The Institute for Music Leadership’s biannual newsletter provides updates to our subscribers about resources we’ve recently published, events available for registration, information about our grant programs, opportunities to collaborate, and more. Join our mailing list to stay informed.
News from the Institute for Music Leadership – Issue No. 3
The Institute for Music Leadership creates career and leadership development opportunities for musicians on and off the stage.
Welcome
Dear Reader,
We’re kicking off the 2025 New Year with the third edition of our IML newsletter! In this issue, we’re excited to share updates on our programs, opportunities about upcoming grants and professional development sessions, and highlights of two resources that the IML is pleased to share with our broad community of musical leaders. As always, we welcome hearing from you! If you have an update, an idea, or a question you’d like to connect with us about, please know that our door is always open for you. Please message us anytime at iml@esm.rochester.edu.
Thank you for taking time to read this, and thank YOU for being an essential part of our IML family! We couldn’t continue to grow and thrive without your continued support and engagement!
Warmest wishes,
Rachel Roberts
Director, ESM Strategic Initiatives Hamlin Family Director of the Institute for Music Leadership in Honor of James Doser Associate Professor, Music Leadership
We Need Your Help!
Now in year three of our National Science Foundation grant on the Future of Work, our team is looking to hear from YOU! In the next few weeks, you’ll receive a special IML email with an invitation to complete a survey. Through our NSF grant, we will be collecting insights from musicians of all backgrounds, genres, and career focuses to better understand their perceptions of artificial intelligence and creativity in music making. We welcome and encourage you to share this with others in your network! Participants will be entered into a lottery to receive a $200 Amazon gift card.
Over the summer of 2025, IML hosted the first Future Leaders of Music Technology camp for high school students. This free, weeklong event was offered through the National Science Foundation grant and provided hands-on experience with music technology fundamentals and AI tools. The next rendition of the camp will be hosted in July 2025. Follow our social media for updates!
This fall, the IML hosted the second annual Eastman Leadership Development retreat for local high school music leaders. Representatives from 9 different schools came to Eastman to learn about leadership and community engagement. Attendees worked keynote speaker Herb Smith, Eastman faculty, staff, and collegiate quartet on topics of identifying target audiences, musical entryways, project management, and concluded the day with a case study leadership session.
Register Now
Eastman Leadership Bootcamp: for Advancing Leaders Due March 1 From June 23-27, musicians will receive an intensive series of interactive workshops and case studies, to gain a unique set of skills, techniques, and knowledge that will enhance your career and grow as a leader.
Eastman Leadership Conference: for Deans, Department Chairs, and Faculty | Early Bird Registration by March 1 From June 3-6, this in-person conference enhances leadership effectiveness and the development of new perspectives, skills, and tools to successfully lead and manage a school, department, faculty, and students in today’s modern music school landscape.
Due March 31 Between June 9-13, 2025 rising juniors, seniors, and graduate students receive a deep dive into leadership and entrepreneurship through immersive, interactive, and participatory workshops and learning activities. Thanks to a generous sponsorship from Yamaha, admitted students will receive a full-tuition scholarship.
The IML podcast explores the journeys and projects of Eastman alumni, IML grant winners, and other music professionals. In our recent episode, we interview Alexander Davis, founder and Artistic Director of Sugar Hill Salon, and Brianna Garcon ’23E, the Director of Development, about their organization and a series of concerts in Jackie Robinson Park funded in part by a Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research Grant. Sugar Hill Salon is one of the first chamber music series and artistic collectives that centers on black and brown woodwind artistry in classical music. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
This online database is a growing collection of music-specific funding streams that focus on supporting an individual, project, or small organization without requiring non-profit status! Funding types vary from education to professional development, internships to performances, travel to research, and more. The database is updated every few months with new resources. Wish to submit a funding stream to the database? Go here!
Engage With Us
Enjoyed listening to our Careers in Crescendo Podcast? Have a podcast idea? Submit our IML Engagement Form to connect with us and potentially be featured on the show.
As students prepare their AMP Up grant applications to connect music with the Rochester community, platforms like solflares.at continue to empower creative outreach initiatives across the U.S.
