Eastman School of Music, of the University of Rochester, is proud to announce 12 new full-time faculty appointments for the 2023-24 academic year:           

Justin Benavidez, Associate Professor of Tuba 

Joella Bitter, Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Joshua Conyers, Assistant Professor of Voice

Ran Dank, Associate Professor of Piano

Patrick Diamond, Associate Professor of Opera and Director of Production for Eastman Opera Theatre

Kiera Duffy, Associate Professor of Voice

Filomena Fantarella, Assistant Professor of Italian

Sara Gazarek, Associate Professor of Jazz Voice

Mikel Kuehn, Professor of Composition and Director of EMuSE

Andrew McCandless, Associate Professor of Trumpet

Daniel Pesca, Assistant Professor of Composition

Brock Tjosvold, Assistant Professor of Vocal Coaching

“It is thrilling to welcome a truly remarkable group of artists, scholars and music leaders to Eastman,” says Jamal Rossi, the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean at Eastman.  “We are excited to benefit from the experience, passion and excellence each of these individuals will contribute to our community in the years ahead.”

Hailed by Fanfare Magazine as “a true virtuoso of his instrument,” Justin Benavidez is the former principal tuba of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. He is a Melton Meinl Weston and Denis Wick performing artist and has performed as tubist with the Charleston, Charlotte, Jacksonville and Santa Fe Symphony Orchestras, the Philadelphia and Sarasota Orchestras, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Utah Symphony. He previously held a similar faculty position at Florida State University and teaches annually at the Round Top Summer Music Festival.

Benavidez shares, “I am beyond thrilled to be joining the faculty of the Eastman School of Music. Eastman is renowned as one of the finest institutions in the world where the highest levels of artistry and scholarship are forged with creativity and entrepreneurial savvy, and it is incredibly exciting to join this culture of musical excellence. I am honored to continue the legacies of Professors Cherry Beauregard and Don Harry in the tuba and euphonium studio, and I look forward to working with my new students and colleagues.”

Joella Bitter specializes in the anthropologies of sound and city-making, particularly in Uganda, where her research is based. She has a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University, with a Graduate Certificate in Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies. Her work has been supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies and Duke University.

As a multimodal teacher-scholar, Bitter’s work lies at the intersection of experimental ethnography, creative arts and digital humanities, and she is “thrilled to be joining the Eastman community.”

Grammy-nominated vocalist Joshua Conyers has been singled out by The New York Times as having “a sonorous baritone” that “wheedled and seduced” and by The Washington Post for having a “show stealing” performance. A native of Bronx, New York, he is known for his captivating performances and recognized as one of the most promising dramatic voices of today.

As a teacher, Mr. Conyers has had appointments and residencies at New England Conservatory preparatory division, Longy School, University of Memphis, Wayne State University and three North Carolina University campuses, as well as the Seattle Opera, Arte Lirico (Ecuador) and OperaFest Sewanee. Upcoming performing engagements include leading roles at both the Metropolitan Opera and Seattle Opera.

“I’m incredibly honored to join the distinguished faculty of the Eastman School of Music,” says Conyers. “Having the opportunity to teach and cultivate first-class young musicians at Eastman is a dream come true. I look forward to serving the Eastman and Rochester community to the best of my abilities.”

Pianist Ran Dank is one of today’s most ardent advocates for contemporary music. The Washington Post once said that he performs with “…impeccable technical surety…explosive force and triumphant exultation.” Represented by Colbert Artists Management, he is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Naumburg Piano Competition and the Sydney International Piano Competition. He was also the First Prize winner of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.

Of his appointment, Dank shares, “It is my honor and pleasure to join the world-class faculty and institution at the Eastman School of Music. I look forward to many years of mentoring and working with the wonderful students, and various and multi-faceted collaborations with the outstanding colleagues.”

Originally from New Mexico, Stage Director Patrick Diamond creates work that is fresh, relatable, engaging and alive. He is deeply committed to cultural sustainability and equity and inclusion, putting these values at the forefront of his work as an artist in the field. His productions include both theatre and opera, ranging from established repertoire to new works and devised events.  Most recently on the faculties of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and Yale University, Diamond taught previously at the Manhattan School of Music and has been in residence at Vanderbilt University and VOXLab Oslo. He has directed operas and plays nationally and internationally, and he has participated in over twenty American and World premieres.

“My whole career I have had the opportunity to work with incredible artists who studied and worked at Eastman, many of whom have become my closest and most trusted collaborators over the years. I have so admired them, and they all have told me about how wonderful Eastman is,” Diamond says. “It feels like an understatement to say I am thrilled at the opportunity to join all of the wonderful artists at Eastman. I look forward to our work together!”

Kiera Duffy has performed as a soloist with many of the world’s preeminent classical music organizations, including the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony, Metropolitan Opera and others. For the last seven years, she has been Professor of the Practice at the University of Notre Dame, where she served as the Coordinator of Undergraduate Voice Studies and Creative Producer of Opera ND for the Department of Music and voice faculty for the Graduate Program of Sacred Music.

Of her appointment, Duffy shares, “To work alongside Eastman’s distinguished roster of performance faculty, and to have the opportunity to nurture this next generation of singing artists is truly a privilege.” She continues, “I am humbled and elated to be invited to join this dynamic cultural community.”

Filomena Fantarella completed her Ph.D. in Italian Studies at Brown University where she taught language and cultural courses for the past seven years and coordinated their language program in Spring ’20 and Fall ’21. Her research interests include second language acquisition, the relationship between politics and literature, Fascism and anti-Fascism, the intellectual history of the nineteenth and twentieth century and food studies. Her new research project is on the development of Italian Studies in the United States through the work of Giuseppe Prezzolini, for which she has been awarded a research grant from the Ragusa Foundation for Humanities in New York City.

“I am delighted to join the Eastman School of Music and its vibrant and diverse intellectual community,” shares Fantarella. “I look forward to working with so many bright and talented students.”

With the launch of a newly conceived Jazz Voice track in the undergraduate Jazz and Contemporary Media degree program, Sara Gazarek has been appointed to lead and design the program. Joining Eastman after a 12-year tenure at the Thornton School of Music, of the University of Southern California, this two-time GRAMMY® nominated vocalist has performed and recorded with an array of internationally acclaimed artists and is a founding member of the GRAMMY® nominated vocal supergroup, säje. She has been a clinician, adjudicator and performer at universities, jazz camps and jazz festivals throughout the United States and Canada.

“By establishing new ways of thinking and teaching that celebrate, uplift and unify the next generation of jazz singers, and creating a musical bridge that jazz musicians –– instrumentalists and vocalists alike –– can interchangeably cross, Eastman is championing the future of this genre,” shares Gazarek, who is “incredibly excited” to take up this charge.

Composer Mikel Kuehn ’93E (MA), ’95E (Ph.D.) has been appointed as director of the Electroacoustic Music Studios @ Eastman (EMuSE), formerly the Eastman Audio Research Studio (EARS), when he commences his tenure at Eastman.

From 1998 to 2023 Kuehn was Professor of Creative Arts Excellence at Bowling Green State University where he served as director of the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music and the Bowling Green New Music Festival from 2007-2010. He has received awards and honorable recognition from ASCAP and BMI, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Composers, Inc., the Copland House and numerous others.

“Eastman has always been a special place for me, a recurring theme throughout my life,” shares Kuehn. “I am thrilled and honored to join the distinguished composition faculty and, as the director of EMuSE, I look forward to taking the electroacoustic studios into new directions.”

Andrew McCandless was appointed Principal Trumpet of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1999 and has established himself as a prominent brass player in the orchestral world. He has also held the position of Principal Trumpet with many notable orchestras including the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in which he still performs today. McCandless is a Yamaha performing artist and is on the faculty at The Royal Conservatory in Toronto, teaches privately and has given masterclasses throughout North America including The Juilliard School, The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and the University of Toronto.

“I am beyond thrilled to return to Eastman next year,” exclaims McCandless. “My time as a student at Eastman was a pivotal in my life. I can say with certainty that being at Eastman changed the course of my life as a musician. I am passionate about music and teaching, and I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the incredible trumpet students there.”

Daniel Pesca ’05E, ’16E (DMA) has been hailed as “the perfect composer-virtuoso pianist” (All about the Arts) and “equally talented as pianist, composer and advocate of his peers’ works” (Fanfare). Among Daniel’s most recent compositions are “Walk with me, my joy” for Constellations Chamber Concerts in Washington, D.C. and “New Examples of Confusion” for the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition. As a pianist, Daniel has premiered over 150 solo and chamber works, he has shared the stage with leading new music ensembles and performed in places like the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center and contemporary music festivals internationally. Daniel previously taught at University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of Chicago; Northeastern Illinois University; Ithaca College; and Syracuse University.

“I have always cherished the unique magic of Eastman, the artistry of its students and faculty, and the energy resounding through its halls,” says Pesca. “I am deeply honored to join its composition faculty, which has such a rich creative history. I look forward to participating in its ongoing cultivation and celebration of new music.”

Pianist, vocal coach and conductor Brock Tjosvold ’22E (DMA) is coming to Eastman from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he has been the music director of the award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble. Tjosvold is an award-winning pianist who has performed at Carnegie Hall with clarinetist Amy Humberd, appeared as soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra, and has attended the Aspen Music Festival and Music Academy of the West with full fellowships.

Tjosvold says, “I learned so much during my time as an Eastman student and I’m thrilled to be returning as a faculty member. Being a part of this vibrant community is truly a dream come true.”