Fringe Festival review of Róisín Dubh

From the Rochester City Newspaper Fringe Festival review:

"I'm a sucker for Irish music, and up next was Róisín Dubh, a student group from East Rochester's school district playing at Eastman School of Music's Kilbourn Hall. Though you probably wouldn't have known this was a group of middle- and high-school-aged students playing out traditional Irish reels, with dancing, accordions, fiddles, and whistles all included. There's a reason the group has gained high accolades, including being featured on NPR. This is really a gem in our own backyard, and it was cool to see the group pull in guests from the greater Rochester Irish music community, as well as the fact that some of the musical parts were arranged and written by students. There's talent here, that's for sure.

My school didn't have anything like this (insert back-in-my-day cry here), and it really was great not only listening to the group, but seeing students involved musically in something that is part of a larger tradition and isn't required as part of a regular curriculum. As a fellow band geek, trust me, you never know where music will take you. Keep it up. I've also decided that I'm going to make my imaginary daughter take River Dance lessons. Maybe violin, too. Because I'm the dad, that's why!"

http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/fringe-fest-2013-reviews-alice-in-wonderland-roisin-dubh-silent-disco/Content?oid=2275052

ER Music Alums on the air...

Last night,  two of our graduates were featured on the Live Concert Series on Jazz 90.1 fm. Aaron Davis (saxophone) and Jamie Greene (drums) play with the great Michael Vadala trio, which is building quite a following among jazz fans in Rochester. To find out where they are playing next, visit http://michaelvadalatrio.bandcamp.com/.

Schedule changes and JH Jazz

Dear ER music parents,


First of all, I want to thank you for all of your support during the difficult start to this school year. As you know, the introduction of the middle level "skills period" and change of music ensemble class time to the lunch hour has had serious ramifications for our music program. I want you to know that our 7-12 administrators have heard your concerns and that vocal music director John Polvino and I have recently met with them numerous times. At this point, it is impossible to implement major schedule changes that will affect the entire building; but we are working hard to improve issues that can be fixed now. Our interim principal, Liz Konar, inherited this situation and has worked very hard with us address many of these issues. Through

these meetings and efforts, a significant schedule change is being implemented for music staff that will allow for the immediate return of the ER Junior High Jazz Band. Jazz Band will resume for the 2013-14 school year on Friday, October 18, with students continuing to meet every Friday during the 8th period block. In addition to this change, JH Jazz Band will now be a credited course that is graded and factored into a student's GPA. This move further validates our jazz program, and should be beneficial to our participating students.