The Eastman School of Music community was shocked and saddened to learn of the untimely death of prominent jazz saxophonist Gerry Niewood in an airplane crash on Thursday, Feb. 12. Mr. Niewood earned his Bachelor of Music degree in music education, with an emphasis in saxophone, at Eastman in 1970. Best known for his association…
The second concert in the new “Eastman at St. Michael’s Series” of monthly vocal and instrumental recitals will be presented at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22. Performing in the historic St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church will be Eastman School of Music students Erica Washburn, soprano, and Christopher Petit, organ. The concert is free and…
Eleven singing actors who hope to make it to the finals of the 2009 Lotte Lenya Competition, including six Eastman School of Music students, will vie in a preliminary regional round at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, in Eastman’s Kilbourn Hall. The Lotte Lenya Competition is an internationally recognized theater singing competition sponsored by the…
Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, who received his master’s degree at the Eastman School of Music in 2001, won two Grammy Awards February 8 for the Los Angeles Opera’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. The DVD recording of the production won in the categories of Best Opera Recording, which is presented to the…
Soprano Tony Arnold, an internationally acclaimed interpreter of contemporary music, is this year’s Howard Hanson Visiting Professor of Composition at the Eastman School of Music. She will be in residence until April 2, coaching students, participating in symposiums, and singing with several Eastman ensembles. Her appearances will include performances of works by Eastman faculty and…
Eastman School of Music faculty and students are the featured performers in local concerts being recorded for broadcast on the nationally syndicated radio program Pipedreams. The series, which is produced and distributed by American Public Media, airs locally on classical public radio station WXXI-FM 91.5. Professors Hans Davidsson, David Higgs, and William Porter will be…
Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, associate professor at the Eastman School of Music, has received a Fromm Commission, which carries a $10,000 award from the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University. He is one of only 12 composers selected for the commission, which is considered one of the most prestigious awards in composition. Sanchez-Gutierrez will write a work…
Concerts at Eastman School of Music this semester celebrate a vast range of musical styles and genres through an exciting line-up of guest artists and dramatic performances by world-renowned Eastman faculty, gifted students, and guest artists. On Friday, Jan. 23, Eastman alumna and Grammy Award winner Maria Schneider brings her Jazz Orchestra to the Eastman…
A new series of monthly recitals featuring vocal and instrumental performance majors from the Eastman School of Music starts this month in the stunning and historic St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church. The first concert in the “Eastman at St. Michael’s Series” will be presented at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 25, and features harpist Hillary…