(Here are some select recent clippings showing the variety of hits/mentions identifying musicians and scholars as Eastman School of Music alumni, faculty or students. (Note: Some links may have expired.)
Breaking Boxes SoundExChange
(City Newspaper 04/01/2015)
At its very core, Sound ExChange is a group of seven young Eastman graduates who are looking for new ways to present music and connect with audiences. It could be through the use of interactive technology and social media, close collaborations with diverse community arts groups, passionately-performed contemporary works, or its residency with the ROCmusic program, but Sound ExChange wants to break down any barriers that exist between the audience’s world and their own.
As part of the group’s 01X project, Sound ExChange is currently the 2014-15 Ensemble in Residence for the ROCmusic program, which provides free music and string instruction to about 58 city students ages 6 to 18. The program, which launched in 2012, is a partnership of the Hochstein School of Music and Dance, Eastman School of Music, Eastman Community Music School, Rochester school district, the City of Rochester, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. The pilot program takes place at the David F. Gantt Community Center on North Street.
CMU to host Saxophone Day 2015
(Central Michigan Life © 03/27/2015)
On Sunday, March 29, Professor of Saxophone John Nichol and the Central Michigan University Saxophone Studio will host Saxophone Day in the Staples Family Concert Hall.
This year’s guest artist, Associate Professor of Saxophone Chien-Kwan Lin, from the Eastman School of Music, will perform at 3 p.m. Eastman is a prestigious music conservatory located in Rochester, New York that only admits about 260 new students from a pool of 2,000 applicants. It was named the “Hottest School for Music” in the US in 2008.
Carson Valley to feature ‘Third Coast Percussion’ in final concert
(Nevada Appeal 04/01/2015)
The fifth and final concert in Carson Valley Arts Council’s 2014-2015 concert series will feature Third Coast Percussion, a group whose performances meld energy of rock music with precision of classical chamber works, at 7 p.m. April 17 at the CVIC Hall, 1602 Esmeralda Ave., Minden.
The group’s members — Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore — hold degrees in music performance from Northwestern University, Yale School of Music, Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, and Rutgers University. Third Coast Percussion performs exclusively with Pearl/Adams Musical Instruments, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drum heads, and Vic Firth sticks and mallets.
Mankato Symphony Orchestra Has Busy Month Ahead
(KEYC-TV 04/01/2015)
The fifth anniversary season of Music on the Hill will conclude with the world premiere of a string quartet by leading American composer Marc Mellits. This piece has been especially commissioned by Music on the Hill in memory of long time MSO supporter and local music teacher Ken Gertjejansen. The name of the piece is Waníyetu, which means Winter in the Dakota language.
Marc Mellits is often considered one of the leading American composers of his generation participating in hundreds of performances throughout the world every year. From venues like Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and other significant music festivals in the Europe and the United States, Mellits’ music is the unwavering constant on programs throughout the world. His unique musical style is an extensive combination of driving rhythms, soaring lyricism, and colorful orchestrations that combine into one amazing performance that communicates directly with the listener. Often described as being instinctual, he creates a deep bond with the audience. “This was music as sensual as it was intelligent; I saw audience members swaying, nodding, and making little motions with their hands.” (New York Press). Having studied at the Eastman School of Music, Yale School of Music, Cornell University, and Tanglewood, Mellits is often described as a miniaturist, composing works that are comprised of short, contrasting movements and sections. His music is colorful, it is all – encompassing, it is eclectic, and always presents a sense of forward motion.
Belarusian-American pianist Olga Krayterman to perform as guest artist at Marshall University
(Huntington News.net 04/01/2015)
Award-winning pianist Dr. Olga Krayterman will perform works by Bach, Chopin, Liszt and Scriabin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, at Smith Recital Hall on Marshall University’s Huntington campus. The program is free and open to the public.
Dr. Henning Vauth, assistant professor of piano in the School of Music and Theatre at Marshall University and a fellow Eastman School of Music graduate, said, “Olga is smart, kind, a wonderful pianist, and represents the great Russian tradition of piano playing. I am looking forward to welcoming her to Marshall’s campus.”
Krayterman has won the 2013 Young Artist Prize of the National Federation of Music Clubs, first prizes at the Concours International de Piano du Moulin d’And in France, the Stravinsky Competition, the Southeastern Piano Festival in South Carolina, and a prize at the Thousand Island International Piano Competition. She made her orchestral debut with the South Carolina Philharmonic when she was 17 years old, playing Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto.
She received her doctoral degree from the Eastman School of Music and is currently serving as instructor at Eastman and the Eastman Community School, where in 2014 she was awarded the Jack L. Frank Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Celebrity organist Michael Unger to give first concert at Bridge Street Church with restored organ
(InsideBelleville.com 04/02/2015)
Internationally renowned organist Michael Unger will be pulling out all the stops at Bridge Street Church in downtown Belleville, Saturday night April 11, when their newly renovated Casavant organ gets its first concert workout.
Michael Unger is a Canadian-born musician, who has been recorded under the Naxos label, teaches organ and harpsichord at Cincinnati University, and completed his Doctorate at the Eastman School of Music. The concert starts at 7 p.m. Michael Unger is a Canadian-born musician, who has been recorded under the Naxos label, teaches organ and harpsichord at Cincinnati University, and completed his Doctorate at the Eastman School of Music. The concert starts at 7 p.m. (Also reported by Belleville Intelligencer)
Swartout Recital Hall to reopen with concert series
(Lawrence Journal World 03/28/2015)
The venue will re-open with an eight-concert series starting Monday. Dozens of alumni, some of whom graduated as far back as 1952, are slated to perform to christen the brand-new Swarthout stage.
That list includes Alan Harris, now a distinguished professor of violoncello at the Eastman School of Music, who played his senior recital at Swarthout the two years after it opened.
Woodland pianist Jay Surdell finds the key to happiness
(The Daily Democrat 03/18/2015)
Woodland resident Jay Surdell has traveled across the country, living and working in different places, but one thing always remained the same — his love of music. Growing up in upstate New York, Surdell started playing piano when he was 8 years old after his mother signed him up for lessons.
From that moment on playing piano was all he could think about, perfecting his craft, trying different styles. It was only fitting that he would major in piano in college, receiving his bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and his master’s degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Western Bradford News Digest
(Towanda Daily Review 3/29/2015)
The Oldroyd Brass Quintet is coming to Troy on Saturday, April 11 to present a concert at the First Presbyterian Church of Troy at 7 p.m., according to a news release from Robert Oldroyd. The Quintet is comprised of: Daniel Venora, trumpet, Masters Performance Student at Yale University; Jenna Veverka, trumpet, Studio Teacher of the Greater Pittsburgh Area; Robert Oldroyd, horn, Band Director of Dryden, N.Y.; Timothy Taylor, trombone, Masters Performance Student at the Eastman School of Music; and Peter Best-Hall, tuba, Music Ed. and Performance Senior at Ithaca College.
Eastman Musicians Honor Holocaust Victims with Remembrance Day Concert
(Brighton-Pittsford Post 04/01/2015)
On Sunday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music faculty and students will perform works by select Jewish composers to mark Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day).
Titled “A Time to Remember . . .” the concert features music written by those who perished or survived the camps, and music written in tribute to those who died.
The concert was spearheaded and organized by Associate Professor of Violin Renée Jolles. Her father, Jerome, buried bodies as part of a work detail in Romania during the Nazi occupation. He survived and came to the United States, where he finished his studies at Juilliard in music and composition. A virtuoso accordion player, piano teacher, and composer, Mr. Jolles died in January of last year.
Prizewinning violinist to perform in Canyon
(Amarillo Globe-News © 03/28/2015)
Internationally acclaimed violinist Charles Castleman will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a recital for the West Texas AM University School of Music.
Castleman, a prizewinner at the Queen Elizabeth and Tchaikovsky international violin competitions, is a concerto soloist and recitalist around the world.
He is in his 40th year as professor of violin at the Eastman School of Music in New York.