2013

Paul R. Judy Center for Applied Research

Paul Judy

The Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research is a division of the Institute for Music Leadership 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.

Offerings of the Paul R. Judy Center

The Paul R. Judy Center encourages scholars to engage in a new field of research, one that focuses on innovative ensembles, their business models, and their impact on contemporary culture. This is an underrepresented area in music studies that can yield cross-disciplinary results valuable to addressing the real-world problems our musicians face today. This research will provide the basis for new courses and experiential learning opportunities for young musicians. Funding is available via the Paul R. Judy Center Grant Program, which distributes grant awards yearly for projects that relate to innovative ensembles within the following two categories: Research and Innovative Projects.

  • The Paul R. Judy Center will sponsor a festival and conference offering discussions, presentations, and performances for scholars, orchestra managers, ensemble administrators, music school leaders, professional musicians, arts entrepreneurs and students.
  • The Paul R. Judy Center will produce additional research resources to help young musicians and seasoned professionals alike gain knowledge and skills related to new models of artistic innovation, organizational relationships, and operational sustainability.
  • The Paul R. Judy Center supports related courses in the Arts Leadership Program at the Eastman School of Music

Beginnings of the Paul R. Judy Center

In an effort to analyze viable models for successful classical music ensembles, Paul Judy, founder of the Symphony Orchestra Institute and chairman of The Chicago Philharmonic Society, and Emily Wozniak, an Eastman School of Music graduate student, conducted a study of a select group of cooperating professional organizations that appear to be pursuing non-traditional music-making paths and organizational practices. The study was undertaken to better understand what makes these organizations thrive and specifically what they are doing similarly and differently to spur such apparently positive artistic and financial growth and job satisfaction for the performing members. The study then speculates as to how the patterns exhibited by the alternative ensembles might apply to larger-scale music ensembles and organizations. Click here to read the study.


2016

Eastman School of Music Receives $2.5 Million in Leadership Support

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

George Hamlin

George W. Hamlin, IV, chair of Eastman’s Board of Managers, and his wife, Mary, have made a $2.5 million commitment to the Eastman School of Music. As longtime friends of Eastman, the Hamlins have provided faculty and student support by creating the Hamlin Family Director of the Institute for Music Leadership and the Hamlin Family Scholarship.

University of Rochester President and CEO Joel Seligman remarked that the Hamlins’ gift strengthens Eastman’s legacy of developing and providing music leadership. “On behalf of the University and the entire Rochester community, I would like to offer my deepest thanks to the Hamlins for their visionary support,” Seligman said. “Their gift fortifies Eastman’s future as a world-class, comprehensive school of music, whose graduates will be forging the new paths that enhance our lives through music.”

The Institute for Music Leadership prepares Eastman students to be entrepreneurial thinkers and leaders of musical arts organizations by providing the knowledge and skills they need to be innovative and successful in today’s ever-changing musical landscape.

Since its creation in 2001, the Institute has only had two directors, Ramon Ricker (2001–2015) and James Doser (2015–present). Ricker and Doser both hold a special place in the Hamlin family’s heart, as they were teachers and mentors to their son, Alex. Doser gave Alex private lessons throughout middle and high school, and Ricker was his saxophone professor at Eastman, from which he graduated in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in saxophone performance.  The Hamlin Family Directorship honors the family’s association with the institute by providing support for its director and the institute’s mission in perpetuity.

The Hamlin Family’s aim is to “fill the gap” for excellent young musicians who are passionate about music and attending Eastman. The scholarship gives those exceptional students (Hamlin Scholars) the means to overcome financial obstacles that might have forced them to attend a school that was their second or third choice.

“Eastman is committed to enrolling outstanding students who are cognizant of an artist’s responsibility to society, and who desire to make a difference in the world through their music and their actions,” said Jamal Rossi, the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music.  “I couldn’t be more thankful for the Hamlin family for their gift, which gets to the heart of this mission.”

Both the scholarship and directorship are rooted in the Hamlin family’s belief in music’s intangible and immeasurable value to humanity, and Eastman’s role in shaping its delivery.

“We are building a bridge to help the best and brightest attend Eastman so that they develop the artistry, versatility, and adaptability that captivates, comforts, and inspires humankind,” George Hamlin said.  “Music has been a constant and binding force in our lives.  We have witnessed its influence provide balance and beauty and believe it underpins the best that life can offer.  It is a special honor for my wife and me to underwrite and encourage this kind of an impact on society.”

Mary Hamlin attended Arizona State University on a piano scholarship, graduating with an education degree. In addition to chairing Eastman’s Board of Managers, George Hamlin is a member of Eastman’s National Council and is the immediate former chair of the University of Rochester Medical Center Board for which he has been a member since its inception. Alex Hamlin and his wife are performing musicians based in New York City. Mary and George Hamlin are also among the inaugural members of the George Eastman Circle, the University’s leadership annual giving society.

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