The annual graduation ceremony for Eastman School of Music students receiving their Bachelor of Music, Master of Arts and Master of Music degrees will take place on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre.
Maria Schneider ’85E (MM) will be this year’s graduation ceremony speaker and the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Music degree at the University Commencement. Schneider has won seven GRAMMY Awards in jazz and classical categories and was nominated for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music. In 2019 she was deemed an “NEA Jazz Master,” the nation’s highest honor in jazz, and was inducted into the 2020 American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the 2023 American Academy of Arts and Letters. Schneider was also the recipient of an Eastman School of Music Centennial Award, created to recognize 100 individuals who exemplify Eastman’s mission and legacy through their commitment to artistry, scholarship, leadership, community engagement and/or philanthropy. Among her many accomplishments as a performer, she is a fierce advocate for musicians’ rights in the digital age.
Schneider speaks fondly of her time as a student: “My years at Eastman marked a profound transformation in my life. The gratitude I feel for the invaluable experiences, knowledge and sheer inspiration I found there is immense. So, to now receive an honorary doctorate from this same esteemed place that I’ll always look back on with love, is very humbling. This is an honor I’d never have imagined.”
“Exactly forty years ago, I remember making the scary leap from Eastman into a world of unknowns. Surely, many of this year’s graduates feel similar insecurities,” Schneider continues. “As this year’s graduation speaker, I hope to help them transform some of their worries and doubts into excitement for all that lies ahead. I hope to give them confidence in the transformative power they possess to lift and even heal our weary world.”
This year’s student addresses will be given by Kayla Sconiers ’24E and Rey Sunglao ’24E (MM), with music performed by the Eastman Trombone Choir.
The University-wide Commencement Ceremony will take place on Friday, May 17, at 9:00 a.m. in Fauver Stadium at the Brian F. Prince Athletic Complex on the River Campus, featuring a performance by the Eastman Wind Ensemble under the direction of Mark Scatterday. Also on May 17, all University of Rochester students receiving a Doctor of Musical Arts or Doctor of Philosophy degree will have a graduation ceremony in Kodak Hall at 2:00 p.m.
For a detailed listing of commencement weekend activities, please visit University of Rochester’s commencement website. Eastman’s degree ceremony will be livestreamed here.
The featured image of Maria Schneider was captured by Briene Lermitte.
Media only: Lauren Sageer, Assistant Director of Public Relations and Digital Content,
(585) 451-8492, lsageer@esm.rochester.edu
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About Maria Schneider:
Maria Schneider’s music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, imaginative, revelatory, riveting, daring, and beyond categorization.” Blurring the lines between genres, her varied commissioners stretch from Jazz at Lincoln Center to The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, to the American Dance Festival, and include collaboration with David Bowie. She is among a small few to receive GRAMMYs in multiple genres, having received the award in jazz and classical, as well as for her work with David Bowie.
With her first recording, Evanescence (1994), Schneider began developing her personal way of writing for her 18-member collective made up of many of the finest musicians in jazz today, tailoring her compositions to the uniquely creative voices of the group. They have performed at festivals and concert halls worldwide, and she herself has received numerous commissions and guest-conducting invites, working with over 90 groups in over 30 countries.
Unique funding of projects has become a hallmark for Schneider through the trend-setting company, ArtistShare. And, in 2004, Concert in the Garden became historic as the first recording to win a GRAMMY with Internet-only sales. Even more significantly, it blazed the “crowd-funding” trail as ArtistShare’s first release, and was eventually inducted into the 2019 National Recording Registry.
Schneider’s many honors also include: 14 GRAMMY nominations, 7 GRAMMY Awards, numerous Jazz Journalists Association awards, Downbeat and Jazz Times Critics and Readers Polls awards, an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, the University of Minnesota, ASCAP’s esteemed Concert Music Award (2014), the nation’s highest honor in jazz, “NEA Jazz Master” (2019), election into the 2020 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 2023 induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
A strong voice for music advocacy, Schneider has testified before the US Congressional Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on digital rights, has given commentary on CNN, participated in round-tables for the United States Copyright Office, has been quoted in numerous publications for her views on Spotify, YouTube, Google, digital rights, and music piracy, and has written various white papers and articles on the digital economy as related to music and beyond.
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.