As trailblazers in the American fight for women’s rights go, Victoria Woodhull is likely the most underrated. An indispensable historical figure, Woodhull was the first woman to run for the office of United States President — all the way back in 1872. And yet school textbooks and other documentary narratives have by-and-large neglected her story. […]
Daniel J. Kushner
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Brockport’s Danscore, marking 50 years, keeps its contemporary reach
The College at Brockport’s Department of Dance has a long history of hiring teachers who are professional artists with years of experience performing and choreographing modern dance. The department celebrates its 50th anniversary this week with its annual Danscore performances. According to the department interim chair James Hansen, the landscape for dance in higher learning […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
A winter blues playlist
Seven Rochester songs for a different kind of holiday mood
Posted inMusic
CLASSICAL | Paul Lewis
English pianist Paul Lewis is what you could call a Beethoven specialist. An expert interpreter of the classical music master, Lewis plays with an engaging combination of exactitude and finesse, communicating all the power of Beethoven without diminishing any of the composer’s melodic flourishes. On Monday, Lewis comes to Kilbourn Hall as part of the […]
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SPECIAL EVENT | ‘How Did We Get Here?’
The premise is simple: What if different Rochester musicians all wrote songs with the same exact title? More than 20 local songwriters will give that a shot, including Connie Deming, Maria Gillard, Madeleine McQueen, Mike Muscarella, Scott Regan, and Jeff Spevak. Actor and comedian Michael Koldan will serve as host. “How Did We Get Here?” […]
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Opera review: Eastman Opera Theatre’s ‘L’incoronazione di Poppea’
Eastman Opera Theatre continues to impress with presentations brimming with excellent singers and professional production values. This time around, it was Claudio Monteverdi’s final opera “L’Incoronazione di Poppea.” Performed in Italian with English supertitles, this production of “The Coronation of Poppea” at Kilbourn Hall was also notable for its use of period instruments, and for […]
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Classical review: Pegasus marks Monteverdi’s 450th
Pegasus Early Music kicked off its 2017-18 concert season in grand style on Sunday, with a program featuring the madrigals and sacred song settings of Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi — widely considered the father of opera — marking his 450th birth year. The concert also featured instrumental music by his contemporaries Dario Castello, Biagio Marini, […]
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CLASSICAL | Greece Symphony Orchestra
This Sunday, the Greece Symphony Orchestra will be joined by not one, but two soloists in a wide-ranging concert of music that boasts broad appeal. Violinist Anyango Yarbo-Davenport (pictured), an Eastman School of Music alum, will be the headliner, playing Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. While that performance alone would merit attention, the program will also […]
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INSTRUMENTAL | David Klinkenberg
Violinist David Klinkenberg is the kind of versatile crossover artist that makes genre distinctions completely unnecessary. The immensely talented instrumentalist is adept at everything from classical music to Celtic tunes and bluegrass — as his live performances can attest. Klinkenberg has reached audiences from such high-profile platforms as PBS and Lincoln Center, and now the […]
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Album review: ‘Orpheus Unsung’
Steven Mackey with Jason Treuting “Orpheus Unsung” New Amsterdam Records newamsterdamrecords.bandcamp.com Released on October 6 through New Amsterdam Records, “Orpheus Unsung” is a wordless post-rock opera written by composer-guitarist Steven Mackey and composer-percussionist Jason Treuting, an Eastman School of Music alumnus. Mackey and Treuting’s music is just as wild and mercurial as the hero’s journey […]
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INDIE ROCK | Bogues
Vineyard Community Space has long been a refuge for bands that skirt the lines between indie rock and emo influences. For musicians like Tennessee-based solo artist Bogues, the result is mature songwriting with a post-emo sheen. Devoid of the abject whining and histrionic tendencies that plagued much of emo music in the aughts, Bogues’s post-emo […]
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CLASSICAL | ‘Strings At The Strath’
The Society for Chamber Music in Rochester will offer classical music fans a superbly balanced mix of compositional legends and 20th and 21st century composers this Sunday as part of its “Strings at the Strath” concert. Members of the RPO will join the Eastman-Hanson Chamber Players and others in a program that provides the familiar […]
