The Eastman School of Music is delighted to share that the Eastman Wind Orchestra (EWO) has been invited to perform at the 2024 Eastern Division Conference of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), held this coming February at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. CBDNA is a community of artists, educators and leaders who are devoted to the teaching, performance, study and cultivation of music—focusing on the wind band/ensemble medium.
The Eastman Wind Orchestra with conductor Mark Scatterday (click to view full size image)
“We are excited to have the Eastman Wind Orchestra perform at CBDNA and share with my colleagues, from the Eastern Division, the depth and scope of the Eastman Wind Ensemble program,” shares conductor Mark Scatterday. “The Eastman Wind Ensemble has performed nationally and internationally for 70 years but this concert by the EWO sets out to provide insight into the developmental process of the entire Eastman winds, brass and percussion large ensemble system. It will also be great to be back at Cornell University and Bailey Hall, where I have many fond performing and teaching memories from 1989-2002.”
The EWO was established in 1975 when Donald Hunsberger converted the Eastman Symphony Band into a one-player-per-part model, mirroring the Eastman Wind Ensemble. Comprised mainly of first- and second-year woodwind, brass and percussion students, this group is one of Eastman’s first components in the large ensemble rotation system. The EWO was selected via a “blind audition” process through live recordings that were submitted to a panel of listeners last spring—which included professors and conductors at surrounding institutions.
Bailey Hall at Cornell University. PC: Mitchell Giurgola
“The Eastman School of Music is honored to present the Eastman Wind Orchestra at the 2024 Eastern Division Conference of the College Band Directors National Association,” states Dean Jamal Rossi. “The EWO, together with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, has been at the forefront of Eastman’s leadership in the American wind ensemble tradition. As an Ithaca College alum myself, it is especially gratifying to have the EWO perform at this division conference.”
Additional ensembles invited to perform at the conference include those from Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Westminster College, Pennsylvania State University, Montclair State University and the University of Delaware.
The EWO actively participates in commissioning new works, giving world premieres, and regularly performing with community and public school ensembles throughout the Rochester region. They recently gave a shared concert with the ECMS Music Educators Wind Ensemble in November and will perform with the Perinton Concert Band this month.
On Friday, February 23, 2024, the EWO will perform their conference program at 7:30 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, featuring music by composers Karel Husa, Bruce Yurko, Sally Lamb McCune, Steven Stucky and Roberto Sierra. The selected repertoire highlights professional and artistic connections between Ithaca College, Cornell University and the Eastman School of Music. They will repeat this program at the close of the Eastern Division Conference on Saturday, February 24, at 5:00 p.m. in Cornell’s distinguished Bailey Hall. Both performances are free and open to the public.
Media only: Lauren Sageer, Assistant Director of Public Relations and Digital Content,
(585) 451-8492, lsageer@esm.rochester.edu
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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.
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.