Eastman Community Music School (ECMS)

12/07/2024

Winterfest 2024 is coming up next weekend! Join us all day on Saturday, December 14 for performanes by over 20 ECMS ensembles! Students ranging in age from elementary school to adults will perform a wide array of musical styles. Please check online for the full performance schedule.

12/06/2024

There is still time to purchase tickets for next Saturday's ELF in Concert! You have two opportunities to experience a Christmas movie favorite with a live orchestra at 2pm & 7pm on December 14th.

For the 2pm matinee, a special discount is available over the phone or in person for all ECMS students: a $12 child's ticket (up to 4) with a purchase of 1 adult ticket. Don't miss out on this festive concert! Purchase tickets at EastmanTheatre.org

12/04/2024

Eastman@Washington Square Presents: Music from 100 Years Ago!

Join us tomorrow afternoon, Thursday, December 5th, at 12:15 at the First Universalist Church of Rochester for the seventh performance of the Eastman@Washington Square Lunchtime Concert Series. This event is free and open to the public!

Pianist Tony Caramia presents a sampling of the wonderful popular songs from 1924, that have become standards. Guest performers include Kiersten Conway and Lauren Gibson, jazz vocal students of Eastman Professor Sara Gazarek. We hope to see you there!

12/03/2024

UPDATE: This Saturday's vocal masterclass will now be lead by Eastman's very own Kathryn Cowdrick! Join us at 3pm in ESM room 209.

Mezzo soprano Kathryn Cowdrick celebrated her 30th anniversary as a performer by appearing as Despina in Opera Saratoga’s production of Cosi fan tutte–the very first opera role she undertook in 1981. She is a graduate with distinction of Penn State University and Columbia University with degrees in speech and voice pathology. She was a member of the Juilliard Opera Center and began her singing career when awarded an Adler Fellowship with the San Francisco Opera. She participated in the Merola Opera program and sang the leading role in the Western Opera Theatre tour of La Cenerentola. She went on to sing in productions there that include Adriana Lecouver, Falstaff, Manon, Faust, Pique Dame, Il Ritorno di Ulisse, Il turco in Italia, DerRosenkavalier and Jenufa.

She is one of those rare singers who continues be an active performer while teaching, having sung in over 40 regional productions since coming to Eastman, including the title role in The Medium with Eastman Opera Theatre. At Eastman, she teaches studio voice, vocal pedagogy. and a class for the Institute for Music Leadership at Eastman, The Singer’s Professional Journey. She has been on the summer faculty of the Seagle Colony, the Taos Opera Institute and Summer at Eastman. She has been a contributor to Classical Singer Magazine. Her most recent article on “Mentoring and Parenting the Young Classical Singer” appears in the September 2012 edition and she was recently interviewed for their February 2019 spotlight column on outstanding voice professionals.

12/03/2024

Happy from all of us at the Eastman Community Music School! In collaboration with United Way, we invite you to with us by showing your support for ECMS. For the last century, we have continued to support musicians of all ages, instruments, and abilities by providing opportunities for music making for the Rochester community. Help us support the same opportunities for the next century and donate now! Every gift helps and you can donate here:
https://roctheday.org/roc-the-day/causes/ECMS

11/22/2024

ECMS faculty and almuna, Angela Rubin, will be performing her final DMA viola recital this Sunday, November 24th at 8:30pm in Kilbourn Hall. She will present works by Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, and Rita Strohl. This recital is free and all are welcome to attend!

11/20/2024

Eastman@Washington Square Presents: Autumn Serenade!

Join us tomorrow afternoon, Thursday, November 21st, at 12:15 at the First Universalist Church of Rochester for the sixth performance of the Eastman@Washington Square Lunchtime Concert Series. This event is free and open to the public!

Come enjoy a lovely Autumn afternoon of works from timeless operas and musicals. Performers will include Cecile Sain, soprano and Howard Spindler, piano, as well as guest vocalists Susan Cotroneo, Jim Grab, and Mark Daniels.

11/18/2024

Eastman@Washington Square presents: Autumn Serenades - SNEAK PEEK

Soprano, Cecile Saine and pianist, Howard Spindler will perform familiar Duets and Trios along with guests: Susan Cotroneo Jim Grab, and Mark Daniels. Join us this Thursday, November 21st, for an afternoon of crisp harmonies and colorful melodies. As a preview of this autumnal program, here is a snippet of "To Part is Such Sweet Sorrow" from Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss.

11/15/2024

Voice Masterclass on December 7th! Join us from 3-5pm in ESM 209 for a masterclass with vocalist Sarah Luebke!

Soprano Dr. Sarah Luebke has appeared in opera, musical theater, and concert stages throughout the United States and Europe. She made her Carnegie Hall debut singing Vivaldi’s Magnificat with Mid-America Productions in 2023. Upcoming engagements include performances with the Sorel Foundation Residency of composer Jennifer Higdon, soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, soprano soloist in Rutter’s Magnificat, and soprano soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria with the BGSU Philharmonia.
A trail-blazing interpreter of 21st century vocal repertoire, she has collaborated with and performed works of Chen Yi, Missy Mazzoli, Benjamin Moore, and James Whitbourn. Some of her stage roles include Juno (The Tempest), Masha (Enemies: A Love Story), Isabelle Eberhardt (Songs from the Uproar), Yum-Yum (Mikado), Rose Maybud (Ruddigore), La Fée (Cendrillon), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Najade (Ariadne auf Naxos), Monica (The Medium), Serpina (La Serva Padrona), Nella (Gianni Schicchi), Lucinda (Into the Woods). Concert work includes Messiah (Handel), Annelies (Whitbourn), St. Matthew Passion (Bach), Requiem (Fauré), Ein deutches Requiem (Brahms). She was as a young artist with Twin Cities’ Opera Guild and Janiec Opera Company of the Brevard Music Festival.
Recognized for her studio teaching, she was selected for the distinguished 2022 NATS Intern Program. She received the 2022 NATS Mario Martinez Intern Prize and 2020 ESM Teaching Assistant Prize. Her students have excelled in prestigious competitions and been accepted into top music programs.
Prior to her appointment at BGSU, Dr. Luebke taught applied voice and pedagogy at SUNY Fredonia and French lyric diction at the Eastman School of Music.
Dr. Luebke holds a DMA in vocal performance with concentration in vocal pedagogy from Eastman, an MM in vocal performance from the University of Kentucky, and a BM in vocal performance from St. Olaf College. Her principal teachers include Kathryn Cowdrick, Robert McIver, and Everett McCorvey.

11/13/2024

Eastman@Washington Square Presents: Early Music for the Lute Family!

Join us tomorrow afternoon, Thursday, November 14th, at 12:15 at the First Universalist Church of Rochester for the fifth performance of the Eastman@Washington Square Lunchtime Concert Series. This event is free and open to the public!

Come enjoy a captivating noontime performance of early music, featuring Pedro Sperb on lute and soprano Amy Cochrane.

11/13/2024

Juliet Besch-Turner placed 1st in the New York Young Virtuoso Competition in NYC. In addition, Juliet placed 2nd in the American Protégé Competition (classical voice category) and will be performing on a recital in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in December. A huge congrats to both Juliet and her teacher, Diane Abrahamian!

11/11/2024

Eastman@Washingtong Square Presents: Early Music for the Lute Family- SNEAK PEAK

This Thursday, November 14th, Pedro Sperb and friends will present repertory for a few instruments from the lute family by underrepresented Latin-American baroque composers alongside European renaissance canonical works for lute. This concert is presented in conjunction with Rochester Early Music Festival.

Here is a snippet of Pedro Sperb playing "Tiento" by Alonso Mudarra that will certainly strike a chord for this week's performance!

Alonso Mudarra (1510 - 1580) - ""Tiento"Pedro Sperb, VihuelaVihuela by Mel Wong

11/09/2024

The Rochester Philharmonic League will be hosting its 70th annual Young Artist Auditions on Sunday, March 16, 2025. Young musicians who reside or study music in one of these New York State counties are eligible to participate: Monroe, Cayuga, Chemung, Genesee, Livingston, Onondaga, Orleans, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tomkins, Wayne, Wyoming, or Yates. All vocalists and instrumentalists including piano, strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, harp, and guitar are welcome to audition. More information, repertoire requirements, and the application will be available soon at: https://rpo.org/yaa.

11/08/2024

The Greece Performing Arts Society presents an American Music Celebration Concert Honoring our Veterans – Sunday, November 10th at 3PM at the Greece Olympia School Auditorium

Tickets: $10 General Admission $5 Student, $25 Family Rate

Veterans and Children Under 5 Free (No Ticket Required)

For more information, visit their website at: https://greeceperformingarts.org/events/

11/07/2024

Last week, Pedro Sperb led a workshop for the ECMS guitar ensembles. The students had the opportunity to learn about and try new instruments like the lute. Here are a few photos from the workshop!

11/06/2024

Eastman@Washington Square Presents: the Onyx Clarinet Quartet!

Join us tomorrow afternoon, Thursday, November 7th, at 12:15 at the First Universalist Church of Rochester for the fourth performance of the Eastman@Washington Square Lunchtime Concert Series. This event is free and open to the public!

About the Quartet: Founded in 2010 and based in western New York, Onyx is the musical partnership of four veteran retired music educators. Dr. Alan Woy retired from Crane School of Music SUNY Potsdam, and currently teaches at Eastman Community Music School. Laurie Dobmeier and Terry Ge**er retired from Baldwinsville Central Schools. Roxanne Woy taught music at Norwood-Norfolk Central Schools and St Lawrence University. Along with school and private teaching, their careers included a wide variety of performance experiences, from orchestral to chamber music and school pit groups. Onyx has enjoyed sharing a wide variety of music with audiences in the northeastern US and Canada.

11/05/2024

Don't forget: This Saturday, November 9th, Dr. Douglas Rubio will be giving a guitar masterclass in OSL 101 at 4pm!

We hope to see you there!

Guitar masterclass on November 9th! Join us from 4-6pm in OSL 101 for a masterclass with Dr. Douglas Rubio!

Douglas Rubio is a nationally acclaimed classical guitarist known for his captivating solo performances and gold medal chamber music accolades. Praised by the Santa Barbara News-Press for his “considerable sensitivity and bravura,” Rubio’s diverse programs blend traditional and contemporary works.
He has performed at notable venues including the Santa Barbara Fall Music Festival, Beverly Hills Live! Concert Series, and various universities and guitar festivals across the U.S. He has served as a concerto soloist with several chamber orchestras.
Active in chamber music, Rubio is a founding member of the award-winning Avalon Guitar Duo and frequently collaborates with flutist Jill Rubio as The Rubio Duo. He has recordings featuring works by Heitor Villa-Lobos on the Naxos label.
A native of Southern California, Rubio is currently Professor of Classical Guitar at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. He previously led a successful guitar program at Illinois State University and holds both a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the University of Southern California. His mentors include James F. Smith, Pepe Romero, and Frederick Noad.