Eastman at 100: A Centennial Celebration

Special | 56m 46sVideo has Closed Captions

An in-depth look at the past, present and future of the Eastman School of Music.

Filmed over the course of three years, Eastman at 100 follows individual students throughout their academic year, offering a firsthand look at their transformational experiences. Eastman’s story is told through intimate interviews with professors, administrators, staff, community partners, and high-profile alumni.

Aired 09/25/2023

WXXI Documentaries

Eastman at 100: A Centennial Celebration

Special | 56m 46sVideo has Closed Captions

Aired 09/25/2023

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(bright classical music) - The Eastman School of Music is an extraordinary place where exceptional musicians come together to make each other better. - [Vince Lenti] The Eastman School of Music is one of the historic music schools in America. I mean, there aren't many that trace themselves back 100 years. - [Nicole Cabell] The academics were challenging, but that, of course, creates somebody who can actually add something interesting to music. - It's such an amazing place that gets in your DNA. You can't avoid it. - A music school is a living institution, and it changes, and it has to, because the profession is changing around it. So, the balance, of course, is how do you respond to the changes without abandoning what has been central and core to your existence. - I think we have the opportunity here at the Eastman School to continue to answer this question that seems to persist. Where is the next generation of musicians going to come from? (audience applauds and cheers) (bright, rhapsodic music) (soft, warm music) (instruments tune) - It sounds good, the Chopin. Yeah. Hello. (student giggles) Great job last night. - Thank you. - Bye. - See you. - You, too. Hello. - Hi. (instrument tunes) So, you're gonna just launch in and play. - [Student] Yeah. (upbeat, lively music) - Yes, and and don't be shy at the end. You were like, was that okay? (professor chuckles) Yum-pum, I've had enough of this. You wanna start at the top once again? - Sure. (upbeat classical music) My name is Anna Groesh, I'm a cellist, and I'm a junior at the Eastman School of Music. I'm from St. Louis, Missouri. I'm pursuing a degree in cello performance, and then also am a double major in German philosophy and literature. (upbeat cello music) I feel like Eastman is preparing me for a time where maybe I don’t have a teacher maybe I'm the one teaching. (upbeat classical music) Eastman was always on my radar because my high school cello teacher had gone there as a cellist, and I knew that she always called it the best years of her life, so it was just this mystical place way up north. (bright, warm classical music) - [Vince Lenti] The history of the Eastman School, of course, is just intimately involved with the life and work of George Eastman, who was the founder of Eastman Kodak Company. - He invented a process for taking photographs and producing them that made photography available to the masses. Previously, you had to have means, you had to sit for a photographer for a long time in order to get a photograph. George Eastman's invention made it possible for us all to carry Kodak cameras around in our pocket. - He was not formally educated to appreciate music. He couldn't whistle a tune, so they say. But he developed a great, great appreciation for music, and at his home on East Avenue, music was just part of the social life of that home. - [Christine] Rochester, at the turn of the century, was really booming. We had a number of industries that were growing, the population was growing. There was also a real interest in culture. So music, art, theater were all growing and in demand here in Rochester. - At a certain point in time, Eastman got it into his head that he wanted to make Rochester a very important center for musical study. At one time, he even phrased it, he said, "I'd like Rochester to be known "throughout the world as a center for music.

" (soft piano music) The partner in that dream was Rush Rhees, the President of the University of Rochester. And what Eastman did is that he took an existing music school, that had been founded in Rochester in about 1914, which had the rather other garbled title of the DKG Institute of Musical Art, and he took that school, and he bought it. So, instead of trying to create something brand new, he took something in existence and gave it to the University of Rochester to operate as a University School of Music. - I guess the one thing I would like as as president is for more people in the world to know that the Eastman School of Music is part of the University of Rochester, and has been since its inception. - It was the one way of guaranteeing the permanence of that institution. Music schools tend to come and go, but if you could attach it to a university, there's a greater chance that 100 years later, we're going to be celebrating the 100th anniversary of that music school, as we are doing. - The professional schools of music that are free-standing schools of music wouldn't offer the curricular opportunities that our students here can take advantage of. (water splashes) - Ever since I was a kid, I've always considered music to be my career. I don't know how I chose so young, but I did. And I always stuck to it, and I was always sure that I wanted to do it. I don't know what I'd be doing if I wasn't doing music. My name's Rebecca Villalta. I'm a first year student studying violin performance at the Eastman School of Music. I am originally from Costa Rica. Ooh, this is nice. After I graduate, I wanna do orchestra as a main job, and I wanna be part of a good orchestra, and have rehearsals and have concerts. I chose Eastman because I got accepted into a really good studio with a really good teacher. (upbeat classical music) - [Professor] Okay, okay, but you sound so beautiful. (Rebecca groans) - [Renee] It's going great. - Okay. - All right, if you get a little bit, you know, just try to save the next note. - My teacher's name is Renee Joles. She studied violin at Julliard. I love her teaching style. She's very direct and very detailed. - Pick up the bow, yum. (Renee hums) Short notes. (lively violin music) Make sure. - I really admire her. I wanna be like her one day. (lively violin music) (Renee hums) - [Vincent] So 1921, the school opened its doors in its new quarters, and then, the Eastman Theater opened the following year in 1922. Pictures of the construction of the Eastman School and the Eastman Theater and what George Eastman was trying to do appeared in newspapers throughout the United States, so it got a lot of exposure, because this millionaire was building this lavish theater and this music school building, that was unsurpassed by any in existence at the time. (upbeat, lively classical music) - George Eastman's vision for the Eastman School of Music was very broad. He wanted it to be part of a vision for the community as a whole, and for that reason, he ensured that the university's Eastman School of Music would not only serve college students, but there also would be a community music school affiliated with it. - That was part of the vision. You not only train the people who are gonna be producing the music, but you train the people who are going to become the consumers of the music. You develop a music appreciation by offering the broader community an opportunity to come and study. He really believed that music could transform society, that music was the one thing that could be shared across social lines, economic lines, and so forth. And he was very, very concerned about that. And again, that commitment remains very much a part of the school today. Howard Hanson became our second director. The first director of the school was Mr. Alf Klingenberg, who was the K of the DKG, and Mr. Klingenberg didn't last very long. George Eastman wanted a change. He wanted somebody with a more of a vision, and, I think, also somebody with a distinctly American vision of education. He and Rush Reese believed in that very much. And in 1924, Hanson became the school's second director, and he stayed in that post for 40 years. He essentially built the undergraduate curriculum, established a graduate curriculum. I mean, even the baccalaureate level, to determine what a bachelor of music degree should require of a student, Eastman was in the forefront of that, and to make sure that Hanson was influential in that question, he also positioned himself as Head of the Curriculum Committee of the National Association of Schools of Music, which is the accrediting organization. So, he had influence here in Rochester, but through NASM, he influenced the establishment of baccalaureate degrees in music throughout the United States. - There are things that were started at Eastman that now are mainstay around the country and around the world. The degree the Doctor of Musical Arts, that was started at Eastman, and it was started because Howard Hanson recognized the fact that, in academia, one can earn a PhD, a Doctor of Philosophy. And when he looked at leadership of schools of music, almost all of those leaders were composers, or theorists, or musicologists, and felt there's a whole world of really outstanding people in the performance area. So, they started this professional degree, a Doctor of Musical Arts, to be the capstone degree in music. Well, that's now the gold standard around the world. (slow, warm classical music) - Can I just get a plain croissant? - [Barista] Sure. - And then, can I also get a iced decaf mocha? - [Barista] Yes, for here? - I'll get it to go. Well, I've been playing music pretty much my entire life, but I've been playing the trumpet since I was about 10 years old in 5th grade. I really was drawn to the trumpet. I thought it was a really cool instrument. It was powerful, it was loud. It could also be beautiful and delicate and soft, but it was the Star Wars instrument. So, I decided that I was gonna be the Star Wars guy. - I'm Diego Turner, and I am a first-year at the Eastman School of Music. I am dual degree in trumpet performance and an intended major in history. I listened to Eastman Wind Ensemble records on repeat for hours, and I was, like, this sounds really good, and if I go here, I might be able to do that one day.

(upbeat, lively classical music) No. - Okay, so, you're right. Normally, you'd see two staves. - Yeah. - [Professor] Would you rather play a duet like that? - No 'cause I see two staves-- - Good, because I'm not gonna let you. - Yeah. (professor laughs) Come on, let's do it. (bright trumpet music) - I'm looking forward to just getting better at my instrument, and just kind of figure out how to truly be an Eastman student. - A faculty member by the name of Frederick Fennell created the Eastman Wind Ensemble. He conceived of an ensemble of wind players that would be small and nimble and could play the most virtuosic music. - We became, here, sort of the cutting edge of a lot of repertoire. - And it rather revolutionized wind ensemble playing throughout the country. I mean, Mercury Records did dozens of recordings of the wind ensemble, and that in turn encouraged hundreds of wonderful students to apply. They heard those recordings, they said, wow, I want to be part of that. - I'm the conductor of the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and one of my main jobs is, is not to mess it up, you know?

Because next year, it's going to be 70 years old.

The wind ensemble has a unique instrumentation and personnel for each piece. So, a composer can say I want one clarinet in this piece, but the next piece, I would like three clarinets. That's kind of the idea of the wind ensemble. It's a a soloist ensemble, meaning there's one player on a part. (warm, bright classical music) - In 1958, when Howard Hanson was the director and frequent conductor here at the Eastman School, he wanted to have the most select ensemble that he could imagine from our student body, and so he formed the Eastman Philharmonia, based on audition only, not seniority. When you've got this virtuoso group of students, from teenagers to early 20s, playing on this stage, that becomes an inspiration for everybody around here. It served to attract some of our most outstanding composers, the Pulitzer Prize winners, Joseph Schwantner, Christopher Rouse, and others, to write for the ensemble. That, in turn, has prompted some of the most acclaimed accomplishments of the school, including Joseph Schwantner's "New Morning for the World," fabulous narration given by baseball superstar, Willie Stargell, all based on the speeches of Martin Luther King. - [Vincent] Howard Hanson's final achievement, in some respects, was when he was able to obtain State Department sponsorship to bring the Eastman Philharmonia on a tour of the Middle East Europe and Russia. - Three months from late November, 1961 to late February, 1962, was an experience that was not only extraordinary for that time, but would remain extraordinary for this time. Imagine it's 1961, the height of the Cold War. It was something, I think, that was transformative for every student, for the Eastman School, and proved itself to be a trademark stamp of what music can do. - [Worship Leader] Amen, Amen, Amen, Hallelujah. How many are ready to lift up the name of the Lord this morning? (crowd cheering) Hallelujah, Hallelujah, we praise you, Lord. - [Congregation Member] Hallelujah. - Put your hands together this morning. (upbeat, jazzy music) (singers vocalizing) - I started singing as early as the age of three. It was something that I just loved, and no one really knew where it came from. My name is Jazmine Saunders. I am a Voice Performance major, and I am a senior at Eastman. I grew up in Rochester, New York, which meant that I had access to Eastman as a high school musician. My earliest memories of being at Eastman was dancing in the Nutcracker as an eight-year-old. I knew that I was gonna end up here, one way or another. I decided to come to Eastman because I just loved the environment. Every time I walked into the building, I just felt like I belonged. My long-term goal as musician is to pursue a career in opera performance. I do plan on attending grad school, and from there, I just want to keep getting experience singing opera, and hopefully, wherever my career takes me, I can continue to perform opera every day in my life. (Jazmine sings in a foreign language) (lively, bright piano music) - Good, Jaz, good, good. When you start into, (professor scats) give it a little crescendo. - Okay. - Before the diminuendo, and then come down. - Okay. - Right on it. (professor hums) (Jazmine vocalizes) - It's amazing working with my teacher. He is so caring, so loving to all of his students. Our entire studio is like a family, and I feel particularly blessed to be studying with him. - With Jazmine, she belongs to a group of students that are extremely special.

Her work has been bordering on the miraculous. I have enormous admiration, respect, and love for her. I see a future artistically, vocally, with no limit. ♪ Annoying monkeys at the zoo ♪ ♪ And check your face for cheeks, and run away ♪ - Eastman presents more than 800 performances every year. As part of the centennial, we commissioned 50 composers to write works to really commemorate our history and launch us into our next century. - As we celebrate the centennial, most of the things that we do this year should have a Eastman connection. So, if you give a recital, or you give a lecture, or you give a concert, there should be some Eastman thread, like, it was this composer, it was this teacher, it was this student that was there.

This piece was premiered at Eastman, this piece has history at Eastman. (soft, warm classical music) (lively classical music) (upbeat, jazzy music) - Being a student at Eastman is a complex thing.

You're really happy to be at music school, and you know you're glad doing the thing you're most passionate about, and because of that, you take it so professionally and so personally.

- So, I had a piano rehearsal this morning, and I didn't have time, 'cause it was like at 10:30, and I woke up at, like, 8:30. So, I didn't have time to practice my scales in etudes, so I'm gonna have to practice it now before my chamber rehearsal. (violin strings vibrate) (Rebecca sighs) (slow violin music) It's very frustrating, because you can't see the progress on a day-to-day basis. It's more of a long-term thing. - It's definitely hard. Some days are harder than others. I've heard a lot of people say that it's like an every-other-day thing, that you'll have bad days and good days. It's something you know you should be doing, and so sometimes, you'll prevent yourself from doing it just to kind of self-sabotage. I'll just go in here and practice for a good two, three hours, just to kind of get my mind off of things. Can be therapeutic. You can kind of lose yourself in the notes and not actually think about anything else that's going on, which can be nice. - I wish it was therapeutic, it would make my life very easy. Unfortunately, it's not. I think the gym is therapeutic for me. Violin is more like my job, kind of? Obviously, I love it, and I'm passionate about it, but I don't consider it therapeutic at all. (bright violin music) - Sometimes I've had to realize that I'm not a robot, and so I'm not gonna be able to just practice, practice, practice, every single day and really feel like doing it. So sometimes, I just have to recognize how I'm feeling, listen to my body, and give myself a break if I need a break. (piano note plunks) ♪ Everyone seems to hear words ♪ - Eastman students are students at the University of Rochester, and that's what their diploma says. Their primary degree, when they enter, is going to be in the Eastman School of Music, but they can get another degree elsewhere in the University of Rochester, if they desire.

I think it gives a whole richness, in terms of opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration and learning for students and faculty. - It's been a little rough at times, especially with the kind of rigor involved in the dual degree program. - You would think that it's, like, a lot of work all the time. You're taking double amount of the classes. But honestly, I feel like both my studies feed into each other. - I've been kind of taking what I've learned in my history classes and my class on the river campus and applying them to my practical music, and it's really just kind of opened my eyes to different ways that I can play my instrument and just get better. (bright trumpet music) - Many people refer to the Eastern School of Music as a conservatory. It looks like a conservatory, it's a hundred-year-old building, but it's not a conservatory. It was conceived from its outset to be a conservatory-style education as part of a major research institution. And I think that's very different than a standalone conservatory. We are a comprehensive school of music, where we are not only focused on performance, but also on scholarship, on a broad education for our students. We believe artists have to have something to say, and so, understanding the world matters. (bright, upbeat music) Eastman is comprised of 13 academic departments and multiple institutes and centers. It creates this dynamic environment where creativity can thrive. - So, from the very beginning, the curriculum for an Eastman student has included classes in the liberal arts. Every student will have private lessons every semester that they're here, eight semesters, and then they will give a recital to graduate. Every student will also be required to take ensemble credits, and those are large ensembles, like orchestra, or wind ensemble, or if you're a singer, it would be chorus. Students will take five courses in music theory, they will take three courses in music history, and then, they have some elective study. - It's the students that can then put the pieces together, that, ah, that's the way that theory intersects with my performance. The ones that can start to put all the pieces together are the ones that, then, are successful and the ones that then don't have limits on what they will do. (bright music) and the liberal arts requirements, and the core, - This is a readily available reference collection. but they also have a lot of classes in how to teach. A lot of the time.

a student is coming in to look for music, to try out music he or she is going to be studying. I'm David Peter Coppen.

I am a special collections librarian and archivist for the Sibley Music Library at the Eastman School of Music, and we are standing in Sibley Music Library, which was founded in 1904, predating the Eastman School of Music, in fact. It is the largest collegiate music library in North America. So, the collection is used primarily by Eastman School students and other members of the U of R community. But the collection is also available to the general public. (door clangs) We're in the vault of the Sibley Music Library. This is the climate controlled space, where the library's oldest, most valuable, and, in some cases, most distinguished research material is housed. We have the oldest printed literature in here. We have handwritten manuscripts. We have the historical papers of the Eastman School. There is so much history in this room, I would even argue there are some genuine monuments of Western civilization in this room. You could walk by the building on Gibbs Street and really not have any idea just what is inside. - I don't know anyone in my 62 years at the Eastman School of Music who has ever said, well I'm not sure what my major is. I don't know if I want to be an engineer, or I want to be this, or that, or the other thing. You are a musician, 110%. (lively, upbeat classical music) - [Professor] Okay, good. (audience applauds) For self-preservation, I might try not to keep that up for too long, 'cause especially if you've got to play things before and afterwards, I feel for myself I can get stuck in that mode, and it's very hard to get out. - It was fun. It was probably my eighth hour of playing cello today, so it was interesting, and I had to must up every bit of energy I had, but I'm very excited for the end of the night, 'cause I'm making pizza tonight. - It's hard to really encapsulate what it is that you need to give these students in the four years that they're here. You just sort of fire over questions, and just try and pull out from them their voice. I think that you come to a place like Eastman, and you almost wake up and you think, wow, there's a high standard out there. I need to work, I need to be the best I can be. - We want them to develop their ears, to listen to each other, react to what the others are doing.

It develops an amazing sense of musicianship, those skills that will accompany them throughout their entire life. - The classes are serious.

The people who are teaching music history, music theory, and even the humanities professors, they really meant business.

- I think the hardest part of being a student is trying to manage your time well so that you can do what's expected of you. The managing the time is difficult, because you're practicing, you're writing, you're arranging, you're orchestrating. Then, you have to be an ensembles, and then, you're trying to make theory class at 8:00 in the morning. - I think Eastman is the kind of place that, for me as a student, was incredibly nurturing. It was about finding your artistic goals, defining your dreams, finding your voice, having confidence in your voice, having the tools beyond just playing an instrument well. - Realistically, if you're a student that's just practicing repertoire through your school and teacher, you are not gonna make it. You can't not be creating something else or working on projects for your time and expect to come out of music school. I sometimes wouldn't have time to practice, 'cause I was playing seven hours a day in rehearsals. You have to be working, you have to separate yourself, and you have to find yourself fast. You can't sit still, ever. (upbeat music) - So, we're here at the Magic Center of RIT, and we're here to shoot a song from MisterWives, and we are very excited. I mean, this is the first, like, large production music video I've ever done, so it's kind of fun to be able to glam up, and like, be on stage, not just be the person under the stage in all-black. We're about to go on. Super excited. - [Interviewer] Are you guys playing? Are you just, like, fake playing or? - I believe we're playing, but I'm not sure what will be used for the actual recording. I will say that. - [Interviewer] Okay, cool. - So, we will do the best that we can to have it memorized, but it may be a little interesting. - Day two, set up two, take one (clapperboard clicks) (upbeat music) ♪ Like a moonbeams strokes ♪ ♪ I want to flow with you ♪ ♪ Light as a bird, wing touching the sky ♪ ♪ Now what do, when I'm alone with you ♪ ♪ On the midnight voyage inside ♪ - [Director] Cut, that was amazing. - Could we cut to black, as soon as they get it? Is that possible? Sweet, okay. Awesome, okay. - I can't picture that I ever would be on stage with, like, clouds around in a very glittery suit. So, here we are, there's a first time for everything. - There is. - And, yeah, we would definitely do it again, I think. - I think so, yeah. - I'm Jeff Beal, and I'm a composer. - And I'm Joan Beal, and I'm a retired studio singer. - I got a letter, before I ever went to Rochester. Joan is a year older than me, and she was assigned to me as a big sister in the orientation committee. - He was my little brother. - [John] Yeah. (Joan giggles) (soft, warm, jazzy music) - I came in as a double major in composition in trumpet. I was so interested in jazz and studio orchestra. It's interesting, when I look at where my life's gone, it's sort of like all those paths converged. I've had a career primarily as a film and television composer. It definitely began at Eastman, because I took this class with Ray Wright, it was like an Introduction to Film Scoring class, and I started writing to picture, and really, I just loved it. - [Narrator] Goes in the resources and makes an honest deal. - This is a documentary I'm working on for Gabriela Cowperthwaite, who did Blackfish. I always write with the dialogue on, 'cause I always see the music as, like, a choreography that goes with whatever's happening on screen, and sometimes more importantly, how the voice is phrased and delivered. - First up is Ethan Taibs. The Beal Institute is the public face of the media composition program here at Eastman. Started when Jeff and Joan Beal made a very generous donation to the school and felt that just creating a curriculum was not enough.

They wanted to create an institute that did more than just teach. - Eastman is constantly striving to prepare our students for the careers they will enjoy for the next four or five decades. The Beal Institute is at the forefront of training composers to be ready for the film and video music industry. - It was like seeing a real need that hadn't been met by the school, and I thought we saw an opportunity. If there was ever a place that should be a home for film music study, it would be the Eastman School of Music. - And Eastman theater was built so that the community could come and hear orchestras accompanying silent films. So, the fact that the history is there at Eastman is another reason why we're so happy to have the Beal Institute there. - Pretty good sound in the booth so far. All right, in that case, let's get going with our first take. (warm, ominous music) - I really wanna use this to go into the film scoring industry, and kind of work towards getting full length feature films, and working on, maybe, video game music, and just kind of becoming a well-rounded composer, where somebody can call me up and ask me to do multiple things. (upbeat, lively classical music) - The verdict is, we're gonna take everybody out to LA and we're gonna make movies together. It just sounds fabulous, thank you. (jazzy music) - Today is a special day. March 3rd, 2022, is the centennial of the day when these music opened its doors officially in 1922. We sent 233 musicians to perform in various venues in the community. (warm, upbeat classical music) - It seems like audiences have really enjoyed our performances. Our whole program was developed around musical journeys and how music takes you different places, and it's really rewarding to see audience members feel that it's music taking them to a different place. - Rochester is such a musical town, and we could see that in the passion that people have for music. (upbeat, jazzy music) The end of the spring semester with juries, recitals, is often very stressful for students. The journey is a very long one in music. It's usually a lifetime passion, and it's a lifetime career. And so, learning how to deal with stress and the obligations of playing a jury, a concert, an audition, anything, it's something that we work on in my studio to make certain that nobody freaks out. (dramatic, triumphant classical music) - I expected this to be really, really difficult, but not mind-blowing. - The end of the spring semester, I have spent probably more hours this past semester alone working than I have in my entire life. - I always felt like I was never gonna be able to catch up. There was just an immense amount of work to be done while you're here. But this is the proving ground for what you're gonna become and what you're gonna do. (lively, bright classical music) - [Rebecca] This has been a big semester for me. I feel like it's the one that I've grown the most in. I've had lots of ups and downs, definitely, but I've been working for a while now on my rep, and my teacher has helped me a lot. And yeah, I'm feeling pretty confident. - Being an Eastman student doesn't guarantee you a job anywhere. Eastman can make you better at playing music, but it can't make you a musician. That's something you have to make yourself. (slow, warm classical music) - The degree recital was special, in that, instead of preparing for something like a jury, where they require certain types of repertoire, I really got to choose the program that I wanted to prepare for people. And so, I chose pieces that I've always heard and loved and also that felt a little more personal to me. The Chopin cello sonata I chose because I grew up listening to Chopin. My dad would always play solo piano Chopin when we were getting ready for something. It was mostly fun to see all my family come out and see so many friends in the audience. It was just kind of a whirlwind of love and music and everything. It's really just a celebration of four years, so it feels wonderful. So I just got done singing my senior recital here at the Eastman School of Music. It makes me think about how far I have come as a student here. I feel like I walked on stage knowing why I have the audacity to be on stage, knowing who I am as an artist, and just knowing that I can be a vessel through any performance that I give here. I think what surprised me the most about this performance was with how emotional I felt, especially with seeing the audience and seeing all of my friends and family being so supportive of me and just being overwhelmed by all of the love that filled the hall. - Eastman's legacy in the music world over the last 100 years is placing their graduates in all levels and all aspects of the music industry and the musical life of America. - The thing that I was most proud of throughout my early career was how demanding the music history, musicology, and music theory departments were, within even a performance major. So, you didn't get a master's degree from Eastman without having a lot of form and analysis and all of these other classes that you don't necessarily get in a conservatory. (bright, upbeat music) This makes us, of course, into a much better musician. It enables us to understand more about what we're talking about when we talk about music. And I know everyone who's gone through Eastman feels that they are better prepared for musicianship. - I think when you graduate, you feel like you understand all aspects of music, You really understand music in-depth, and its context, historical context. Any style within the context of all music, all of that, you feel like you have a good grounding for, which I think, it's pretty rare, actually. - Being at Eastman nourished my love of percussion, because, I mean, I was around all of these great players. Just being surrounded by that level of artistry, and people that are trying to play music for a living. To be in that kind of a family is nice. - Do you remember walking in the halls in the annex when friends were practicing? - Oh yeah, you'd hear people. - And you would hear your friends doing, like, a particularly difficult passage perfectly, and that would send you back to practice even harder, right? - [Jeff] I believe at any great school like this, you learn as much from the other students as you do from the teachers. - [Joan] Yes. - Having been a composer, arranger, conductor, producer, performing artist for, probably, 45 to 50 years now, I don't think there's anything that I'm doing that I didn't get from studying here at Eastman. Anything I wanted to do was here for me to try and perfect those skills. And that's kind of why my career ended up being the way it was, because I got a chance to try and learn and perfect the skills for each of the things I was interested in, which have all become a part of my life. - Eastman was a game changer for me. Before I came to Eastman, I was sort of this flailing, pie-in-the-sky, love, jazz, wanna write. And all of a sudden, Eastman gave me this foundation, and it showed me where the bar was, and I was here, and the bar was way up here. And I just crawled my way to try to meet that bar. - When you get called to work for someone you never worked with before, it's frightening. And Eastman prepared me for that. Just going and doing something that you've never done before, that's what we trained for, you know? - That's the life of an artist, is doing things that scare you. - Yes. - And that's what a music school should prepare you to do. - Yes. - Often, that's what we try to do for ourselves, as artists and people. What's the challenging thing that's gonna make me grow, and make me improve, make me learn? I guess that's kind of the thing that gets us out of bed in the morning. - And I would say that Eastman really did help instill that in us, because you were encouraged to ask questions, you were encouraged to try new things, and you were encouraged, if you messed up, to just try it again. - Really, I credit Eastman with preparing me not only for the madness of real life, but also just professionally. My husband and I talk a lot about, oh, this is my Eastman mentality. We're planting a garden now, and I say, we can't be Eastman about this. (Nicole laughs) Because it means we want everything to just fit right and be great, perfect. But actually, this is a really great trait that we carried with us from Eastman, which was the pursuit of excellence. - It was, like, the biggest honor of my life, was to get to give the commencement address at the Eastman School of Music. (soft, dramatic music) I just wanted to tell them that the preparation they had as young musicians heading out into the world was gonna put them in really good stead when they got out there, that they had the ability to do and look at things in so many different ways, and that it was not gonna be a smooth ride, but they could handle it, because they were very well prepared. - You meet Eastman graduates everywhere. Everywhere in orchestras, the best orchestras, soloists, new music ensembles, conductors, they're everywhere. I think the integrity of an education here is how Eastman is seen in in the world. - Wherever I go, there's always Eastman alumni, at the orchestras, concert halls, opera houses, everywhere I go. And the moment we find out that we're Eastman graduates, we say, oh, we're gonna look after this person, and this person's part of our tribe. So, that has actually served me, and I think it has helped me serve other people in the continuation of my career and other peoples' career. Just this big family. (soft, bright music) - Now, you have been students at Eastman for only a handful of years, and while profoundly important, and years that I hope you will look back on with great fondness and appreciation, the rest of your lives and careers will be for many decades. I want to assure you that you are ready. - Your last year, that door is gonna open, you're out that door, and you're not with your buddies anymore, and there's no safety net. You're out there, and you have to make way for yourself. - I think it's still important to offer a high-quality education at a conservatory like Eastman. It's very important, I think, that students come out with their skills massively improved. Otherwise, they can't be competitive in the real world, and the real world has changed and is changing quickly. - You are following in the footsteps of thousands of Eastman alumni who have come before you, and whose futures were also filled with uncertainty. Friends, you are ready, and your futures are bright. Congratulations, Class of 2022. The faculty and staff and I are so very proud of you. We are excited to see where you will fly and all that you are going to accomplish in the years ahead. (audience applauds and cheers) (bright, upbeat music) - So, we just graduated. I am ecstatic to be done with this chapter in my year, and I'm super excited for what comes next. - Honestly, right now, it feels very, very surreal. It's kind of like, I don't even know what's going on. But I do feel very excited and very, very happy. Eastman is a very, very special place, and so it will hold a special place in my heart, and I will miss it very, very much, but I am excited for what lies ahead in this next season. - If I thought that the Eastman School was going on exactly as it had gone on, and no one would change anything that I had done, or changed the direction, that I would be a very disappointed man, because things just don't work out that way. There have to be new directions, new experimentations. They're all spiritual parts of life, and to the extent that they can work together to nourish each the other, then we have a much greater chance for success.

And this may be the catalyst which will actually bring us all together. (upbeat, triumphant music) (soft, warm music) - Why is piano the best instrument?

(Vincent chuckles) - Why is piano the best instrument? Well, I mean, if I give you an answer, I can think of many, many of my closest friends that'll be after me try to cause bodily harm. (Vince chuckles) - Why is the voice the best instrument? (Nicole chuckles) - The voice is either the best instrument, or the worst instrument. (interviewer laughs) The voice is the best instrument because you don't have to take it on an airplane in a separate carrying case. - [Interviewer] Why is piano the best instrument? - Oh, piano is fantastic, because you can recreate an entire orchestra with 88 notes. Why would you want to play anything else? (Sylvie chuckles) - [Interviewer] Why is the trombone the best instrument? - It is only the best instrument to trombonists. - The flute is the best instrument because it's beautiful, it's shiny, and it makes gorgeous sounds. - [Interviewer] Why is bass the best instrument? (James laughs) - You're kidding, right? Well, of course it is.