Eastman School of Music Hosts Women in Music Festival 3/21-25

The Eastman School of Music will hold its' 6th Annual Women in Music Festival from March 21-25 in conjunction with Women's History Month. The mission of the festival is to promote and present the significant contributions of women in music through performance, education, and advocacy. The weeklong celebration includes concerts, master classes, lectures and presentations. Festival goers will have the opportunity to hear the work of some of music's notable composers such as Tania León and Lili Boulanger, as well as the world premiere of Exultet Terra, a commissioned piece by Eastman composer-in-residence Hilary Tann.

Distinctive to the festival is its' location in Rochester, New York, home to one of the country's foremost Women's Rights advocates, Susan B. Anthony, whose life and causes were inextricably linked to the University. Anthony spearheaded a campaign for the University of Rochester to admit women. As a result of her relentless effort, Anthony's niece, Doriot Anthony Dwyer, graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 1942 and was later named principal flutist of the Boston Symphony, the first woman to hold a principal chair position in a major symphony orchestra. Today, more than 2,180 women are undergraduate students at the University.

The Women in Music Festival will also present a program with a performance at the City University of New York (CUNY) on April 7th where Eastman students, faculty and alumnae will perform the works of Hilary Tann, Tania León and others.