Eastman Community Music School (ECMS) is proud to celebrate the 30th season of its annual Eastman@Washington Square concert series. These weekly performances, held at 12:15 p.m. in the First Universalist Church of Rochester every Thursday from late October through May, feature faculty, students and friends of ECMS and the Eastman School of Music. These events are free and open to the public, offering an extraordinary opportunity to hear some of the best musicians that Rochester has to offer.

“Downtown Rochester has seen many changes in the past 30 years, but we are glad to still provide a moment of peace and beauty in the busy lives of those who work or live in the neighborhood,” shares Petar Kodzas, Associate Dean and Director of ECMS. “There is no better way to spend 30 minutes of your day than listening to this music and bathing in the light of Claude Bragdon’s historic stained-glass masterpiece.”

Over the course of three decades, ECMS has presented nearly 800 concerts ranging from solo performance to large ensembles. Irina Lupines, Coordinator of Eastman@Washington Square and Assistant Professor of Collaborative Piano at Eastman, is “grateful to the First Universalist Church for providing the venue with thoughtful staff and numerous volunteers for tech support.” Lupines invites all members of the Rochester, ECMS and Eastman communities to “come to the First Universalist Church and join our celebration.”

Fall 2024 Eastman@Washington Square Schedule

Thursdays at 12:15 p.m.

First Universalist Church, 150 S. Clinton Ave.

October 17 | Fall Piano Extravaganza

Featuring pianists Jingning Lin and Fenglei Wang from the studio of Professor Alexander Kobrin. Enjoy the music of Bach, Ravel and Bartók. 

October 24 | Music for Clarinet and Piano

Victor Ni, clarinet, and Samuel Leung, piano, perform the music of Schumann, Widor and Copland.

October 31 | Hallowing Musical Treats

A spooky selection of vocal repertoire from classical song, opera, musical theatre and jazz.

Presented by faculty, staff and students from ECMS. Teresa Ringholz, moderator, and Alla Kuznetsov, pianist.

November 7 | ONYX Clarinet Quartet

The Onyx Clarinet Quartet, comprised of Terry Gerber, Laurie Dobmeier, Roxanne Woy and Alan Woy, was formed in 2010. The program will feature a wide variety of musical styles including classical, pop, jazz, klezmer and traditional American and Latin music.

November 14 | Early Music for the Lute Family

Pedro Tiorba Sperb and friends 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 the Rochester Early Music Festival.

November 21 | Autumn Serenade

Cecile Saine, soprano, and Howard Spindler, piano, with guest vocalists Susan Cotroneo, James Grab and Mark Daniels, perform familiar duets and trios.

December 5 | Music from 100 Years Ago

Pianist Tony Caramia presents a sampling of popular songs from 1924 that have become standards today. Guest performers include students from the studio of Sara Gazarek, Associate Professor of Jazz Voice.

December 12 | Daphne Piano Trio

Eastman graduate students Chihiro Kakishima, violin, Hannah Sohn, cello, and Huiping Cai, piano, perform a trio by Ravel.

To learn more about these performances, and other upcoming events from the Eastman Community Music School, visit their website.