2022 – Institute for Music Leadership

Will Pyle: Chamber Music America Conference

Blaire Koerner — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 19:12:42 +0000

Will Pyle, through active networking with known colleagues and industry professionals, secured a spot in the Chamber Music America National Conference (CMA), as part of their Spring 2023 grant project. Pyle worked closely as an assistant with the innovative music ensemble, fivebyfive, a 2023 CMA featured performing ensemble. Hailed as an award-winning, artist-led ensemble known for its impeccable musicianship and adventurous spirit, fivebyfive is dedicated to inspiring audiences and forging creativity within the music industry. While in attendance at the Conference, Pyle helped the ensemble to organize their showcase performance, in addition to Pyle personally expanding their network pool within the chamber music community. In particular, they talked with Astral Artists, an agency that recently began managing saxophone quartets (an endeavor Pyle is pursuing in their career).

Noah Sesling: Metropolitan Opera Internship

Blaire Koerner — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 20:22:00 +0000

ALP Certificate alum, Noah Sesling, accepted an internship at the Metropolitan Opera in the Media Department as part of his Special Opportunity Grant opportunity. Sesling spent three-and-a-half months working closely with a team of administrators at the Metropolitan Opera company to provide support to the staff in charge of Met Opera On Demand and the Digital Recording Archives. In reflection, one of their most important takeaways from this profound experience was being able to work at a large artistic institution in the midst of a cybersecurity breach. For Sesling, this demonstrated the downfalls of outdated software and the dangers of storing too much information on one server. They hope to take what he has learned from this grant opportunity, and apply it to a career in music and large scale technology.

Tyler Ramos: New York State Music Teachers Association State Conference

Blaire Koerner — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 20:16:03 +0000

ALP Certificate alumni Tyler Ramos presented a “Lightning Talk” at the New York State Music Teachers Association State Conference in Fall 2022. He was selected as one of 5 presenters to give a five-minute presentation to an audience of music teachers from New York State, followed by a two-minute Q&A. His topic was “Ornamentation Improvisation within a Classical Sonata Allegro Movement.” Through this experience, Tyler continued to gain public speaking skills and received sample materials to utilize in faculty job applications.

Anaar Desai-Stephens: “The Road to QWANQWA: A Case Study of Collaborative Leadership through a Musical Ensemble from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.”

Kristijan Bogdanovski — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 23:09:00 +0000

Anaar Desai-Stephens used the Department Matching Grant to support a workshop by QWANQWA while on their international tour. The members of QWANQWA shared their story about forming the ensemble, the instruments traditional to Ethiopian music, as well as information about the music and musical culture in Ethiopia. The group fielded great questions from the audience, and shared their journey of planning and carrying out an international tour, and gave some highlights from their travels.

Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon: fivebyfive Residency

jdunn — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 20:23:00 +0000

Rochester based ensemble fivebyfive engaged in a fall residency on Campus, working with several departments at Eastman. This included a grant writing workshop, individual advising sessions with students, a Composition Department symposium, and a public concert.

Stephanie Tateiwa: Journey in Passion

Kristijan Bogdanovski — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 23:09:00 +0000

Stephanie Tateiwa (B.M. Jazz Performance, saxophone, and B.M. Music Education) won a grant for her project “Journey in Passion.” Stephanie and her colleagues will be recording an album of Stephanie’s original music based on blending non-Western compositional techniques. Her album will serve as a model for female leadership in the jazz community.

Guerilla Opera: Her | alive.un.dead

Kristijan Bogdanovski — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 23:09:00 +0000

Guerilla Opera of Boston, Massachusetts, Aliana de la Guardia, Artistic Director, was awarded $10,000 from the Institute for Music Leadership to support the production of Her | alive.un.dead. This opera, written by Emily Koh with direction from Mo Zhou, is a surrealist, sci-fi drama about two Chinese-American women who meet in the afterlife and discover a deep familial connection. Guerilla Opera (GO) is a BIPOC and feminist organization, Boston’s only experimental chamber opera ensemble, and one of only a few in the world with a mission to exclusively present new experimental works of opera theater.

Emilie Tupper and the Kilbourn Quartet: Storytellers A Student Composition Workshop

Kristijan Bogdanovski — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 23:09:00 +0000

Emilie Tupper (B.M. Applied Music, violin) won a grant for her project “Storytellers: A Student Composition Workshop.” Emilie’s quartet, the Kilbourn Quartet, will be working with 2ndand 3rdgrade students at the Children’s School of Rochester No. 15 to create a collaborative composition along with Clayton Trumbull (B.M. Composition). Performances will be held at the school and the Winton Public Library. The Kilbourn Quartet also includes Chloe Yofan (B.M. Applied Music), Wednesday Hsu (B.M. Applied Music and B.A. Digital Media Studies) , and Noah Janowicz (B.M. Applied Music).

Larry Zalkind: The Morris Trombone Institute

Kristijan Bogdanovski — Sat, 03 Sep 2022 23:09:00 +0000

Larry Zalkind used the Department Matching Grant to support the Morris Trombone Institute and their directors travel to Eastman and activities on campus. These young people from Stephenson High School (Stone Mountain, GA) performed a joint concert with the Eastman Trombone Choir and spent time connecting with current Eastman students. Along with the Music Teaching and Learning department, the grant supported a question and answer session for Eastman students by the teachers, Quentin Goins and Calvin Morris.

Marlies Hollevoet: Impulse New Music Festival

Kristijan Bogdanovski — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 23:09:00 +0000

The Impulse New Music Festival (INMF), a registered non-profit organization committed to re-imagining classical music training for the 21st-century, is where composing graduate Marlies Hollevoet spent the duration of their Summer, networking and learning valuable career skills. The program’s workshops and activities combined with traditional musical training and groundbreaking techniques, feed directly into reshaping the field of composition today. The program also directly provides young musicians with the practical tools to navigate the critical early stages of their career. Hollevoet, under the mentorship of INMF’s leadership team, was given the opportunity to participate in the intensive summer program, where they gained insight into building their own career as a composer. They are excited to have made important new connections with world-class faculty members, established professionals, and fellow participants.