Eastman School of Music, of the University of Rochester, is proud to announce five new full-time faculty appointments for the 2024-25 academic year:
- David Bowlin, Professor of Violin
- Joseph Johnson, Associate Professor of Cello
- Landon Morrison, Assistant Professor of Music Theory
- Elizabeth Ogonek, Associate Professor of Composition
- Evis Sammoutis, Associate Professor of Composition
“As I approach the end of my tenure as the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean at Eastman I am pleased to welcome this exceptional group of individuals into the Eastman Community,” shares Dean Jamal Rossi. “Each of these individuals will bring to Eastman remarkable artistry and a passion for teaching. It is tremendously exciting to think about the contributions they will make to our students and our school for many years to come.”
Recognized for his “rich, alluring tone” and praised as “brilliant” (New York Times), violinist David Bowlin has led a wide-ranging career as a soloist and chamber musician performing an expansive repertoire. This fall he will join Eastman’s Strings, Harp & Guitar faculty as Professor of Violin.
Bowlin was first prize-winner of the Washington International Competition and has performed across the Americas, Europe and Asia. As a chamber musician, Bowlin is a member of the Oberlin Trio and the Bowlin-Cho Duo. He was a founding member of the highly acclaimed International Contemporary Ensemble and is a former member of the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players.
In addition to his performance profile, Bowlin is a dedicated teacher — for 17 years he served on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and has given many masterclasses throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Bowlin shares, “I am thrilled to join the Eastman School of Music’s string faculty this coming fall and to become part of the thriving tradition of outstanding string and chamber music teaching there. I’ve had the fortune of knowing and working with a number of the faculty members for years now, and it is a tremendous honor to be invited to join the department.”
Joseph Johnson ’95E, Principal Cellist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2009, has been appointed Associate Professor of Cello.
Johnson is “thrilled to be joining the faculty of the Eastman School of Music. This is a full-circle moment for me. As an alum of Eastman, this school holds a special place in my heart, and I am honored to be returning ‘home’ to where my career started.”
A gifted and inspiring teacher, Johnson is currently Assistant Professor of Cello at the University of Toronto and frequently spends time coaching and conducting masterclasses at other leading music institutions. He has been heard throughout the world as a soloist and chamber musician, as well. His festival appearances include performances in all classical genres at the American festivals of Santa Fe, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Bard, Cactus Pear, Grand Teton, and Music in the Vineyards as well as the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and the Virtuosi Festival in Brazil.
Landon Morrison is a music theorist who studies the role of technological mediation in 20th- and 21st-century sonic practices. He has been appointed Assistant Professor of Music Theory.
After completing a Ph.D. in Music Theory at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, Morrison began teaching at the Harvard University Department of Music. He spent the 2023-24 academic year at Imperial College London, working as part of a European Research Council grant. Recent publications have appeared in Archival Notes (2023), Kalfou (2022), SMT-Pod (2022), Music Theory Online (2021, 2015), Oxford Handbook of Time in Music (2021), Nuove Musiche (2018), and Circuit: musiques contemporaines (2019, 2018).
Morrison is now excited to move to Rochester and begin teaching at Eastman. “It is a dream come true to be joining the esteemed theory faculty at Eastman School of Music. I am excited to engage with Eastman’s thriving musical scene and grateful for the opportunity to teach students who I know will be top-notch, dedicated musicians. I also look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues and finding ways to forge connections between music studies and the wider world of sound-related research happening in departments across the University of Rochester.”
One of Eastman’s new associate professors of composition is internationally sought after composer Elizabeth Ogonek.
Ogonek exclaims that she “couldn’t be more honored and excited to join Eastman’s exceptional musical community. In the years to come, I look forward so much to working closely with esteemed colleagues to nurture the next generation of professional musicians.”
Ogonek’s music has been described as “shimmering,” “dramatic” and “painstakingly crafted” (Chicago Tribune). She has received chamber and orchestral music commissions from orchestras and institutions of the highest level, including the Boston and London Symphony Orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Fromm Foundation and the Harvard Musical Association, to name a few. She has also served as Composer-in-Residence of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lakes Area Music Festival, and others. Her work has been recognized by the ASCAP Foundation, the Royal Philharmonic Society, the Ohio Arts Council and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In recent years, Ogonek has held teaching positions at Oberlin Conservatory and Cornell University.
Also appointed associate professor of composition is multi-award-winning composer, Evis Sammoutis.
Sammoutis has received numerous international accolades throughout his career, including the Royal Philharmonic Society Award (UK) and the Irino Prize (Japan). His music has been commissioned and performed in more than 45 countries by leading festivals and organizations, including the Donaueschingen Festival, Venice Biennale, ARD Music Competition, Tanglewood, Gaudeamus and ISCM. His works have been performed by world-renowned ensembles and orchestras, such as the Arditti Quartet, Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, London Symphony Orchestra and Neue Vocalsolisten, and featured on international broadcasters, such as BBC, RAI and Radio France. Sammoutis also served as an elected member of the International Music Council Executive Board. Most recently, he was Associate Professor of Composition and Director of the Electronic Music Studios at Ithaca College.
“I am deeply honored to be joining the distinguished composition faculty at the Eastman School of Music this fall,” Sammoutis states. “I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues and engaging with the gifted composition students as they forge their own personal composition voice and style to make their mark on the world.”
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.