IML News – Institute for Music Leadership

Congratulations to the Spring 2026 IML Mentorship Grant Winners!

jdunn — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:00:47 +0000

Congratulations to the three winners of the Spring 2026 IML Mentorship grant!

Nathanael Kumar won a grant to create American Brass Press, LLC, a low-brass publishing company. “After numerous disappointing interactions with the largest companies in the domestic low-brass publishing industry, we have decided to start our own. We will be a digital-only, low-brass-specific business valuing efficient communication, high-quality engraving, generous composer royalties, and works by composers and arrangers of underrepresented backgrounds. We will direct a portion of our revenue into commissions and annual consortia to facilitate the creation of new repertoire by these composers and arrangers, diversifying the canons of the trombone, tuba, and euphonium.”

Nathanael Kumar has been creating for as long as he can remember. As a full-time music student, he leads a double life as a euphonist and composer. As a soloist, Nathanael champions new and unusual euphonium repertoire, and has a penchant for transcriptions. As a composer of new music, he strives to balance technical innovation with accessibility for listeners. In addition to his academic studies, Nathanael is working towards a certificate in arts leadership, and he recently won a “AMP Up” grant to organize a Scandinavian recital project in the community. Nathanael currently studies with Justin Benavidez and Elizabeth Ogonek at the Eastman School of Music.

Nathanael Kumar

Joyce Tseng

Joyce Tseng won a grant to create a first-of-its-kind pedagogical book concerning viola technique. “While violin technique literature is extensive, comparable resources for the viola are limited. As a result, advanced violists and educators often rely on violin-based materials, even though the viola presents distinct physical demands related to size, string tension, response, and ergonomics. Most existing viola methods present technique through a single approach and are written as linear method books, making it difficult for players and early-career teachers to quickly identify and address specific technical issues. This project proposes the creation of a first-of-its-kind diagnostic guide for advanced viola technique. Instead of promoting a single technical system, the book will be organized around 77 common technical symptoms experienced by violists. Each entry will describe the problem, identify underlying causes, and present multiple solutions drawn from eight established schools of string pedagogy (including Auer, Flesch, Galamian, Rolland, Delay, Fischer, Primrose, Tuttle).”

Joyce Tseng is an experienced performer in a diverse range of musical styles and ensembles, having appeared with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Aspen Festival Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Joyce studied at the Ashkenasi/Kirshbaum Chamber Music Seminar at the Heifetz International Music Institute. She has delivered solo recitals at American Viola Society Festivals and Eastman School of Music, and her concerto highlights include the Hoffmeister Viola Concerto with the Macao Orchestra. Joyce is a two-time recipient of the Robert L. Oppelt Viola Prize, awarded annually to an outstanding violist at Eastman.

A dedicated educator, Joyce served as Teaching Assistant in Professor George Taylor’s viola studio and Secondary Viola Instructor at Eastman. She is currently a chamber ensemble coach at the University of Rochester. Currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Viola Performance and Literature under Phillip Ying, Joyce holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Eastman.

Aaron Seo won a grant for to create Overtone, a mobile app designed to help musicians practice more efficiently. “The purpose of Overtone is to help musicians who struggle to break pieces into manageable sections, track what they practiced, and stay consistent/organized. Oftentimes, musicians are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of repertoire they have to work through. This can lead to feelings of anxiety, reduced confidence and ultimately poor practicing. At the core of Overtone, its unique selling point is the ability for users to draw on their uploaded sheet music in order to create smaller sections. This currently does not exist within any other app on the market. This feature allows Overtone to offer various different practice strategies. The strategies that will be utilized come directly from neuroscientist and NEC professor, Molly Gebrian. The three main forms of practicing offered will be manual, interleaved and random practicing.”

The IML Mentorship grant supports independent creative projects led by matriculated Eastman students beyond the scope of their degree. Please stay tuned to the IML website for future information on fall 2026 funding opportunities.

Spring Internships Through the IML: Health, Cultural Heritage and Representation!

jdunn — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 16:19:18 +0000

Each semester, the Institute of Music Leadership sends multiple Catherine Filene Shouse Arts Leadership Certificate of Achievement students out into the world to complete an internship and gain hands-on experience in the music industry. The certificate is designed to complement a student’s primary area of study and provide professional development training to support the student’s career goals. Those in the program gain knowledge of the music industry and the skills to become a leader in the field. This semester is no different, with students working here on campus, in the Rochester community, and beyond.

DMA student Connor Higley is going beyond the typical music industry positions and interning with University Health Services (UHS) in their Eastman department. “Eastman is the only major school of music with dedicated physical therapy for musicians, which makes it really special,” he says. Higley took an interest in UHS and their work based on his own experience struggling with performance injuries as a brass player and all of the frustrations that came with it. He is currently collaborating with Jack Earnhart, ESM and Certificate alumnus, on a project to design and build a more ergonomic tuba stand, receiving additional instruction in study design and statistics. The two are presenting their research and results at the Performing Arts Medicine Conference in New York City in July 2026.

Jack Earnhart ’25E (MA) guides certificate fellow Connor Higley in design and construction.

“This internship has given me the opportunity to go beyond the basic requirements and serve as a big launching point for new things – I’m doing so much hands-on work and learning so much through this process.” The position has inspired Higley to change his major from Tuba Performance to Music Teaching and Learning (MTL). “I’m much more excited about my career path now and none of it would have been possible without the Arts Leadership Certificate. MTL connects performance with education and research, it’s very interdisciplinary. As someone who already did two performance degrees, I’m excited to branch out and create a more robust career that includes even more of my interests. It’s been a very rewarding experience.”

Kaylynn Li, an undergraduate violinist, is focusing her internship efforts on chamber music with the bassoon and harp duo Hats + Heels. This chamber duo featuring IML’s own Blaire Koerner, bassoon and Rosanna Moore, harp, focuses on storytelling and education through innovative and theatrical performances. Li sought out this internship as a way to learn more about an independently run chamber group and is gaining skills she can take to her own chamber ensembles in the future beyond a university setting. “The biggest skill I’ve developed in this internship is learning how to advocate for myself, which I’ve been able to use throughout my classes and ensembles here at Eastman,” Li says.

Part of the storytelling aspect of Hats + Heel’s mission comes through their online series Tuneful Tales, a video production blending a new arrangement which has been paired with a legend, narrative, chronicle, poem, or even a piece of trivia from a variety of cultures. One project Li is looking forward to before the end of the semester is creating her own Tuneful Tales video. “Lots of the videos are about Irish heritage, since Rosanna lives there. They’ve encouraged me to dive into my own creativity and explore my heritage, so I’m making my video about Cantonese dim sum. The support I’m getting from them to explore my own voice in my work feels unique to this organization.”

Kaylynn Li shows off the digital media she is working with during the internship.

Master’s student Nicole Khouzami is bringing her efforts to the Gateways Festival Orchestra as their Digital Communications and Productions Intern. The Gateways Festival Orchestra is an ensemble of the Gateways Music Festival, a New York-based non-profit organization whose mission is to connect and support professional classical musicians of African descent and enlighten and inspire communities through the power of performance. “As a vocalist, I wanted to experience what it’s like to work with an orchestra and learn about the inner workings of an organization like Gateways. Additionally, as an underrepresented person in classical music, I really relate to and support their unique mission.” Khouzami has been able to observe the flexibility required of an employee in the nonprofit arts space and develop communication and time management skills, all from a remote position.

Khouzami also currently holds a part time position as the Operations Manager for Stratagem Artists after winning an IML Special Opportunity Grant to intern with the organization last summer. “It was really interesting to explore the management side of the industry, something I was less familiar with. It was a life-changing experience that has led to some amazing opportunities, including my current position. They were very open to me taking on responsibility, which is where growth as a professional happens,” she says. “We have so many skills that we learn from music other than just how to play – collaboration, discipline, time-management – they all can be applied to so many other disciplines. It’s made me feel more empowered to embrace these skills beyond just onstage and in the practice room.”

Interested in becoming a Catherine Filene Shouse Arts Leadership Certificate of Achievement Candidate? Applications for the next cohort open July 1, 2026.

Nicole Khouzami attends the Metropolitan Opera National Council Finals with the team from Strategem during an internship.

Congratulations to the recipients of a Paul R. Judy Center for Research and Innovation Grant!

jdunn — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 13:12:12 +0000

Congratulations to two winners on receiving a Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research Grant for the Spring 2024 cycle:

District5 won a $5,000 grant to support “The QUEEN-tet Project: a Symphonic Drag Story Hour.” District5 is a DC-based wind quintet unafraid to program the seemingly impossible. For over a decade, they have challenged and rewarded audiences with their distinct blend of powerful music, engaging storytelling, and commitment to under-represented composers.

“The QUEEN-tet Project: a Symphonic Drag Story Hour” is a collaboration between Tara Hoot, an award-winning DC-based drag queen, and District5, a wind quintet committed to promoting new works. Our story hour creates a novel exploration into unconventional storytelling through the melding of drag and classical music. The show includes readings of banned books and centers around the commission of a work for wind quintet + drag queen by composer Christen Taylor Holmes depicting Hoot’s life advice from a drag queen’s perspective. The project is timely and cultural awareness is urgently needed; Hoot received bomb threats in response to her work promoting family story hours and banned books in the past. Our commission results in a new genre, wind quintet + drag queen, and creates a sustainable opportunity for quintets and queens to perform together and promote LGBTQIA+ voices.

Hilary Glen ’10E (MM) ’15E (DMA)

District5

Hilary Glen and a group of cellist educators won a $5,000 grant to support Resonance: A Multicultural Cello method. These method books will offer a sequential approach to learning the cello from beginner to advanced levels using primarily Latin, African, Asian, Native American, and Middle Eastern music. The final product will include cello parts, piano accompaniments, ensemble parts, piece descriptions, audio and video recordings, and an interactive website. Most standard cello method books in the United States feature repertoire from a specific demographic: Western European and/or male. This approach presents issues: it excludes musical styles and elements from other cultures; it does not teach music representative of the diverse cultures in the United States; and it implies that students can learn to play the cello only through exclusive music. With our method, learning to play the cello and learning about classical music becomes more relevant, and a way for students to more fully express themselves. It will be seen as an avenue for creating belonging.

The next deadline to apply will be in the Fall of 2024, around October 1. The Fall 2024 grant cycle will be open to all US based individuals and organizations. Learn more here and check back in August for up to date information.

More about the PRJC Grant

Congratulations to the Spring 2024 IML Mentorship Grant Winners!

jdunn — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 15:18:24 +0000

Congratulations to the seven winners of the Spring 2024 IML Mentorship grant from the IML!

Brandon Berlanga won a grant for his team at Blacktop Percussion for “The SCINTILLATIONS Recording Project.” The ensemble will record SCINTILLATIONS by Sebastian Zhang, an advanced 10-15 minute percussion quartet inspired by hip-hop and rock music, commissioned by Blacktop Percussion. The SCINTILLATIONS Recording Project is meant to play a large role in the Blacktop Percussion’s newest initiative: The Scintillations Project. The Scintillations Project is a mission to promote inclusivity within the music community by working with composers of diverse racial, gender, and LGBTQIA+ backgrounds to create exciting music that will serve as a vehicle for our message.

Blacktop Percussion: Brandon Berlanga, Michael Lee-Smith, John Dawson, Remington Thomas

Josh Budziak

Tubist Josh Budziak won a grant to support research on brass mouthpieces along with Masters student Jack Earnhart. Musicians and manufacturers claim that acoustic and sensory percepts are direct results of mouthpiece geometry. These claims are often anecdotal, and lack support from objective or controlled testing. This research is a quantitative study that examines relationships of mouthpiece mass and spectral components, and will evaluate if observed spectra are the result of the player’s perception and bias of the impact of mouthpiece mass on timbre.

Sammy DeAngelis won a grant for his ensemble, 3D Percussion and their project “Refract.” 3D Percussion is curating an immersive concert program to create an experience with new music and supplemental technology. This concert will be headlined alongside Pax duo, who is a new percussion duo from the midwest. Through this collaboration we are presenting new works for duo and trio in the percussion repertoire to new audiences. 3D Percussion will be premiering a new piece by composer Matt Curlee for percussion trio and tape which will be the one of the first of its kind. 3D Percussion will present Refract at Constellation in Chicago in June.

3D Percussion: Emma Gierszal, YoungKyoung Lee, and Sammy DeAngelis

Haik Demirchian

Jazz trombonist Haik Demirchian won a grant to support his album “Call to the Ancestors.” This album is an accumulation of Haik’s musical discoveries in his homeland of Armenia as well as the recently lost land of my ancestors, Artsakh. During the Armenian genocide in which over 1.5 million Armenians were killed, much of the archival work that was done to preserve Armenian music was burned. This work is still not safely preserved due to the continuing genocide of Armenians that is brewing today. Haik’s goal is to preserve Armenian folk music by arranging and recording music discovered during his time at Eastman and possibly Haik’s last journey to what remains of his homeland.

Musicologist and pianist Hannah Harnest won a grant to support “A Yom HaShoah Remembrance Concert: Celebrating Jewish Culture through Classical Liturgical Music and Yiddish Art Song.” Yom HaShoah is observed this year on May 6 as the Jewish day of commemoration for the Holocaust. In a unique fusion of faith and peoplehood, synagogues hold memorial services on this day that integrate traditional prayers with contemporary poetry and song. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, Jewish congregations in America have been actively involved in creating new settings, and the Shoah has been a recurring theme for composers and lyricists. This lecture recital will showcase compositions by Cantor Samuel Rosenbaum from Temple Beth El in Rochester, who was a prominent figure in the American Cantorate. It will also include a world premiere by Eastman alumnus Michael Isaacson, Eastman professor emeritus Samuel Adler, and Lazar Weiner (1897-1982). The recital will feature Eastman students, local artists, and Argentinian Guest Cantor Jonathan Kohan from Beth El.

Hannah Harnest

Cori Trenczer

Cori Trenczer won a grant to support “Smorgasbord for your Fingerboard: A Sequential Collection of Pieces for Solo Cello Volume 1: Songs for the Beginning Cellist.” Cori will be researching and developing a cello book with pieces in level-order for beginners. The composers in the book will be primarily made up of pieces written by female, non-binary, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and AAPI composers. Cori notes, “I have an online teaching studio of 14 cello students, many of whom are included in the groups above. Both my students and their parents have submitted requests for pieces we could learn in lessons. I have found it very hard to find arrangements of these pieces for solo cello. The book would help students have the chance to see pieces by composers who look like them.”

Educator and pianist Chaojun Yang has won a grant to develop comprehensive online music education content for both Chinese and English-speaking audiences. As a passionate piano teacher, Yang has observed challenges in advanced piano studies stemming from foundational misconceptions, leading to inefficiency and discouragement. The high cost of quality piano education in both China and the U.S. has led to inconsistent foundational music education. While online music educational content has becoming an increasingly powerful tool for music learning, its fragmented nature often requires payment for full access. This is unlike subjects like math, where online educational resources often exist in a more systematic and accessible manner. This project aims to create professional, systematic, free, and high-quality educational content, extending Yang’s commitment to inclusivity in music education. Her experiences leading a teaching studio establishing special teaching projects and scholarship for disabled students, children of migrant workers, and leading numerous female retirees for successful music career post retirement has reinforced her commitment to diversity and accessibility in music education. This project will align with her ongoing dedication for music accessibility and inclusion.

Chaojun Yang

The IML Mentorship grant supports independent creative projects led by matriculated Eastman students beyond the scope of their degree. The next deadline to apply is October 1, 2024. Learn more here.

Several Eastman Programs recognized as top in the Nation!

Kristijan Bogdanovski — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 15:12:22 +0000

Billboard recognizes MA in Music Leadership, Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media, Electroacoustic Music Studios @ Eastman (EMuSE), and student-run Ensemble OSSIA

Direct link to the article

Congratulations recipients of the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research Grant!

jdunn — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 13:12:46 +0000

Congratulations to two organizations on receiving a Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research Grant for the Fall 2023 cycle:

Walker West Music Academy won a $5,000 grant to support Stringocracy! Call and Response as Social Activism from Vivaldi to Hip Hop – Stringocracy! In conjunction with the national election and the energy from young people to engage in social justice efforts to foster social impact, this project culminates in a 90-minute concert that explores social activism through a “call & response” approach from a cross-section of music genres rooted in the African/African American cultural experience. The ensemble of high school string students will explore improvisation, a highly democratic dialectic form, as expressions of identity through their music performance.

Leah Schuman ’96E (MM) ’01E (DMA)

Walker West Kamoinge String Ensemble

One City Jazz from the VanderCook College of Music won a $5,000 grant to support their new drumline. One City addresses systemic inequity in music education by providing high quality instruments and expert instruction at no cost to children from underserved BIPOC neighborhoods where instrumental music is not provided in the public schools. Those who stick with the program until the end of 8th grade get to keep the instrument to use in high school and beyond. Over 120 children attend every Saturday and play in 1 of 3 jazz ensembles, our Suzuki violin program, or the new drum line. Our world-class, majority BIPOC artistic leadership team composes original repertoire for the program that draws on the rich musical heritage of our neighborhood Bronzeville. Currently, the drumline students are using drum pads to develop basic drumming technique, rhythm reading skills, and build a warm, welcoming ensemble rapport where high standards and expectations are supported and nurtured. Congratulations to Eastman alumna Leah Schuman ’96E (MM) ’01E (DMA) on her leadership of this program!

The Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research is a division of the Institute for Music Leadership (IML) at the Eastman School of Music. The Center’s research and programming emphasizes the 21st Century evolution of the innovative ensemble, influenced by both the symphony orchestra and the chamber music traditions, with a focus on creative, artist-centered ensembles that reflect new models of artistic innovation, organizational relationships, and operational sustainability.

The next deadline to apply is February 1, 2024. The February 2024 grant cycle will be reserved for Eastman students, alumni, faculty and staff, and the organizations they represent. Learn more here.

Congratulations Fall 2023 IML Mentorship Grant Winners!

jdunn — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 18:34:23 +0000

Congratulations to the winners of the fall 2023 IML Mentorship grant from the IML!

Doctoral candidate Vincent Huang ’22E (MM) received an IML Mentorship Grant for his project Golden Tiger International Music Festival – Trombone Seminar. He will be launching a weeklong trombone festival located in Nanjing, China in the summer of 2024.

Rebecca Bryant Novak

Vincent Huang

Rebecca Bryant Novak, a DMA candidate in Orchestral Conducting, received an IML Mentorship Grant for her project, ad hoc, a flexible chamber ensemble. The group will be performing concerts at Christ Church Rochester and the Harley School in January 2024.

The IML Mentorship grant supports independent creative projects led by matriculated Eastman students beyond the scope of their degree. The next deadline to apply is February 1, 2024. Learn more here.

Congratulations to the new Catherine Filene Shouse Arts Leadership Certificate of Achievement (ALP) cohort!

Kristijan Bogdanovski — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 15:40:12 +0000

Each year, upperclassmen and graduate students can apply to this competitive program to receive experiential opportunities that complement their primary area of study to support their leadership and career goals. Those accepted into the 2023 cohort include:

Amelia Abouljoud
Elijah Alexander
Meihui An
Olly Bangia
Brandon Berlanga
Berithen Chung
Jack Earnhart
Alicia Guan

Lindsay Haukom
Mary Jedynak
Yixuan Ling
Cass Lo
Ellie Loya
Anastasia Maritsas
Charlotte McIntosh
Ashley Schlusselberg

Jack Snelling
Pedro Sperb
Julian Stuart-Burns
Mikhail Studenkov
Seth Tupy
Floris Van der Veken
Anne-Marie Wnek

Over the next two years, theses will personalize their experience through course selection, internship choices, and advising by professionals to gain knowledge of the music industry and develop skills to become a leader in the field.