Kim Laskowski Visiting Professor of Bassoon For 2025-2026 Academic Year DEPARTMENTWoodwinds, Brass & PercussionCONTACT INFOEmail Professor LaskowskiBIOGRAPHY Born in Brooklyn, Kim Laskowski attended the High School of Music and Art and The Juilliard School, where she studied with Harold Goltzer, former Associate Principal Bassoon of the New York Philharmonic. While at Juilliard she won the…
Kate Sheeran Joan and Martin Messinger Dean Director, Howard Hanson Institute for American Music CONTACT INFOEmail Dean Sheeran585-274-1010BIOGRAPHY Kate Sheeran serves as Eastman’s Joan and Martin Messinger Dean, beginning in 2024. She previously served as executive director of Kaufman Music Center. In that position, Sheeran launched several center-wide initiatives, including artists-in-residence, robust…
Stephen Laifer Instructor of Orchestral Repertory (Horn) DEPARTMENTWoodwinds, Brass & PercussionCONTACT INFOEmail Mr. LaiferBIOGRAPHY Stephen Laifer joined the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra as 4th Horn in 2012. Mr. Laifer was born in Honolulu, Hawaii into a military family, eventually settling in Syracuse, New York. Laifer began playing the horn relatively late as a sophomore in high…
Jeffrey Gray Instructor of Orchestral Repertory, Low Brass DEPARTMENTWoodwinds, Brass & PercussionCONTACT INFOEmail Mr. GrayBIOGRAPHY Jeffrey Gray joined the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011 as bass trombonist. He previously held the same position with the Grant Park Orchestra of Chicago from 2003-2014, and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra from 2000-2011. Mr. Gray received a Bachelor…
Andrew McCandless Professor of Trumpet DEPARTMENTWoodwinds, Brass & PercussionCONTACT INFOEmail Professor McCandlessBIOGRAPHY Andrew McCandless was appointed Principal Trumpet of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1999 and has established himself as a prominent brass player in the orchestral world. Since his first professional position at the age of 20 with the Savannah Symphony, Andrew has…
Justin Benavidez Associate Professor of Tuba and Euphonium DEPARTMENTWoodwinds, Brass & PercussionCONTACT INFOEmail Professor BenavidezBIOGRAPHY Hailed by Fanfare Magazine as “a true virtuoso of his instrument”, Justin Benavidez is the newly appointed Associate Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the Eastman School of Music. He previously held a similar faculty position at Florida State…
Mark Hodges Instructor of Percussion DEPARTMENTWoodwinds, Brass & PercussionCONTACT INFOEmail Mr. HodgesBIOGRAPHY Mark Hodges is currently the Principal Percussionist of the Grammy award-winning Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He has recorded extensively throughout his career, performing in over 40 recordings with the Buffalo Philharmonic and numerous works with the Cleveland Orchestra. In addition to recording, Hodges…
Jared Wallis Assistant Professor of Baroque Trumpet DEPARTMENTWoodwinds, Brass & PercussionCONTACT INFOEmail Professor WallisBIOGRAPHY Dr. Jared Wallis is a versatile performer, scholar, and teaching artist specializing in the natural baroque trumpet performance and pedagogy. He has performed with The Kentucky Baroque Trumpets, Sonitus Clarissima Historical Trumpet and Kettledrums, Ensemble Perihipsous, the American Bach Choir,…
Larry Zalkind Professor of Trombone My Ship Kurt Weill Lady in the DarkDorsey-Trombonology DEPARTMENTWoodwinds, Brass & PercussionCONTACT INFOEmail Professor ZalkindPersonal WebsiteBIOGRAPHY When he was eight years old, trombonist Larry Zalkind jumped at the chance to enter the music program at his local elementary school. Inspired by his favorite group, the Tijuana Brass, he…
Michael Wayne Professor of Clarinet DEPARTMENTWoodwinds, Brass & PercussionCONTACT INFOEmail Professor WayneBIOGRAPHY Michael Wayne joined the faculty of the Eastman School of Music in 2019, following previous positions with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, and the Kansas City Symphony. He has also held faculty positions at the New England Conservatory of Music, Tanglewood Music…