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The University of Michigan EXCEL Lab, in collaboration with the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership and a cohort of seven co-sponsors recently completed week six of the Virtual Visionaries series. Our guests for this week were Dr. Donia Jarrar and Rosy Simas. Dr Jarrar (she/her) is an Arab and Muslim-American composer, pianist, and interdisciplinary artist. She […]

This summer, Eastman’s Institute for Music Leadership, in collaboration with the University of Michigan EXCEL Lab, is proud to serve as a co-sponsor for the Virtual Visionaries Series. The ten-week program has now reached the half-way point, pausing for a week prior to embarking on the final five weeks of the series. Over the first […]

The University of Michigan EXCEL Lab, in collaboration with the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership and a cohort of seven co-sponsors recently completed week five of the Virtual Visionaries series. The guests for this week were Sarah Whitney and Todd Buonopane. A violinist, musicians’ coach, productivity expert, and founding member of the SYBARITE5 string quintet, […]

The University of Michigan EXCEL Lab, in collaboration with the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership and a cohort of seven co-sponsors recently completed week four of the Virtual Visionaries series. The guests for week four were Amy K. Bormet, Marcus Elliot, and Michael Malis. Founder of the Washington Women in Jazz Festival, Bormet is a […]

The University of Michigan EXCEL Lab, in collaboration with the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership and a cohort of seven co-sponsors recently completed week three of the Virtual Visionaries series. The guests for week three were Julie Nakagawa, Kari Landry, and Matt Landry. Nakagawa is Artistic Director of  DanceWorks Chicago, an organization she co-founded in […]

The University of Michigan EXCEL Lab, in collaboration with the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership and a cohort of seven co-sponsors recently completed week two of the Virtual Visionaries series. The guests for week two were Tanya Kalmanovitch and Ryan Muncy. Both artists are active and engaged in the New York City music scene and […]

The University of Michigan EXCEL Lab, in collaboration with the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership and a cohort of seven co-sponsors launched an exciting and relevant new program,  Virtual Visionaries, on May 25th.  The guest for week one was Tara Faircloth. A nationally recognized stage director, Ms. Faircloth has worked with organizations […]

The Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership, in collaboration with the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation & Research, is proud to announce a new collaboration with the University of Michigan EXCEL Lab. Announcing Virtual Visionaries Are you curious about how artists build freelance careers? Or wondering how they develop arts organizations from […]

As the 2019-20 academic year and ensemble seasons come to a close, many institutions find themselves looking ahead to their 2020-21 season and understanding the challenging reality of living, teaching, and performing in the age of COVID-19. While governments across the world begin to ease stay-at-home orders, much uncertainty remains surrounding the risks and effective […]

As Music Director for a high-school summer music program in Massachusetts, “contingency planning” typically means having a wide variety of repertoire ready for the start of the festival in order to best meet the needs of our students. With an outdoor rehearsal and performance space, our most challenging contingency planning during my nine-year tenure as […]