 2002 and is produced by RIJF, LLC, a privately held company owned by John Nugent and Marc Iacona. 2022 will mark the festival’s 19th Edition. The 2020 and 2021 Festivals could not be held due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
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; 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.
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.