Eastman School of Music is thrilled to welcome two distinguished alumni back to its halls on Wednesday, May 1 and Thursday, May 2, 2024. The Eastman Wind Ensemble will feature the celebrated conductor and composer Jeff Tyzik ’73E, ’77E (MM) and famed saxophonist Alexa Tarantino ’14E at 7:30 p.m. on May 1 in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. The following day, Eastman’s Chamber Jazz Ensemble welcomes Tarantino to the Kilbourn Hall stage at 7:30 p.m. on May 2. Their visit largely centers on the unveiling of new compositions, penned by each of them and premiered over the course of two concerts.
The Eastman Wind Ensemble concert will feature the music of two GRAMMY-winning composers: Tyzik and Carlos Simon. Beginning with Simon’s Go Down Moses, based on the traditional spiritual of the same title, this evocative performance will showcase current Eastman student and 2024 Links Scholarship recipient, baritone Holden Turner.
The concert will continue with the World Premiere of Tyzik’s Jazz Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Wind Ensemble, featuring Tarantino, an award-winning jazz saxophonist, woodwind doubler, composer and educator. “I am counting the days until I get to walk through the doors of Lowry Hall and collaborate with Dr. Mark Scatterday and the Eastman Wind Ensemble on Jeff Tyzik’s Soprano Saxophone Concerto,” shares Tarantino. “It is an honor to return to Eastman in this capacity, and I look forward to working with the current students and reconnecting with my mentors at the school.”
Along with Tyzik’s new concerto, his recent Symphonies for Wind Orchestra will close the program. The four-movement work was composed for the Eastman School of Music’s Centennial and was premiered by the Eastman Wind Ensemble in March 2022.
“It has been a great privilege and joy to collaborate with Mark Scatterday and the Eastman Wind Ensemble for the past 25 years,” Tyzik states. “The EWE has premiered and recorded my compositions for winds, and I count these as some of the most important and meaningful events in my musical life.”
Following the May 1 performance, both the Jazz Concerto and Symphonies will be recorded by the EWE. These sessions will round out an anticipated follow-up album to the EWE’s previous recording, Images: Music of Jeff Tyzik (Summit Records, 2018).
Conductor Mark Scatterday holds “great memories of performing with Alexa” and he looks forward to sharing her tremendous artistry, alongside the talents of Jeff Tyzik, with the Rochester community again. “It will be a tour de force.”
The week continues with the Eastman Chamber Jazz concert on May 2, with a program made entirely of original compositions. The first half of the concert will feature pieces written by four of Christine Jensen’s students: Shane McCandless, Lee Wolf, Jack Snelling and Hunter Krolow. Following a brief pause, the latter half of the concert will feature Tarantino and two different chamber groups, directed by Bob Sneider and Gary Versace. They will perform five original works by Tarantino, one of which was commissioned for Eastman’s Centennial by a long-time supporter of Eastman and Tarantino, Martin Messinger.
Jeff Campbell, chair of Eastman’s Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media department, finds it “very rewarding” to watch Tarantino thrive and represent the school so well, “both as a jazz musician and as an ambassador.” He says that she has “a great sense of energy about her; always positive and willing to share her expertise with Eastman students.”
Tarantino and Tyzik will spend time working with students in the days leading up to these concerts. Both performances are free and open to the public. To learn more about these and all upcoming events at Eastman, visit esm.rochester.edu/events.
The Eastman Wind Ensemble
Wednesday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. | Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
Eastman Chamber Jazz Ensemble
Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall
Media only: Lauren Sageer, Assistant Director of Public Relations and Digital Content,
(585) 451-8492, lsageer@esm.rochester.edu
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About Alexa Tarantino
In the words of Wynton Marsalis, Alexa Tarantino is a “one-woman wrecking crew, […] an indomitable force for expression, education, and absolute excellence.”
The vibrant and versatile jazz saxophone & woodwind artist has been triple-nominated as a Rising Star Alto Saxophonist by Downbeat Magazine’s Critics’ Poll from 2020-2022, was named one of the Top 5 Alto Saxophonists of 2019 by the JazzTimes Critics’ Poll and was one of 100 alumni to receive The Centennial Award from the Eastman School of Music (2022). Alexa “lights up rooms when she [plays]” (JazzTimes). Her radiant spirit and artistry uplift and inspire her audiences one performance at a time.
Alexa tours worldwide with Cécile McLorin Salvant, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and the Alexa Tarantino Quartet. Her records (Firefly, Clarity, Winds of Change) and compositions have consistently topped jazz radio charts, and her discography includes 25+ released recordings as a leader and sidewoman.
Tarantino is in-demand internationally as an energetic and impactful clinician, mentor, and coach and also represents Jazz at Lincoln Center as a visiting educator for various programs with students of all ages and levels. She holds a master’s degree in jazz studies from The Juilliard School and Bachelor’s degrees in Jazz Saxophone Performance and Music Education with a certificate in Arts Leadership from the Eastman School of Music. Alexa is Founder and Artistic Director of the Cape Ann Jazz Workshop in Rockport, Massachusetts (est. 2014).
Alexa Tarantino is a Vandoren Artist, a Yamaha Performing Artist, and endorses BAM Instrument Cases.
About Jeff Tyzik
GRAMMY Award-winner Jeff Tyzik is one of America’s most innovative and sought after pops conductors. Tyzik is recognized for his brilliant arrangements, original programming and engaging rapport with audiences of all ages. Tyzik holds The Dot and Paul Mason Principal Pops Conductor’s Podium at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and also serves as Principal Pops Conductor of the Seattle Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Oregon Symphony and The Florida Orchestra. This season, Tyzik will celebrate his 23rd season as Principal Pops Conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
Frequently invited as a guest conductor, Tyzik has appeared with the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Milwaukee Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In May 2007, the Harmonia Mundi label released his recording of works by Gershwin with pianist Jon Nakamatsu and the RPO which stayed in the Top 10 on the Billboard classical chart for over three months. Alex Ross of The New Yorker, called it “one of the snappiest Gershwin discs in years”.
Committed to performing music of all genres, Tyzik has collaborated with such diverse artists as Megan Hilty, Chris Botti, Matthew Morrison, Wynonna Judd, Tony Bennett, Art Garfunkel, Dawn Upshaw, Marilyn Horne, Arturo Sandoval, The Chieftains, Mark O’Connor, Doc Severinsen and John Pizzarelli. He has created numerous original programs that include the greatest music from jazz and classical to Motown, Broadway, film, dance, Latin and swing. Tyzik holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music.
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, NY, 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.